MANILA, Philippines — Real estate mogul Manuel Villar, who chairs property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes, emerged as the only Filipino in Forbes Magazine’s top 200 billionaires in 2024.
He ranked 190th in this year’s list, up from 232nd in 2023, as his wealth grew 28 percent to $11 billion.
The Sy siblings in the the banking, property and retail businesses of conglomerate SM Group have combined wealth of $14 billion but they were ranked individually in the list.
Hans Sy was at 1,286th with net worth of $2.6 billion; Henry Jr. and Herbert at 1,330th with $2.5 billion each; Harley at 1,380th, $2.4 billion; Teresita Sy-Coson, at 1,438th, $2.3 billion, and Elizabeth at 1,545th, $2.1 billion.
Following Villar is ports tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. who ranked 224th, with his net worth rising to $10 billion in 2024 from $7.3 billion.
Ramon Ang of food and beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. ranked 920th with $3.5 billion, up from $3.4 billion.
The combined wealth of the country’s richest tycoons totaled $48.2 billion as their businesses benefited from postpandemic recovery.
According to Forbes, there are now 2,781 billionaires across the globe, 141 more than last year as their fortunes swelled despite geopolitical unrest and “lingering inflation.”