The heirs of the late mall tycoon Henry Sy Sr. saw their fortunes grow to $14.4 billion in the latest Forbes Magazine list of 50 richest people in the Philippines for 2023.
The Sy siblings were joined by former Senator Manuel Villar ($9.7 billion), Enrique Razon Jr. ($8.1 billion), Ramon Ang ($3.4 billion), Tony Tan Caktiong ($3.2 billion), the Aboitiz Family ($3.15 billion), Lance Gokongwei and siblings ($3 billion), Isidro Consunji and siblings ($2.9 billion), Jaime Zobel de Ayala ($2.8 billion) and Lucio Tan ($2.6 billion) in the roster of top 10 richest in the Philippines..
Their riches comprise 66.56 percent of the 50 individuals and groups included in the list, which Forbes said amounted to $80 billion as of end-July.
The list was compiled using shareholding and financial information obtained from the families and individuals, stock exchanges, analysts and other sources.
Unlike the Forbes Billionaires’ rankings, this list includes family fortunes, including those shared among extended families, Forbes said.
Net worths are based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on July 21, 2023. Private companies were valued based on similar companies that are publicly traded.
The list can also include foreign citizens with business, residential or other ties to the country, or citizens who don’t reside in the country but have significant business or other ties to the country.
With the economy pegged by the government at $204.31 billion as of the first half of the year, the richest account for 0.04 percent of the country’s economic output for the period.
Forbes said this year’s accumulated wealth by the affluent grew 11 percent compared to last year’s $72 billion.
“Although the economy must now deal with inflation and higher interest rates, the country’s benchmark stock index rose 6 percent from a year ago when fortunes were last measured,” it said.
More than half of those on the list are wealthier this year.
The Sy siblings’ riches grew by 14 percent compared to a year ago.
Shares of their flagship SM Investments, a conglomerate with interests in banking, property and retail, jumped 19 percent from a year ago amid a rebound in consumer spending.
Villar had his wealth grow 24 percent from $7.8 billion last year on the back of a resilient housing market. Villar also listed his power business, Premiere Island Power REIT, in December 2022.
Razon, who rounds up the top three, had his fortune rise 44.64 percent from $5.6 billion last year. Shares in Razon’s International Container Terminal Services jumped 24 percent from a year ago, thanks to sustained improvement in supply chains.
Forbes noted that Ang, chief executive officer of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., rose five spots to 4th, with his wealth up nearly 40 percent to $3.4 billion following the acquisition of his majority owned Eagle Cement, one of the archipelago’s largest cement makers, by San Miguel.
Jollibee Food Corp.’s Tan Caktiong’s net worth rose $600 million to $3.2 billion.
Featured on the cover of the August issue of Forbes Asia is Sabin Aboitiz, a fourth- generation member of the Aboitiz family, who is spearheading a $7 billion transformation of the family’s listed Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Philippines’ second largest electricity producer, into a banking, infrastructure and technology powerhouse.
Forbes noted that three heirs are new newcomers to the list with the Gotianun family, at No. 22 with $850 million, inherited stakes in conglomerate Filinvest Development from matriarch Mercedes Gotianun, who died last December.
The Yuchengco family, heirs of Alfonso Yuchengco and the biggest shareholder of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., one of the country’s largest lenders, also joins the ranks at No. 33 with $420 million.
Federico Lopez debuts on the list at No. 42 with $300 million, shared with his family, after taking over the media, property and power empire from his father, Oscar, who died in April at age 93.
The minimum net worth to make the list was $180 million, slightly down from $185 million last year, Forbes said.
