Fifteen business tycoons from the Philippines were included in the list of Forbes Billionaire 2020 with Manuel Villar leading for the second straight year.
Manuel “Manny” Bamba Villar Jr is a self-made Filipino billionaire businessman. He has been a Philippine Senator and the president of the Nacionalista Party. He has an estimated net worth of $5.7 billion and ranked 298th out of 2,095 billionaires counted by Forbes. His wide Cynthia Villar is currently a senator while his son Mark is the Secretary of Public Works and Highways in the country.
Port terminal operator and integrated gaming tycoon Enrique Razon Jr was the second richest in the Philippines with $3.2 billion net worth. He recently gained majority voting rights in beleaguered water concessionaire Manila Water Co.
All of the six children of the late tycoon Henry Sy Sr. were also included in the billionaire’s list. Hans has an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion, Herbert has $2.2 billion, Harley has $2.1 billion, and Teresita has $2 billion. Their sister Elizabeth Sy also made it to the list with an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion.
Also read: Procter & Gamble Philippines to manufacture face masks to help COVID-19 fight
15 PH tycoons included in Forbes Billionaire 2020
Chinese Filipino billionaire businessman Lucio Tan ranked eighth richest with an estimated fortune of $1.9 billion. Tan owns Fortune Tobacco Corp., Asia Brewery, Inc., and Philippine Airlines, Inc.
Andrew Tan came in ninth place with $1.8 billion net worth. He is the chief executive officer of Alliance Global Group Inc., a holdings company that has interests in food and beverage, real estate and gaming. He founded Megaworld Corp. in 1989 and has been its CEO and president since its inception.
Robert Ongpin, with an estimated fortune of $1.8 billion, ranked 11th locally. Jollibee founder Tony Tan Caktiong also made it to the list with $1.5 billion net worth.
San Miguel Corp. president and Eagle Cement chair Ramon S. Ang has an estimated fortune of $1.5 billion, giving him the 13th slot, followed by Robert Coyiuto Jr. and Eduardo Cojuangco, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier appealed to those who have more to extend help to the needy amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
As of this writing, the Philippines has 3,764 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 177 deaths, and 84 recoveries.