Yosi Tanco smoking competition, keeps firing on all cylinders

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Eusebio Tanco has been firing on all cylinders, with the businessman known as “Yosi” smoking his competition as of late.

The red-hot Tanco, who recently powered his way into the Forbes annual ranking of the world’s richest people – the only newcomer from the Philippines on the list – is far from cooling down as plans are underway for the expansion of his gaming, schools, shipping and insurance businesses.

Tanco, chairman of STI Education Systems Holdings and digital entertainment company DigiPlus Interactive, ranked No. 2,623 in the Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list with $1.2 billion in net worth.

In August last year, he was also a notable gainer in the Forbes list of the Philippines’ 50 richest, ranking at No. 22.

Tanco’s wealth has skyrocketed primarily on surging shares of DigiPlus Interactive, which benefited from the government’s crackdown on illegal offshore gambling firms.

DigiPlus shares closed at P35.65 on April 5, a significant jump from its 52-week low of P9.50.

The company is fresh from a successful 2024 wherein it recorded over 40 million registered users across its digital platforms and a net income of P12.6 billion, a 207-percent surge year-on-year.

Last January, DigiPlus also secured a definitive authority from the Brazilian government, allowing the company to operate iGaming products through DigiPlus Brazil Interactive Ltda.

Aside from Brazil, Tanco said that DigiPlus is continuously looking to expand in other markets where online gaming is legalized.

“We’re looking at many more markets. We won’t end with Brazil,” he said.

DigiPlus will also continue to bolster its presence in the Philippines, wherein Tanco hopes to promote responsible gaming.

“We never encourage people to bet irresponsibly. We ask them to bet what you can afford. We don’t get ourselves in lending. A lot of the casino lend to the player. Of course we can lend to the player, but we don’t. That’s my policy. You bet what you can afford. Use your own money but don’t borrow to bet,” he said.

Tanco, however, said that responsible gaming is only a subset of a broader financial literacy program, which he is strongly advocating for.

“What we have is classical economics: savings equals investment. That’s what they teach at our schools and that’s reality. But if you’re a nation like the Philippines, wherein you have negative savings, where do you get your money for investment? That has always been a big problem,” Tanco said.

“Of course, with our wage rate, how much can you really save? But even if you don’t save that much, even if it’s just a little, try to save. You can allocate a portion for consumption or for gaming, but that is what you can afford. Nobody can dictate to you how much or what you’ll use your money for. But what we can teach you is you better save and then with your savings, maybe teach them how to invest, where to put your money,” he said.

Given how he values the importance of saving money, Tanco said that financial literacy is embedded in STI, owner of the largest network of private schools in the country.

“In STI, I make sure we teach financial literacy. It’s really important, how to save,” he said.

STI has put in place plans to continue build new campuses, while also keeping an eye for acquisition opportunities in the coming years.

Aside from his growing gaming and schools businesses, Tanco said that he also has the complete line of insurance through the Philippines First Insurance Group.

Expanding further its portfolio were two non-life insurance products – PhilFirst Cyber Insurance and PhilFirst Travel Insurance – which were launched early this year by PhilFirst, the Philippines’ first domestic insurance company.

Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI), which is led by Tanco as its president, meanwhile, is set to invest at least P4.2 billion this year as part of its expansion strategy and in step with its investment commitment with port authorities

ATI’s capital investment, which is higher than the P3-billion investment in 2024, will primarily support the expansion of seaside and landside facilities, acquisition of green equipment to boost its carbon reduction program, gate automation and IT systems as well as expansion of integrated logistics solutions leveraged on its port infrastructure.

As part of its long-term sustainability goals, the company is also exploring new business growth drivers, including developing smart cargo storage spaces within and outside port zones, offering ancillary services anchored on its core competencies and exploring new port operations locally or overseas.

Tanco said that US President Donald Trump’s trade war is expected to have a minimal impact on the shipping and logistics company.

“Trump’s policy will never affect the Philippines. We don’t have export. What will they ban from us? What export do we have? We’re net importers,” he said.