Henry Sy remains RP’s richest man

According to the 2009 Forbes Asia Philippines Rich List that ranked 40 of the wealthiest in the Philippines, mall mogul Henry Sy remained to be the country’s wealthiest with a net worth of $3.8 billion. Sy is the chairman and founder of the SM Group of Companies.

The 10 top richest in the country also included Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., who is running for president in the 2010 elections, with $530 million. He is 9th on the Top 10 list.

Following Sy in second place is another business tycoon, Lucio Tan. A director of the Philippine National Bank, this former electrical engineer’s other holdings include Fortune Tobacco, Asia Brewery and Philippine Airlines. According to Forbes Asia, some of his fortunes are still sequestered because they allegedly are assets belonging to late former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Ayala Corp.’s Chairman emeritus Jaime Zobel de Ayala holds on to the No. 3 spot with $1.2 billion—a figure that has remained unchanged since 2008.

Also included in this year’s Top 10 list are Andrew Tan John Gokongwei, Tony Tan Caktiong, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., Enrique Razon Jr. and George Ty.

A notable figure in the 2009 list was David Consunji, who was ranked No. 17. Consunji’s net worth jumped to $300 million from $105 million, as his construction firm DM Consunji Inc.’s stock more than doubled from the previous year.

According to Forbes Asia, the Philippines’ 40 richest are now worth a combined $16.4 billion, from $14.2 billion a year ago. Twenty-five tycoons are richer, including nine in the Top 10.

The magazine said that also nine of the tycoons this year are poorer compared to last year. Mining mogul Luis Virata (No. 33) fared the worst among them with a net worth of $56 million, down 80 percent from last year as falling profits hit his firm Nickel Asia.

Forbes Asia added that the minimum net worth needed to enter the list was $38 million. In compiling this year’s list, the magazine calculated the public assets of the tycoons using share prices and exchange rates as of August 14. For privately held wealth, Forbes Asia estimated what they would be worth if made public. This ranking, unlike that in the Forbes billionaire list, includes family holdings shared by individuals and their children, grandchildren and siblings. –Angelo Cantera, Reporter, Manila Times