Henry Sy leads list of 50 richest Filipinos for 8th straight year

Henry Sy. FILE PHOTO

SM Investments Corporation patriarch and mall tycoon Henry Sy leads the list of 50 richest Filipinos for the eighth consecutive year, Forbes Magazine revealed on Thursday.

Sy, whose conglomerate owns the chain of SM Supermalls in the Philippines and China, has retained the richest Filipino spot, with his net worth up $1.7 billion from last year to $14.4 billion.

The increase in his net worth is credited to the increase in value of his conglomerates SM Investments (up by 17 percent) and SM Prime Holdings (up 20 percent). Aside from real estate and banking, Sy has a stake in the National Grid Corporation.

JG Summit’s John Gokongwei placed second on the list with a net worth of $5.5 billion. Gokongwei, who was the fourth richest Filipino last year, saw his net worth increase due to a growth in revenue from petrochemical businesses and earnings from Meralco.

Climbing a notch from last year’s list is Andrew Tan of Alliance Global which is now the third richest Filipino with a net worth of $4.5 billion. However, his current net worth is down from last year’s $5.1 billion. Tan owns the McDonald’s franchise in the Philippines.

Placing fourth on the list is LT Group’s Lucio Tan with a current net worth pegged at $4.3 billion while International Container Terminal Services’ Enrique Razon Jr. is in fifth place with a fortune of $4.1 billion.

Rounding up the top ten richest Filipino list are: George Ty ($4 billion); Aboitiz Family ($3.6 billion);

Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family ($3.5 billion); David Consunji ($3.2 billion); and Tony Tan Caktiong ($2.2 billion).

Meanwhile, D&L Industries’ Dean Lao and ABS-CBN’s Oscar Lopez also entered the billionaire ranks this year. Forbes said that Lao’s wealth grew by 76% from $625 million last year to this year’s $1.1 billion. On the other hand, Lopez’s $1.1 billion net worth is credited to the 30 percent growth of the stock price of Lopez Holdings last year.

Forbes said that despite facing a market drag in the resource industries sector, the Philippines saw its domestic wealth increase last year.

There were four women in the 50 richest Filipinos list: Betty Ang (number 17 in the list with $905 million net worth); Vivian Que Azcona (number 22 in the list with $780 million net worth); Beatrice Campos (number 24 in the list with $740 million net worth); and Juliette Romualdez (number 47 in the list with $160 million).

The minimum net worth that qualifies one in the list is $120 million, down from last year’s $170 million requirement.

Forbes compiles the net wealth of the Philippines’ richest based on stock prices and exchange rates, with the value of private companies based on similar companies that are publicly traded. Aries Joseph Hegina, INQUIRER.NET. With additional reports from The Associated Press.