Vista Land & Lifescapes chairman Manuel Villar returned to Forbes Asia’s annual “Heroes of Philanthropy” list, making its 2024 edition as the lone Filipino recognized this year.
For its 18th annual edition of the list, Forbes Asia selected 15 entries from philanthropists “who have made significant contributions and demonstrated commitment to causes they cherish over the past year.”
Villar was noted for donating P615 million to build a church and school inside a residential community about 40 kilometers north of Manila that was being developed by his company. Citing Vista Land, Forbes Asia said the tycoon’s gift to the local Catholic Church comprised 1.2 hectares of land, valued at P613 million, while the remaining amount was in cash.
“It has always been my belief that communities flourish when faith and education are at [their] center,” Villar said in an emailed statement from the company.
Back in 2019, Villar donated over 2 hectares of land to Manila’s Saint Jude Catholic School and completed the donation of 5 hectares to his alma mater, the University of the Philippines, with a combined value of P8 billion This is in addition to contributions to new facilities at four local schools.
Villar also made the Heroes of Philanthropy list in 2020. With an estimated net worth of $17.3 billion, the 74-year-old former politician is the Philippines’ wealthiest individual.
Other individuals on the unranked list are Abhishek Lodha (India), Lei Jun (China), Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht (Australia), Tadashi Yanai (Japan), Andrew Forrest and Nicola Forrest (Australia), Li Ka-shing (Hong Kong), Samir Mehta and Sudhir Mehta (India), Eduardo Saverin and Elaine Saverin (Singapore), Mark Dunajtschik (New Zealand), Solina Chau (Hong Kong), Daniel Tsai (Taiwan), Michael Kim (South Korea), Liz Greive (New Zealand), and Raamdeo Agrawal and Motilal Oswal (India).