Sy siblings are still the richest; Razon moves to 2nd place

By means of Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter

THE SY SIBLINGS stayed on top of the Forbes list of PhilipPines’ 50 richest this year, while ports and casino magnate Enrique K. Razon, Jr. climbed to second place.

According to Forbesthe combined wealth of the magnates in the list was “almost Flat” at $80.8 billion this year, up from $80.4 billion a year ago.

“More than half of the country’s fifty richest are less wealthy this year,” the report said.FLow interest rates and high interest rates limit domestic demand.

The lackluster stock market and weaker peso were also cited as reasons for the decline in the wealth of some tycoons.

Sy’s six siblings, namely Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley, posted a combined net worth of $13 billion. This was 9.7% lower than their net worth of $14.4 billion last year, reflecting the weaker peso, Forbes said.

They are the heirs of the SM Group, founded by the late Henry Sy Sr., who was the richest man in the Philippines until his death in January 2019.

“Their group’s flagship, SM Investments Corp., a conglomerate with interests in banking, real estate and retail, is expanding into the geothermal energy field with Fnew projects throughout the country”, Forbes said.

Mr. Razon jumped to second place on the Forbes list for the Ffor the first time, as his wealth rose 37% to $11.1 billion from $8.1 billion a year ago.

Forbes said Mr. Razon posted the biggest dollar gain for the second year in a row as shares of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. rose by about 80% over the past year amid a recovery in global trade. Mr. Razon also owns Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which operates Solaire Resort and Casino.

Real estate magnate Manuel B. VilLar, Jr. fell to third place, even as his net worth rose 12.4% to $10.9 billion, up from $9.7 billion in 2023.

Mr. Villar, a former President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, is chairman of publicly traded companies Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., Golden MV Holdings, Inc., supermarket chain AllDay Marts, Inc, home improvement chain AllHome Corp. and Vistamalls, Inc.

San Miguel Corp. Chairman Ramon S. Ang ranked fourth. Its net worth rose 11.8% to $3.8 billion from $3.4 billion last year, reflecting the conglomerate’s efforts to dip into infrastructure and win bids for airports, toll roads and power plants.

Chairman of DMCI Holdings, Inc. Isidro A. Consunji and his siblings rose to fifth place from eighth last year. Their net worth rose 17% this year to $3.4 billion, compared to $2.9 billion a year ago.

Tony Tan Caktiong, chairman of fast food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. ranked sixth, while his wealth fell 9.4% from $3.2 billion last year to $2.9 billion.

Taipan Lucio C. Tan, chairman of LT Group, Inc., secured the seventh spot as his wealth rose 1.9% from $2.6 billion in 2023 to $2.65 billion.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his family ranked eighth with a net worth of $2.6 billion, down 7.1% from $2.8 billion a year ago.

Lucio L. Co and his wife Susan P. Co of Puregold Price Club, Inc. came in ninth place with combined assets of $2.3 billion, unchanged from last year’s figures.

The top 10 was completed by the Aboitiz family of conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. with a net worth of $2.2 billion, down 30.2% from $3.15 billion in 2023.

Lance Y. Gokongwei and his siblings dropped to 11^e while their net worth fell 37% from $3 billion in 2023 to $1.9 billion.

The shares of JG Summit Holdings, Inc. fell year-on-year as the petrochemicals subsidiary was hit by weaker global prices and high operating costs.

Another big winner on the Forbes list was Eusebio H. Tanco of STI Education Systems Holdings, Inc. Mr Tanco ended up in 22^i.e his net worth rose 35% to $815 million, while shares in his online gaming company DigiPlus Interactive Corp. rose enormously.

Forbes said there were no newcomers to the 2024 rankings due to the lack of initial public oFferings.

However, it noted that two tycoons have returned to the annual list. One of the two returnees is Edgar B. Saavedra, number 43^rdwith a net worth of $270 million after the public listing of Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. in June.

The other returner is Michael C. Cosiquien, ranked 48^ewith a net worth of $205 million. He heads ISOC Holdings, Inc., which has interests in logistics, energy, real estate and infrastructure.

Asked for comment, Juan Paolo E. Colet, chief executive of China Bank Capital Corp., said. that the ranking and combined wealth of the country’s tycoons reFlect the condition of the local stock market.

“Most of their wealth is tied to the value of their listed assets, so the generally tepid performance of the stock market is impacting their net worth,” he said in a Viber message.

AP Securities, Inc. Research head Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia said the weaker combined net worth is due to the “sluggish market” and the depreciating peso.

“A large part of their wealth depends on the prices of the stocks they own, and as you know the market has been weak lately,” he said in a Viber message.

“That’s not to say the companies they own aren’t making money, but rather because the risky environment of late isn’t encouraging investors to place more value in stocks,” he added.

Forbes said the net worth of top Philippine tycoons was based on the closing prices and exchange rates as of July 19. Private companies were valued based on comparable companies that are publicly traded.

The minimum net worth to get on the list was $170 million, down from $180 million last year.