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July 9, 2010
MANILA – Henry Sy Sr. of the SM malls and Banco de Oro chain has retained the number one spot for the 40 richest Filipinos in the 2010 Forbes Magazine list. Sy, now 85, who has held the richest Pinoy title four times, is worth $5 billion, $1.2 billion more than last year. His wealth was boosted by his stock, SM Investments, which is up more than 25 percent in the past year. The group is one of the country’s biggest conglomerates with interests in retail, mall operations and banking.
Staying put at No. 2 is Lucio Tan with $2.1 billion, up from $1.7 billion in 2009. The 76-year old tycoon owns businesses which include Fortune Tobacco, Asia B r e w e r y , P h i l i p p i n e Airlines, Philippine National Bank, and Hong-Kong based Eton Properties. Third on the list is first-time billionaire John Gokongwei Jr., 83, whose is listed at $1.5 billion, more than double his last year’s net worth of $720 million. His JG Summit Holdings’ shares hit a two-year peak earlier this year, pushing his net worth into the 10-figure bracket.
The stock rose partly on plans to list the group’s budget carrier, Cebu Pacific. This year, there are five billionaires on the Forbes Magazine list, compared with three last year. Included this year are Ayala Corp.’s Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who dropped a notch to No. 4 this year with $1.4 billion, and Alliance Global Group’s Andrew Tan at No. 5 with $1.2 billion. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ 40 richest are now worth $22.8 billion, up 39 percent from $16.4 billion a year ago, according to the 2010 Forbes Asia Philippines Rich List.
The economy, which grew 7.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, coupled with the 17 percent rise in the stock market since last year contributed to the growth in wealth of the country’s richest tycoons,
the magazine said.
This year, there are five billionaires on the list, compared with three last year. In addition to the top three, Ayala Corp.’s Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who dropped a notch to No. 4 this year, is worth $1.4 billion, and Alliance Global Group’s Andrew Tan is again a billionaire, after a two-year hiatus, at No. 5 with $1.2 billion. Others in the list are: – David Consunji, 89. ranked No. 12, whose wealth soared to $715 million, up from $300 million in 2009 and $105 million in 2008, as his construction firm DMCI’s shares have more than doubled. – Sen. Manuel Villar, who lost the presidential election in May, dropped to No. 17 with a reduced net worth of $380 million, down from $530 million last year.
– GMA Network’s Gilberto Duavit (No. 25; $145 million), Menardo Jimenez (No. 26; $143 million), and Felipe Gozon (No. 27; $120 million). There are two new faces on the list this year like former minister of trade Roberto Ongpin (No. 21; $300 million) and Wilfredo Keng (No. 32, $10 million).
Ongpin is part of an investor group that is poised to become the majority shareholder in San Miguel. The 73-year-old also has investments in property, gaming, mining and telecom. Keng runs mining company Century Peak Metals. The minimum net worth to make the list this year increased to $50 million, up from $38 million previously.The full list of the Philippines’ richest can be found in the July 2010 issue of Forbes Asia. The list was compiled with information obtained from individuals, stock exchanges, public documents and analysts. For privately held assets, Forbes Asia estimated what they would be worth if public. All public net worths were calculated using June 23 stock prices and exchange rates. This ranking, unlike the Forbes billionaires list, includes numerous family fortunes shared by individuals and their children, grandchildren and siblings.