5 richest Filipino billionaires’ combined wealth rise by $7.6B

Manuel Villar, chairman of property developer Vista Land & Lifescapes

Manuel Villar, chairman of Vista Land & Lifescapes. Photo from Manuel Villar's website

Property magnate Manuel Villar, 75, stands as the wealthiest among the featured Filipino billionaires.

His business empire spans several sectors, though his largest venture remains Golden MV Holdings, known for its focus on mass housing developments and memorial parks.

Villar’s portfolio also includes a range of publicly listed companies: property giant Vista Land & Lifescapes, retail chains like Vista Malls, AllHome, and AllDay Marts, as well as real estate investment trusts VistaREIT and Premiere Island Power REIT.

Last September, Golden MV bought several firms that together owned 366 hectares of prime real estate within Villar City, a 3,500-hectare township south of Manila that Villar envisions as the pinnacle of his legacy, PhilStar reported.

The firm then received shareholder approval in December to amend its corporate charter and change its name to Villar Land Holdings Corp.

Villar’s net worth was estimated at $17.2 billion as of March 7, up from last year’s $11 billion, according to Forbes.

Enrique Razon Jr., chairman of port operator International Container Terminal Services

Enrique Razon Jr, chairman of Bloomberry Resorts Corporation, smiles during a Reuters interview inside his office in Port Area, Metro Manila December 17, 2012. Photo by Reuters

Enrique Razon Jr., 65, chairs International Container Terminal Services, the country’s largest port operator established by his grandfather in 1916.

The firm handled more than 13 million twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo in 2024 through its global network of 32 terminals across 19 countries. It spent $517 million in 2024 to expand and modernize ports, including in Mexico and Brazil, and has earmarked a record $580 million for further expansion this year.

Razon’s business interests go beyond shipping and logistics. He also has controlling stakes in casino operator Bloomberry Resorts and Prime Infrastructure Capital, which manages assets in water and energy.

His net worth grew by $900 million from last year to $10.9 billion as of March 7.

Ramon Ang, chairman and CEO of conglomerate San Miguel

Ramon Ang, chairman and CEO of San Miguel Corporation. Photo courtesy of the World Economic Forum

The fortune of Ramon Ang, 71, stems from San Miguel Corporation, one of the Philippines’ oldest conglomerates.

Founded in 1890 as a brewery, the company has since transformed into a powerhouse with diverse interests spanning food and beverages, packaging, fuel and oil, energy, and infrastructure. One of its subsidiaries, Petron, operates the country’s only oil refinery.

San Miguel’s core net income, excluding non-recurring items, surged 22% to PHP52.3 billion (US$929 million) last year, driven by strong sales across most of its business lines, on revenues of PHP1.6 trillion, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Ang’s wealth stood at $3.7 billion as of March 7, up from $3.5 billion last year.

Lucio Tan, founder and chairman of holding company LT Group

Lucio Tan, chairman of LT Group. Photo courtesy of the company

Lucio Tan, 90, began his business journey in 1982 with the launch of Asia Brewery, which at the time was the chief competitor to San Miguel in the local brewing industry.

He later established LT Group, bringing Asia Brewery under its umbrella and steadily expanded into tobacco, liquor, beverages, banking, and real estate.

In 2024, LT Group posted a 12% increase in revenue to PHP129 billion, driven by strong performance across most of its core businesses.

Tan’s fortune has climbed to $3 billion as of March 7, marking a 20% rise from the previous year.

Henry Sy Jr., vice chairman of conglomerate SM Investments

Henry Sy Jr., chairman of the Philippines' shopping mall giant SM Prime attends a shareholders' meeting in Manila on April 14, 2015. Photo by AFP

Henry Sy Jr., 71, is the eldest son and one of the six children of late billionaire Henry Sy Sr., who founded and built SM Investments into one of the Philippines’ largest conglomerates.

What began as a shoe store in 1958 has since evolved into a powerhouse that includes property developer SM Prime Holdings, banking giant BDO Unibank, and investments in geothermal energy, logistics, and shipping. The group posted a net profit of PHP82.6 billion last year, up 7% from 2023.

Shares of SM Investments dropped 15% in the first two months of this year, trimming the wealth of the six Sy siblings, who inherited their father’s business after his passing in 2019.

Henry Jr.’s net worth fell from $2.5 billion in 2024 to $2.3 billion as of March 7.

His siblings occupied the next five spots on the ranking with individual net worths of $1.7-2.2 billion, reflecting declines of 15.4-20.8%.