Property tycoon Manuel Villar has been named as the richest person in the Philippines in Forbes Magazine’s 2019 global wealth list.
Villar topped the list of Filipino billionaires for the first time, following the death of SM group founder Henry Sy in January.
Despite the late tycoon’s wealth being divided between his six children, they too found places on the list published today (Wednesday, March 6).
Forbes’ 33rd annual ranking of the world’s billionaires counted a total of 2,153 this year, down from 2,208 in 2018.
In the Philippines, Manuel Villar emerged as the front-runner for the first time, ranking 317th globally with an estimated net worth of $5.5 billion.
Other Filipinos in the upper half of the list include:
- 343: industrialist John Gokongwei Jr. – $5.1 billion
- 379: international port operator and integrated gaming resort operator Enrique Razon Jr. – $4.8 billion
- 436: tobacco magnate Lucio Tan – $4.4 billion
- 529: Jollibee founder Tony Tan Caktiong and family – $3.9 billion
- 775: San Miguel Corp. president and Eagle Cement chair Ramon Ang – $2.9 billion
- 838: Megaworld founder Andrew Tan – $2.7 billion
Henry Sy’s sons Hans and Herbert tied in 962nd place with an estimated fortune of $2.4 billion apiece. Their siblings Harley, Henry Jr. and Teresita Sy-Coson all ranked 1,057th globally with $2.2 billion. The sixth child, Elizabeth, was valued at $1.9 billion.
Other Filipinos on the list are San Miguel chairman Eduardo Cojuangco ($1.4 billion), insurance magnate Robert Coyiuto ($1.4 billion), Century Pacific founder Ricardo Po ($1.2 billion) and property developer Roberto Ongpin ($1.1 billion).
Globally, the top three richest people are Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ($131 billion) and family, Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($96.5 billion) and investor Warren Buffet ($82.5 billion).
US President Donald Trump’s net worth was unchanged on last year at $3.1 billion, but he climbed in the ranks to 715th up from 766th in 2018.
The youngest billionaire in the list is 21-year-old Kylie Jenner with an estimated fortune of $1 billion. Now considered to be the youngest self-made billionaire of all time, she owns 100 per cent of Kylie Cosmetics, the three-year-old beauty business that did an estimated $360 million in sales last year.
Full details of the billionaire list can be found here.
Follow our Facebook page for daily news updates
…