Sy siblings richest in PH; Villar is 2nd
Taking over the property, banking and retailing empire built by the late tycoon Henry Sy Sr., his six children have carried on the torch as the wealthiest family in this part of the world.
The second-generation Sys
—Teresita (Sy-Coson), Elizabeth, Henry “Big Boy” Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley—have a combined net worth of $17.2 billion, based on Forbes magazine’s list of 50 richest people in the Philippines.
The siblings, as a collective, replaced their father in the No. 1 position for the first time.
Henry Sy Sr., who passed away early this year, dominated Forbes’ roster for 11 consecutive years.
Unlike Forbes’ annual listing of billionaires around the world which estimates wealth individually—topped by tycoon Manuel Villar Jr. for the first time this year—the Philippine list aggregated the wealth of siblings in cases where wealth has passed on to the next generation.
Running businesses
In the case of the Sy family, all second-generation siblings are involved in running various businesses under the SM group.
Teresita chairs BDO Unibank, the country’s largest bank, while Elizabeth is in charge of the hotels and convention businesses.
Henry Jr. and Hans oversee the property development businesses, while Herbert leads the retailing business.
The youngest, Harley, is executive director of flagship conglomerate SM Investments Corp.
The SM group owns over 200 companies in the Philippines and runs 73 local shopping malls plus another six in mainland China.
‘Brown tycoon’
The “brown tycoon,” Villar, ranked second on the list with an estimated wealth of $6.6 billion, was followed by JG Summit founder John Gokongwei Jr., with $5.3 billion.
Enrique Razon Jr., the chief of International Container Terminal Services Inc. and integrated gaming resort developer and operator Bloomberry Resorts, ranked fourth with an estimated fortune of $5.1 billion.
Jaime Zobel de Ayala of the country’s oldest business house Ayala Corp. took the fifth slot with an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion, while tobacco magnate Lucio Tan ranked sixth with $3.6 billion.
Tony Tan Caktiong, founder of Jollibee Foods Corp. and cofounder of DoubleDragon Properties, was No. 7 with an
estimated fortune of $3 billion, while San Miguel Corp.’s big boss Ramon S. Ang was eighth, with an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion.
Ty, Campos heirs
The Ty siblings of GT Capital—Arthur, Alfred, Alesandra and Anjanette—also entered the list at No. 9.
Their combined net worth was $2.6 billion.
They succeeded their father George Ty, who built GT into a major conglomerate with interests in autos, banking, insurance, power generation and real estate.
Other new listees and second-generation successors, the Campos siblings—Jocelyn, Joselito and Jeffrey—debuted on the list at No. 23, replacing their late family matriarch Beatrice Campos.
Their combined net worth of $650 million comes from the country’s pharmaceutical giant Unilab.
Jocelyn, the eldest of the three, now chairs the company cofounded by their late father Jose Campos.
6 newcomers, Dennis Uy
The Ty and Campos siblings are among the six newcomers on the list, which also included three self-made entrepreneurs.
The list includes Davao-based logistics and energy tycoon Dennis Uy (ranked 22nd) who made the roster after net assets of his Udenna Group rose 28 percent in 2018.
The 46-year-old Uy, who has been one of the most acquisitive businessmen in town since 2016, leads the consortium that bagged the slot for the third telecom provider in the country.
Delfin Wenceslao (No. 25) made his debut with a net worth of $500 million after taking real estate developer D.M. Wenceslao & Associates public in June 2018.
Antonio Lee Tiu, 44, also a first-timer, was No. 49, with a net worth of $135 million as shares of AgriNurture, the agri-products firm he founded 22 years ago, rose steadily over the past three years.
Sia, Saavedra, Cosiquien
Other younger tycoons on the list are 42-year-old DoubleDragon chair Edgar Sia (28th, $400 million); 44-year-old construction magnate Edgar Saavedra of Megawide Construction (34th, $260 million), and Megawide cofounder Michael Cosiquien (35th, $250 million).
People on the Top 11 to 50 list and their respective rankings and estimated net worth are:
- Iñigo and Mercedes Zobel ($2.5 billion)
- Mercedes Gotianun ($2.2 billion)
- Consunji siblings ($2 billion)
- Lucio and Susan Co ($1.8 billion)
- Roberto Ongpin ($1.75 billion)
- Eduardo Cojuangco ($1.5 billion)
- Robert Coyiuto Jr. ($1.35 billion)
- Vivian Que Azcona and siblings ($1.15 billion)
- Ricardo Po Sr. ($950 million)
- William Belo ($870 million)
- Dean Lao ($840 million)
- Dennis Uy ($660 million)
- Campos siblings ($650 million)
- Carlos Chan ($610 million)
- Delfin Wenceslao Jr. ($500 million)
- Jacinto Ng ($480 million)
- Oscar Lopez ($460 million)
- Edgar Sia ($400 million)
- Manuel Zamora ($360 million)
- Frederick Dy ($355 million)
- Mariano Tan Jr. ($350 million)
- Jorge Araneta ($330 million)
- Tomas Alcantara ($300 million)
- Edgar Saavedra ($260 million)
- Michael Cosiquien ($250 million)
- Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Jr. ($240 million)
- Alfredo Yao ($235 million)
- Jose Antonio ($215 million)
- Necisto Sytengco ($210 million)
- PJ Lhuillier ($208 million)
- Eusebio Tanco ($205 million)
- Jose Ma. Concepcion ($200 million)
- Erramon Aboitiz ($165 million)
- Philip Ang ($160 million)
- Juliette Romualdez ($150 million)
- Felipe Gozon ($145 million)
- Betty Ang ($141 million)
- Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. ($140 million)
- Antonio Tiu ($135 million)
- Menardo Jimenez ($130 million).
