15 Philippines tycoons in Forbes list; Villar still richest

MANILA, Philippines — Real estate and retail tycoon Manuel Villar kept his crown as the country’s richest, leading 15 tycoons from the Philippines in the Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list.

Villar, chairman of listed property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes, was the only Filipino who made it to the top 200, ranking No. 117 with a net worth of $17.2 billion.

Aside from Vista Land, the 75-year-old Villar has six other listed entities including mall operator Vistamalls, property landlord VistaREIT, home improvement chain AllHome, supermarket chain AllDay Marts, Premiere Island Power REIT and Golden MV Holdings.

Coming in at second is ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., chairman of International Container Terminal Services Inc., who ranked at No. 227 with a net worth of $10.9 billion.

San Miguel Corp. chairman and CEO Ramon Ang is this year’s third wealthiest from the Philippines with a net worth of $3.7 billion at No. 979.

He is followed by Lucio Tan, chairman of conglomerate LT Group, who placed at No. 1,219 with a net worth of $3 billion.

Members of the Sy family comprised the next six Filipino billionaires on the list, led by Henry Sy Jr. at No. 1,573 with $2.3 billion; Hans Sy at No. 1,626 with $2.2 billion and Herbert Sy at No. 1,688 with $2.1 billion.

Harley Sy and Teresita Sy-Coson were tied at No. 1,850 with $1.9 billion, and Elizabeth Sy was at No. 2,019 with $1.7 billion.

Property tycoon and Alliance Global chairman Andrew Tan came in next at No. 2,110 with a net worth of $1.6 billion, while husband-and-wife tandem of Lucio and Susan Co of retailer Puregold ranked at Nos. 2,356 and 2,479, respectively, with $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion.

Jollibee Group founder Tony Tan Caktiong was tied at No. 2,479 with a net worth of $1.3 billion.

Completing the Filipino billionaires in this year’s list is Eusebio Tanco, chairman of STI Education Systems Holdings and digital entertainment company DigiPlus Interactive, who ranked at No. 2,623 with $1.2 billion in net worth.

Forbes said that a total of 3,028 billionaires made up this year’s list, 247 more than the previous year.

“Not only are there more of them, but they’re richer than ever, worth $16.1 trillion in total – up nearly $2 trillion over 2024,” it said.

Forbes also said that a record 15 people worldwide now have 12-figure fortunes, up from 14 last year and zero in 2017.

The US recorded more billionaires than any other country, with 902 on the list, followed by China with 450 billionaires and India with 205.

Overall, Elon Musk dethroned French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault for the top spot in this year’s list with a net worth of $342 billion.

Forbes said that Musk is the first person to reach the $300-billion mark.

Mark Zuckerberg bagged the No. 2 spot with a net worth of $216 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos with $215 billion, Larry Ellison with $192 billion and Bernard Arnault and family with $178 billion.

Forbes said that US President Donald Trump more than doubled his net worth to an estimated $5.1 billion, thanks to his shares of Trump Media & Technology Group and big cash inflows from his recent crypto ventures.