Over half of Philippine tycoons see fortunes drop; Sy siblings still on top

More than half of the Philippines' 50 richest saw their net worths decline in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which dragged the economy and brought unemployment rate to record highs.

According to its writeup, Forbes said over half or 32 of the 50 listees saw their net worths decline this year, but the Sy siblings remained on top of the list.

The six Sy siblings of the SM Group — Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert, and Harley — retained their top position with a combined net worth of $13.9 billion even after their fortune declined by $3.3 billion.

The siblings made it to the list for the first time in 2019, replacing their late father Henry Sy, Sr. who held the top position for 11 consecutive years.

Property tycoon Manuel Villar retained his position as second on the list with a $5-billion net worth, even with a $1.6-billion drop in his fortune during the period.

The banking industry was hard hit this year, with the Ty siblings of GT Capital Holdings Inc. and the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) registering a 46% decline in their fortune to $1.4 billion.

Security Bank Corp.'s Frederick Dy likewise saw a decline of 46% to $190 million after shares in the local lender fell 52% over the past year.

ABS-CBN Corp. majority shareholder Oscar Lopez, who also serves as director of the company, saw his net worth nearly halve to $240 million after Congress rejected the company's license bid.

In terms of the listees who saw their fortunes rise this year, DoubleDragon Properties Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Edgar "Injap" Sia II was the biggest gainer.

He added $300 million or 75% to his net worth to $700 million, attributed to the successful maiden offering of his MerryMart Consumer Corp. in June.

Drops and debuts

According to Forbes, six names were dropped of this year's list including Megawide Construction Corp. chief Edgar Saavedra after shares fell by over 65%.

Also dropped from the list was San Miguel Corp. chairman and chief executive officer Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., who passed away in June.

His estate was inherited by his wife, Soledad Oppen-Cojuangco, who came in at 16th on the list. The fortune is shared with their four children Carlos, Luisa, Margarita, and Mark.

The Gokongwei siblings also debuted at the 4th spot this year, replacing their father John Gokongwei, Jr. — founder and chair of JG Summit Holdings Inc. — who died in November 2019.

The spot was shared by the siblings Lance, Faith, Hope, Lisa, Marcia, and Robina.

Forbes also noted that four returned to the richest list this year — Mikel Aboitiz, Lourdes Montinola, Michael Romero, and Luis Virata.

"[T]heir comeback was largely due to this year's lower cutoff, which fell 23% from last year's list to $100 million," said Forbes.

The list was compiled using information from the individuals, stock exchanges, analysts, private databases, government agencies, and other sources.

Forbes said net worths were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on August 28, 2020.

Financial ratios and other comparisons were used to compute the values of private companies and similar publicly traded companies.

"Since 2017, we’re no longer including families in which the founder of the business has died, unless the successors are wealthy enough to make the cutoff individually; in these cases, we combine the inherited fortunes," said Forbes.

Below is the complete list for 2020:

1. Sy Siblings - $13.9 billion
2. Manuel Villar - $5 billion
3. Enrique Razon, Jr. - $4.3 billion
4. Lance Gokongwei and Siblings - $4.1 billion
5. Jaime Zobel de Ayala - $3.6 billion
6. Andrew Tan - $2.3 billion
7. Lucio Tan - $2.2 billion
8. Ramon Ang - $2 billion
9. Tony Tan Caktiong - $1.9 billion
10. Lucio and Susan Co - $1.7 billion
11. Mercedes Gotianun - $1.5 billion
12. Ty Siblings - $1.4 billion
13. Vivian Que Azcona & Siblings - $1.34 billion
14. Isidro Consunji & Siblings - $1.3 billion
15. Roberto Ongpin - $1.2 billion
16. Soledad Oppen-Cojuangco - $1.15 billion
17. Ricardo Po, Sr. - $1 billion
18. Inigo Zobel - $990 million
19. William Belo - $900 million
20. Robert Coyiuto, Jr. - $890 million
21. Edgar Sia II - $700 million
22. Dennis Uy - $650 million
23. Campos Siblings -$600 million
24. Dean Lao - $500 million
25. Jacinto Ng - $490 million
26. Mariano Tan, Jr. - $350 million
27. Delfin J. Wenceslao, Jr. - $340  million
28. Tomas Alcantara - $300 million
29. Manuel Zamora - $280 million
30. Carlos Chan - $260 million
31. Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, Jr. - $250 million
32. Oscar Lopez - $240 million
33. P.J. Lhuillier - $230 million
34. Jorge Araneta - $220 million
35. Alfredo Yao - $210 million
36. Eusebio Tanco - $200 million
37. Frederick Dy - $190 million
38. Betty Ang- $185 million
39. Jose Antonio - $180 million
40. Michael Cosiquien - $175 million
41. Jose Ma Concepcion - $174 million
42. Felipe Gozon - $170 million
43. Juliette Romualdez - $160 million
44. Erramon Aboitiz - $150 million
45. Philip Ang - $140 million
46. Michael Romero - $135 million
47. Menardo Jimenez - $125 million
48. Luis Virata - $115 million

49. Mikel Aboitiz - $110 million
50. Lourdes Montinola - $100 million

—KBK, GMA News