The heirs of the Philippine tycoons who have died since last year debuted in Forbes’ list of the Philippines’ 50 Richest people for 2019.
READ: 3 tycoons topbill richest in Philippines
(Second row; left to right) Isidro Consunji, Dennis Uy, and Arthur Ty
According to Forbes, the Sy siblings, with a combined net worth of $17.2 billion, made the list at No. 1, replacing their father Henry Sy Sr. who held the top spot for 11 consecutive years.
The retail tycoon died in January this year at the age of 94, leaving his fortune to his six children Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert, and Harley.
READ: SM Group founder Henry Sy Sr. has died aged 94
The $17.2 billion net worth is largely from the family’s SM group, the country’s largest conglomerate with interests in banking, real estate, and retail.
The Ty Siblings of GT Capital also made the list at No. 9 with a combined net worth of $2.6 billion, succeeding their father George Ty, who built GT into a major conglomerate with interests in autos, banking, insurance, power generation, and real estate.
The Campos Siblings landed in 23rd place, replacing their late family matriarch Beatrice Campos, with their combined net worth of $650 million stemming from their pharmaceutical business Unilab.
Meanwhile, Manuel B. Villar came in second with an estimated worth of $6.6 billion, primarily from his real estate business.
READ: Villar trebles wealth to become 2nd richest man in PH
The 69-year-old businessman is now listing his retail business All Home Corp. under the Philippine Stock Exchange which will generate as much as P14.8 billion in proceeds.
Business tycoon John Gokongwei came in third with a net worth of $5.3 billion, and largely from his airline, real estate, food manufacturing and petrochemical businesses.
Ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. placed fourth with a net worth of $5.1 billion, followed by Jaime Zobel de Ayala with $3.7 billion.
Rounding up the top 10 list were Lucio Tan ($3.6 billion), Tony Tan Caktiong ($3 billion), Ramon Ang ($2.8 billion) and Andrew Tan (2.55 billion).
Among this year’s newcomers were Antonio Tiu at No. 49, and with a net worth of $135 million, Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy who debuted at No. 22 with $660 million, and Delfin Wenceslao at No. 25 with $500 million.
Despite the lackluster performance of local stocks, Forbes said 21 listees added to their fortunes.
One of the biggest gainers is Mercedes Gotianun whose fortune jumped 91 percent to $2.2 billion, as the shares in her Filinvest Development soared after posting a 31-percent increase in net income for 2018.
On the other hand, Tan Caktiong saw his fortune decline when the shares at his fast-food chain Jollibee dropped after he announced the $350 million acquisition of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
READ: 12 Filipino Tycoons Among Forbes' Richest