Four Pinoy billionaires in annual Forbes list

Four Filipinos made it to the latest Forbes billionaire list, which has ballooned to a record 1,210 personalities in the wake of the global economic recovery.

Andrew L. Tan of diversified Alliance Global Group, Inc. and Enrique K. Razon, Jr. who heads International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) made their debuts after stock prices of their companies surged in 2010.

They joined mainstays Henry Sy and Lucio Tan whose fortunes were both estimated to have risen by over a third to $5.8 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively, as of February 2011.

Mexican telco mogul Carlos Slim Helu, whose net worth was valued at $74 billion, continued to top the Forbes list, coming ahead of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

Rounding out the top 10 list were: fashion house owner Bernard Arnault, Larry Ellision of Oracle, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, Amancio Ortega of the apparel brand Zara, Brazilian mining and oil tycoon Eike Batista, Mukesh Ambani who runs petrochemical businesses and Christy Walton of Walmart.

The Philippines’ richest man, mall magnate Mr. Sy, moved up the rankings to become the 173rd wealthiest in the world.

Lucio Tan — the taipan behind the country’s largest cigarette maker, second largest beer brewer, and Philippine Airline, among other interests — similarly rose 70 spots to 512th.

Andrew Tan was in 540th with a net worth of $2.2 billion after Alliance Global — the holding company for his real estate, food and beverage and gaming businesses — enjoyed a tripling in value on the stock exchange in 2010.

He had first figured on Forbes Asia magazine’s Philippine Rich List in 2007 when his net worth reportedly grew to $1.1 billion from $480 million.

“Andrew Tan holds a lot of equity in many companies. And the stock market continues to perform beyond or within expectations,” Astro C. del Castillo, managing director of brokerage firm First Grade Holdings, Inc., said in a telephone interview.

Mr. Razon, worth $1.1 billion, was 1,057th.

The value of Mr. Razon’s ICTSI more than doubled in the Philippine Stock Exchange in 2010, the same year he pocketed profits from the sale of a stake in National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to Mr. Sy.

“Mr. Razon continued to invest heavily not just domestically but also outside the country and 2010 was the start of the recovery,” Mr. del Castillio explained.

More Filipino tycoons, he added, are sure to make the billionaires list as many here have sizeable assets, he added without elaborating.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who figured as the fourth richest Filipino worth $1.4 billion according to Forbes Asia’s separate ranking last year, was not in the global list. — BusinessWorld