SM magnate Henry Sy, Sr has topped the Forbes Philippines Rich list for the ninth successive year.
Forbes this week released the list compiled using financial information from public data, analysts and other sources.
Forbes’ list ranked 91 year old Sy as having a net worth of US$13.7 billion. Sy started to build SM, then Shoe Mart, in 1958 and grew it to become the Philippines’ biggest retailer with businesses in banking and properties.
JG Summit founder John Gokongwei, 90, is ranked second richest with $6.8 billion. In March, Gokongwei turned over the reins as CEO of Robinsons Retail to his only son Lance. Aside from retail, JG Summit’s business portfolio includes an airline, food, power and hotels.
Food retailer Tony Tan Caktiong comes sixth. His net worth is estimated at $4.3 billion as Jollibee lays out massive expansion plans in the Philippines and abroad. Caktiong co-owns real estate development company DoubleDragon, owned by new billionaire Edgar Sia. Sia, 39, is 17th on the list, with $1.2 billion, double his worth of a year ago.
Jaime Zobel de Ayala and his family is the seventh richest with a net worth of $4.1 billion. Like SM, Robinsons and other local businesses, Ayala is expanding its reach into Philippine provinces with new malls and property development projects.
