11 Filipino tycoons on world’s richest list
ELEVEN business tycoons from the Philippines, led by Henry Sy and family, made it to Forbes Magazine’s 2013 list of the richest people on the planet
The number of Filipino business tycoons that made it to the elite club increased from only six in 2012 as the buoyant Philippine stock market boosted their wealth valuations. Lucio Tan, Enrique Razon Jr., Andrew Tan and Roberto Ongpin are still on this year’s list, but not Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr.
Other tycoons on the new list are David Consunji and family, George Ty and family, Lucio and Susan Co, Robert Coyiuto Jr., Tony Tan Caktiong and family,
and Andrew Gotianun and family.
Sy remained the country’s wealthiest man with estimated net worth of $13.2 billion, up from last year’s estimate of $8 billion. The 88-year-old tycoon and his family also improved their global ranking to 68th from 116th last year.
Forbes said Sy’s fortune swelled by more than $5 billion as shares of his holding firm SM Investments had surged on reports that it may merge its property units.
Sy’s SM group, a household brand in the Philippines, controls leading shopping mall developer SM Prime, leading bank Banco de Oro Unibank and fast-growing residential developer SM Development Corp. The family also controls China Bank and Belle Corp.
Lucio Tan
Lucio Tan, 78, was named the second wealthiest man in the country. He ranked 248th globally with an estimated net worth of $5 billion, up from 314th place last year.
Forbes noted that Tan had consolidated many of his enterprises, including Asia Brewery and his stake in dominant cigarette-maker Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco into publicly listed LTG Inc.
Razon was the third wealthiest in the country with $4.9 billion, followed by Andrew Tan with $3.95 billion.
The 53-year-old Razon is into global port terminal operations through flagship International Container Terminal Services Inc. He is set to open a $1.1-billion casino-hotel complex, Solaire Manila, through Bloomberry Resorts Corp. on March 16.
Andrew Tan, 60, has interests in food and beverage, real estate and gaming through holding firm Alliance Global.
The Consunjis’ wealth was placed at $2.8 billion, Ty at $2.6 billion, Co at $2 billion, Coyiuto at $1.6 billion, Tan Caktiong at $1.4 billion, and Gotianun and Ongpin both at $1.2 billion.
Forbes said it had included 91-year-old Consunji for the first time of this list “on better understanding of his holdings.”
Consunji founded construction firm DMCI in 1954 and later expanded into infrastructure, real estate, mining and power, the magazine noted.
GT Capital, Puregold
Ty made it to this year’s list after taking his family’s holding compa- ny GT Capital Holdings public last year. GT Capital controls the country’s second largest lender Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., property developer Federal Land, Philippine Axa Life Insurance and Global Business Power Corp.
Co controls Puregold Price Club Inc., the country’s second largest retailer. The company’s share price has doubled since going public in 2011, allowing Co to join the Forbes list for the first time.
Coyiuto, 60, also joined Forbes’ list for the first time on the performance of power transmission firm National Grid Corp. where he has a 30-percent interest in partnership with Henry Sy Jr. He is also into luxury car distribution.
Jollibee
Tan Caktiong founded Jollibee Foods Corp., the country’s leading fast-food chain. He is also made it to Forbes’ list for the first time “on better understanding of ownership of his fortune.”
Gotianun is founder and chair emeritus of Filinvest Development Corp. which has interests in property, banking, sugar, hospitality and utilities businesses. Last year, the Gotinanun group’s banking arm East West Bank went public.
Ongpin, a trade minister of the Marcos regime, has interests in gaming, property and mining. He heads Top Frontier, an investment company that has a controlling stake in San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
One tycoon who was on the 2012 roster but was stricken off this year’s list was Cojuangco, former SMC chair. Last year, Cojuangco sold his 15-percent stake in SMC to a group of allies led by trusted lieutenant Ramon S. Ang. But despite being the single largest shareholder of SMC with an 11-percent interest, Ang did not make it to the Forbes’ list.
No Ayalas, Aboitizes
Forbes ranks individuals rather than large, multigenerational families who share large fortunes, which could explain why old-rich families like the Ayalas and Aboitizes are not on the list.
Also not on the list is John Gokongwei despite controlling large companies like Robinsons Land, Cebu Pacific and JG Summit Holdings. He donated half of his wealth to the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation in 2006.
Jose Mari Lacson, head of research at local stock brokerage Campos Lanuza & Co., said: “The Forbes list of billionaires focuses on individuals and not companies. That’s why the Ayalas and the Aboitizes won’t enter their criteria because there are several individuals that share in the ownership pie of their respective conglomerates.”
In the case of Ayala Corp., Lacson said the company was controlled by Mermac, which was divided, in general, between two Zobel families—one by led by Iñigo Zobel and the other by Don Jaime Zobel, who has five children, each having a share of the wealth pie.
Methodology questioned
“The Forbes criteria also looks at ownership and not necessarily control. Ramon Ang may be the captain of SMC and controls its operations but he shares ownership with Iñigo Zobel, Jose Campos and Roberto Ongpin, who is the biggest individual shareholder in SMC and is part of the Forbes list,” Lacson said.
Ongpin, one of the billionaires on the list, has questioned Forbes’ methodology of computing the world’s wealthiest.
“I wish they were right but they are simply wrong,” Ongpin, a certified public accountant and a Harvard Business School graduate, previously said of Forbes’ formula of counting only the interest in publicly listed companies (based on market price) and not accurately quantifying a person’s net worth because the liabilities were not factored in.
For its part, Forbes has used the same formula for years and has no publicly available resource for quantifying liabilities. “I threatened to sue them. I said, ‘I’m a very poor man,’” Ongpin previously told INQUIRER’s Biz Buzz news column. “They said, ‘go ahead sue us,’ so I didn’t bother.”
1,426 billionaires
The 2013 Forbes list has 1,426 billionaires on its roster with an aggregate net worth of $5.4 trillion. Mexican telecom magnate Carlos Slim is still the wealthiest man on the planet, followed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amancio Ortega of Spanish retailer Zara.
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The magazine has been publishing the list of billionaires across the globe for the last 27 years. “Though we’ve been at it a long time, it is never an easy task. Our reporters dig deep and travel far. To compile net worths, we value individuals’ assets—including stakes in public and private companies, real estate, yachts, art and cash—and account for debt.
“We attempt to vet these numbers with all billionaires. Some cooperate; others don’t. We also consult an array of outside experts in various fields,” the magazine said.