Forbes Magazine has listed the world’s billionaires for 2017.
Included are 14 Filipino billionaires, ranked, worldwide, from 94th (Henry Sy with $12.7 billion estimated wealth) to 1795th (Roberto V. Ongpin with an estimated $1.1 billion wealth).
The 14 richest Filipinos, per Forbes 2017 rankings, are:
1) Henry Sy Sr., $12.7 billion; 2) John Gokongwei Jr., 5.8 billion; 3) Lucio Tan, 3.7 billion; 4) George SK Ty, 3.5 billion; 5) Enrique Razon Jr., 3.4 billion; 6) Tony Tan Caktiong, 3.4 billion; 7) David Consunji, 3.1 billion; 8) Andrew Tan, 2.5 billion; 9) Robert Coyiuto, Jr., 1.5 billion; 10) Manuel Villar, 1.5 billion; 11) Ramon S. Ang, 1.4 billion; 12) Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., 1.2 billion; 13) Roberto V. Ongpin, 1.1 billion; 14) Edgar Sia, 1.0 billion.
The weekly business magazine BizNewsAsia has updated its own rankings of the richest Filipinos or billionaires.
The richest Filipinos, per BizNewsAsia, are:
1. Henry Sy, $10.6 billion; 2. John Gokongwe Jr., 6.3 billion; 3. Jon Ramon Aboitiz, 5.0 billion; 4. Lucio Tan, 4.4 billion; 5. Iñigo Zobel and sister, 4.0 billion; 6. Tony Tan Caktiong, 3.1 billion; 7. Enrique Razon Jr., 3.1 billion; 8. Ramon S. Ang, 2.6 billion; 9. George SK Ty, 2.4 billion; 10. David Consunji, 2.0 billion; 11. Lucio Co, 1.7 billion; 12. Andrew Tan, 1.6 billion; 13. Manny Villar, 1.0 billion; 14. Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., 1.0 billion; 15. Edgar Sia, 902 million; 16. Zobel de Ayala siblings, 756 million.
Henry Sy Sr., 92, owns 60 percent of SM Investments Corp., which owns the largest retailing chain, (SM, 60 malls in Philippines which are visited by 3.5-million people daily; seven malls in China); the largest property company, SM Prime Holdings; and the largest bank (BDO with P2 trillion assets).
Though cash-rich, Henry is raising capital. SM recently issued P20 billion (out of a planned P50 billion) in retail bonds at 5.1590 percent due 2023. BDO had a P60 billion rights offering at P83.75 per share at one share for every P5.095 shares owned. BDO has lately focused on micro lending. It has financed most of the casinos.
John Gokongwei Jr., 90, owns 52 percent of JG Summit Holdings Inc., the conglomerate which owns the largest branded consumer foods business in the Philippines (URC), the largest domestic airline (Cebu Pacific which last year more than doubled its profits to P9.8 billion and flew 19 million passengers); the second largest retail chain (44 Robinsons malls by October 2016), the second largest hotel chain (15 hotels with 2,357 rooms), and one of the biggest real estate companies in revenues, projects and amounts invested in projects (Robinsons Land). JG has also stakes in PLDT (4.73 percent), petrochemicals, and banking.
Third richest, the family of Jon Ramon Aboitiz, 68, owns 60 percent of Aboitiz Equity Ventures which is into six main businesses: Power distribution, generation, and retail electricity supply; financial services (its Union Bank is strong on tech); food manufacturing; real estate; infrastructure; and portfolio investments.
AEV owns 55 percent of VECO which is the second
largest privately-owned distribution utility in the Philippines in terms of customers and annual GWh sales and is the largest distribution utility in the Visayas. It owns 100 percent of Davao Light and Cotabato Light which the is the third largest privately owned distribution utility. AEV owns the power plant in Subic and a 44 percent equity in Pampanga’s san Fernando Electric.
Fourth richest Lucio Tan, 83, has two major assets in the Philippines—LT Group and Philippine Airlines. His LT Group holdings are valued at $2.42 billion while those in PAL are valued at $1.97 billion. The LT Group has the following businesses: Distilled Spirits (Tanduay Distillers, Inc.), the third largest distilled spirits producer in the Philippines; Beverages (Asia Brewery, Inc.), one of the Philippines’ leading producers of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages; Tobacco (Fortune Tobacco Corp.), the leading tobacco manufacturer and distributor in the Philippines; Banking (Philippine National Bank), the fourth largest private commercial bank in terms of total assets in 2015; and Property Development (Eton Properties Philippines, Inc.), which has a diverse portfolio of property development projects throughout the Philippines.
Of late to prepare for the future, Kapitan entered into joint ventures—with Philip Morris for tobacco: Heineken for beer, Ayala for real estate, and a prospective foreign investor for PAL.
Iñigo Zobel, 59, and his sister Mercedes own 26 percent of Ayala Corp. valued at $2.65 billion. He himself owns 27 percent of San Miguel Corp. valued at $1.32 billion.
Ayala Corp. has the following businesses: Real estate (Ayala Land); water (Manila Water); industrial technologies (IMI); power generation (AC Energy); banking (Bank of the Philippine Islands); Telecom (Globe Telecom).
When one talks about the rich Ayala it should be Iñigo and not his cousins Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Fernando Zobel de Ayala who jointly own less than 7.5 percent of Ayala valued at $765 million.
Phenomenal has been the rise to power and wealth of Ramon S. Ang, the vice chairman, president and chief operating officer of San Miguel Corp. RSA owns 22.48 percent of SMC valued at $1.1 billion. This month, his IPO of 100 percent-owned Eagle Cement values the company at P75 billion or $1.495 billion, which together with his SMC holdings, put his wealth at $2.59 billion.
Under Ang, SMC diversified into fuel (Petron), power generation, and infrastructure. Its $5 billion diversification is now beginning to pay off even while SMC’s traditional core businesses continue to rake in revenues and profits—beer, food, and packaging. In 2016, the biggest SMC companies in profits were: San Miguel Brewery P17.65 billion, Petron P23.79 billion, P10.82 billion, and Purefoods P5.976 billion.
In operating income, the rankings are: SMB P27.18 billion, SMC Global Power P26.7 billion, Petron P23.79 billion, San Miguel Holdings (infra), P9.84 billion; Purefoods P8.93 billion; Packaging P2.58 billion, and Ginebra P978 million.
Sixth richest Filipino, Tony Tan Caktiong, 64, owns 57 percent of Jollibee Foods Corp. (largest fast food retailer) which is valued at $2.23 billion. He also owns 37 percent of DoubleDragon Properties worth $902 million.
Jollibee Foods Corp. is the largest Asian restaurant company. In 2016, the Jollibee Group opened 340 stores, the biggest store openings in a single year in JFC’s history; 243 in the Philippines, 97 abroad—60 in China, 30 in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and 7 in the US.
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