Henry Sy still richest Filipino
MANILA — Eleven Filipinos and their families have joined Forbes Magazine’s billionaires’ club anew this year with a newcomer now listed among those with billion-dollar fortunes.
Still the Philippines’ richest man, magnate Henry Sy saw his net worth swell from $9.1 billion in 2012 to $13.2 billion in 2013 making him the world’s 68th wealthiest person.
“Shares of (Sy’s) holding firm SM Investments, the country’s most valuable company, surged by over 50 percent, fuelled by reports that it may merge its property units,” Forbes said in the report released late Monday.
Tobacco and alcohol king Lucio Tan, meanwhile, saw his numbers increase by $500 million from last year, keeping him as the country’s second richest and Forbes’ 248th billionaire.
Port investor Enrique Razon, Jr., the third wealthiest Filipino, also earned $1.3 billion over a nine-month period, having recently taken the Solaire Resort and Casino at Manila Bay as his newest venture. This made him the 258th billionaire in Forbes’ list.
New dollar billionaire Andrew Gotianun, the man behind real estate conglomerate Filinvest entered Forbes’ chart this year after his fortune surged from $825 million in June 2012 to $1.2 billion this March.
Besides increasing his Filinvest shares to almost a third, Gotianun acquired East West Bank in 2012 and built Cebu’s Crimson hospitality businesses. He is also eyeing on the expansion of Mactan International Airport, the magazine noted.
The Forbes’ latest list, however, lacked latest data on notable names of other billionaire Filipinos identified in the 2012 report as seen below.
Filipinos in Forbes’ billionaires list 2013
1. Henry Sy and family - $13.2 billion (68th overall) 2. Lucio Tan and family - $5 billion (248th overall) 3. Enrique Razon, Jr. - $4.9 billion (258th overall) 4. Andrew Tan - $3.95 billion (345th overall) 5. David Consunji and family - $2.8 billion (503rd overall) 6. George Ty and family - $2.6 billion (554th overall) 7. Lucio and Susan Co - $2 billion (736th overall) 8. Robert Coyiuto, Jr. - $1.6 billion (931st overall) 9. Tony Tan Caktiong and family - $1.4 billion (1031st overall) 10. Andrew Gotianun and family - $1.2 billion (1175th overall) 11. Roberto Ongpin - $1.2 billion (1175th overall)
Forbes’ richest Filipinos in 2012
1. Henry Sy and family - $9.1 billion 2. Lucio Tan and family - $4.5 billion 3. Enrique Razon Jr. and family - $3.6 billion 4. John Gokongwei Jr. and family - $3.2 billion 5. David Consunji and family - $2.7 billion 6. Andrew Tan - $2.3 billion 7. Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family - $2.2 billion 8. George Ty and family - $1.7 billion 9. Roberto Ongpin - $1.5 billion 10. Eduardo Cojuangco - $1.4 billion 11. Roberto Coyiuto Jr. - $1.3 billion 12. Tony Tan Caktiong and family - $1.25 billion 13. Lucio and Susan Co - $1.2 billion 14. Inigo and Mercedes Zobel - $1.15 billion 15. Emilio Yap - $1.1 billion
Fortunes of the country’s wealthiest individuals also generally grew in less than one year from as little as $200 million to as much as $4.1 billion.
Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helu worth $73 billion, meanwhile, topped the world’s richest individuals for the fourth year in a row, followed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Spain’s Amancio Ortega of clothing brand Zara with $67 billion and $57 billion net worths, respectively.