Ports and casino magnate Enrique Razon Jr. is the richest Filipino on the 40th annual Forbes World’s Billionaires List.
The list released by Forbes showed that there are 15 billionaires in the Philippines, led by Razon.
Razon’s net worth surged by more than 50% to $16.5 billion, equivalent to roughly P974 billion. He also climbed 52 spots to rank 175th out of 3,428 billionaires globally.
He is also the only Filipino ranked among the world’s top 200 billionaires.
Razon’s fortune is largely tied to his stakes in port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. and gaming firm Bloomberry Resorts Corp..
Several Filipino business leaders also appeared on the list, including Ramon Ang, president and CEO of San Miguel Corporation, who ranked 1,189th with a net worth of $3.6 billion.
Lucio Tan followed at No. 1,223 with $3.5 billion, while real estate tycoon Manuel Villar ranked No. 1,376 with a net worth of $3.1 billion. Henry Sy Jr. of the SM Group ranked No. 1,676 with about $2.5 billion.
He was followed by his brothers Hans Sy and Herbert Sy, each with a net worth of $1.8 billion, and Harley Sy with $1.7 billion.
Andrew Tan of Megaworld Corporation also had a net worth of $1.7 billion. Meanwhile, Lucio Co, founder of Puregold Price Club Inc., and Teresita Sy-Coson, vice chair of SM Investments Corporation, ranked No. 2,481 with $1.61 billion each.
Tony Tan Caktiong, chairman of Jollibee Foods Corporation, ranked No. 3,185 with $1.1 billion, while Eusebio Tanco, chairman of DigiPlus Interactive Corp., ranked No. 3,332 with an estimated net worth of $1 billion.
Globally, Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and SpaceX, topped the list for the second consecutive year with an estimated net worth of $389 billion.
Forbes said this year’s list reached a record 3,428 billionaires with a combined wealth of $20.1 trillion — the highest since the ranking began in 1987.
The surge in wealth reflects booming markets and rapid technological advances that have pushed fortunes to new highs around the world, Forbes said.
