Villar still the richest among Philippines’ billionaires – Forbes

REAL ESTATE tycoon Manuel B. Villar, Jr. is still the richest Filipino on Forbes’ 2023 World’s Billionaires List, as his estimated net worth rose to $8.6 billion.

This year’s Forbes billionaires list included only 14 Filipinos, six less than the previous list.

Based on Forbes’ estimates as of April 4, Mr. Villar’s net worth stood at $8.6 billion, 3.6% higher from $8.3 billion a year ago.

A former politician, he is currently the chairman of listed companies Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., Golden MV Holdings, Inc., AllDay Marts, Inc, AllHome Corp. and Vistamalls, Inc.

Mr. Villar climbed 31 spots to 232nd out of 2,640 billionaires in the global list, which was topped by French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault.

Enrique K. Razon, Jr., chairman of port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), ranked 312nd on the Forbes list with an estimated net worth of $7.3 billion. His wealth jumped 9% from $6.7 billion a year ago.

Ramon S. Ang, president, chief operating officer, and vice-chairman at conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), rose 661 spots to 852nd place from 1,512th place a year ago. His estimated net worth surged 70% to $3.4 billion, from $2 billion last year.

Henry Sy, Jr., co-vice chairman of SM Investments Corp., and Andrew L. Tan, chairman of Alliance Global Group, Inc., both ranked 1,217th on the list with a net worth of $2.5 billion each.

Mr. Sy is the one of the six children of the late Henry Sy, Sr. who were included in the Forbes billionaires list. The founder of the SM Group was the Philippines’ richest man for 11 consecutive years before his death in 2019.

Hans Sy and Herbert Sy ranked 1,272nd on the list, with an estimated net worth of $2.4 billion each. They dropped 76 spots from last year’s ranking, as their wealth fell 7.7%.

Also, on 1,272nd spot is LT Group, Inc. Chairman and founder Lucio C. Tan, who doubled his net worth to $2.4 billion.

Harley Sy and Teresita Sy-Coson shared 1,368th place with $2.2 billion each, followed by Elizabeth Sy who ranked 1575th, with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion.

JG Summit President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lance Y. Gokongwei came in at 2,020th spot with a net worth of $1.4 billion, 17% lower than a year ago.

Jollibee Foods Corp. founder Tony Tan Caktiong landed in 2,259th place with $1.2 billion.

Inigo Zobel, a board director at SMC, returned to the list as his wealth rose to $1 billion. He ranked 2,540th on the list. Mr. Zobel was previously included in the Forbes’ 2021 World’s Billionaires list.

According to Forbes, the total number of billionaires around the world dropped to 2,640 from 2,668 last year.

The total net worth of billionaires declined by 4% to $12.2 trillion this year, from $12.7 trillion a year ago.

“It’s been another rare down year for the planet’s richest people. Nearly half the list is poorer than they were 12 months ago, but a lucky few are billions, or even tens of billions, of dollars richer,” Forbes Senior Editor for Wealth, Chase Peterson-Withorn said in a statement.

According to Forbes, Mr. Arnault, chairman and CEO of luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is now the world’s richest man. His estimated net worth surged 33.5% to $211 billion, from $158 billion a year ago.

Mr. Arnault dethroned Elon Musk who fell to second spot after his net worth fell 18% to $180 billion.

Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos ranked third on the list with an estimated net worth of $114 billion, followed by Oracle chairman and co-founder Larry Ellison with $107 billion.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett ranked fifth on the Forbes list, with a net worth of $106 billion.

The list also included 150 newcomers, including LeBron James, Tiger Woods and Tom Ford.

However, 254 also dropped out of the list, including FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and rapper Kanye West. – Adrian H. Halili