Forbes: Sy family still on top, 2nd generation Gokongweis debut

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s richest tycoons saw their collective wealth fall 22 percent amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Forbes 2020 Philippines Rich List.

The same names remained in the top 10 with the exception of second generation tycoon Lance Gokongwei and his siblings, who made it to the list for the first time after the death of their father John Gokongwei Jr. last year.

The Sy siblings of the SM Group, sons and daughters of the late tycoon Henry Sy, stayed on top with a net worth of $13.9 billion – lower than the $17.2 billion recorded a year ago, as the lockdowns set in place amid the COVID-19 contagion drastically affected the mall business.

Property and mall tycoon Manuel Villar Jr., the only full-blooded Filipino on the list, remained in second spot with a net worth of $5 billion, lower than his $6.6-billion tab last year.

On an individual count, Villar, the husband of Sen. Cynthia Villar and father of President Duterte’s Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, would actually be the richest on the list.

Ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. climbed to third spot previously occupied by the late John Gokongwei Jr. – with a net worth of $4.3 billion, down from $5.1 billion last year. Razon was in fourth spot last year.

Finding their way to the list for the first time, in fourth, are Gokongwei siblings Lance, Faith, Hope, Lisa, Marcia and Robina with a net worth of $4.1 billion, lower than their father’s last recorded net worth last year of $5.3 billion.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala, father of brothers Jaime Augusto and Fernando of the country’s oldest conglomerate Ayala Corp., placed fifth with a net worth of $3.6 billion, almost unchanged from last year’s $3.7 billion.

Andrew Tan of Megaworld climbed up to sixth spot from 10th with a net worth of $2.3 billion, lower than last year’s $2.55 billion.

Once upon a time the country’s richest man, taipan Lucio Tan – airline, tobacco and banking magnate – dropped to seventh place, from sixth last year as his net worth shrank to $2.2 billion from $3.6 billion in 2019.

Ramon Ang, president and COO of beer giant San Miguel Corp., is still in eight spot with a net worth of $2 billion, lower than last year’s $2.8 billion.

Jollibee Foods Corp. founder Tony Tan Caktiong placed 9th with a net worth of $1.9 billion, down from seventh spot previously as his net worth was nearly slashed by half from $3 billion last year.

Completing the top 10 are spouses Lucio and Susan Co. of Puregold with a net worth of $1.7 billion.

Oscar Lopez (No. 32), who holds a majority stake in TV network ABS-CBN, saw his net worth nearly halved to $240 million after Congress in July rejected the company’s bid to renew its 25-year broadcast license. ABS-CBN shares have lost close to 65 percent of their value over the past year.

Property tycoon Edgar “Injap” Sia II (No. 21) was this year’s biggest gainer in both percentage and dollar terms.

He added $300 million, or 75 percent, to his net worth, which is now $700 million.

“The rise was partly due to the successful initial public offering of his MerryMart in June as shares of the grocer have nearly doubled since the listing as quarantine measures boosted sales,” Forbes said.

The estate of San Miguel chairman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., who passed away in June, was inherited by his widow Soledad Oppen-Cojuangco, who ranks No. 16 with a net worth of $1.15 billion.

Six names dropped from the list, including Edgar Saavedra of Megawide Construction Corp. Megawide’s shares fell by more than 65 percent after reporting a first-half net loss of $398 million.

Megawide’s cofounder Michael Cosiquien, however, stayed on the list as bulk of his wealth is tied to an earlier sale of the company’s shares. Cosiquien ranks No. 40 with a net worth of $175 million.

Four tycoons returned to the ranks, largely due to this year’s lower cutoff, which fell 23 percent from last year’s list to $100 million.

They are Michael Romero (No. 46, $135 million) of Globalport 900, Luis Virata (No. 48, $115 million) of Nickel Asia, Mikel Aboitiz (No. 49, $110 million) of Aboitiz Equity Ventures and Lourdes Montinola (No. 50, $100 million) of Far Eastern University, Forbes also said.