MANILA— The Sy family continues to dominate Forbes Magazine’s 2021 list of the top 50 richest people in the Philippines.
In fact, despite the pandemic, these tycoons in the prestigious list still managed to recover and saw its collective wealth rise 30 percent to US$79 billion this year.
According to Forbes, the Sy siblings of the late Henry Sy, have garnered around US$2.7 billion staying at the top spot with their combined net worth of US$16.6 billion.
Earning second spot is the 71-year old former Senator Manuel Villar, who has built a multi-billion dollar empire, and whose wealth rose by US$1.7 billion to US$6.7 billion.
Enrique Razon Jr., the ports and casino tycoon who has recently took control of Manila Water Co. Inc. from the Zobels, retained his hold of third spot, and still managed to increase his net worth up by US$1.5 billion to US$5.8 billion.
Landing on fourth spot was Lance Gokongwei and his siblings, heirs of the late JG Summit Holdings Inc., founder John Gokongwei. Together, they collected a net worth of US$4 billion while Jaime Zobel de Ayala secured fifth place with US$3.3 billion.
According to Forbes, despite the destruction of COVID-19, the economy managed to reach double-digit growth in this year’s second quarter, while investor sentiment stayed blithe and has fueled a 13-percent stock index rise from a year ago.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Forbes Philippines Twitter account)