2024 Forbes Billionaires list: Villar still Philippine’s richest

MANILA, Philippines —  Real estate and retail tycoon Manuel Villar has maintained his position at the top of the country’s richest list.

The chairman of the Villar Group sustained his spot as the country’s wealthiest man in the Forbes 2024 World’s Billionaires list, ranking No. 190 with a net worth of $11 billion.

Villar was the only Filipino who made it to the top 200.

He is followed by ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., chairman of International Container Terminal Services Inc., who sits at No. 224 with a net worth of $10 billion.

Ramon Ang, president and CEO of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., was at No. 920 with a net worth of $3.5 billion, while Hans Sy came in at No. 1,286 with a net worth of $2.6 billion.

It was a three-way tie at No. 1,330 among two other Sy siblings, Henry and Herbert, and tobacco and airlines tycoon Lucio Tan, all of whom had a net worth of $2.5 billion.

Other members of the Sy family made up the next three on the list: Harley Sy at No. 1,380 with a net worth of $2.4 billion, Teresita Sy-Coson at No. 1,438 with $2.3 billion and Elizabeth Sy at No. 1,545 with $2.1 billion.

Property tycoon Andrew Tan is at No. 1,623 with a net worth of $2 billion, followed by Jollibee Group founder Tony Tan Caktiong at No. 2,152 with a net worth of $1.4 billion.

The husband-and-wife tandem of Lucio and Susan Co of retailer Puregold ranked at Nos. 2,410 and 2,545, respectively, with net worth of $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion.

Tied at No. 2,545 with Susan was budget carrier, retail and property tycoon Lance Gokongwei, who also has a net worth of $1.1 billion.

Completing the Filipino billionaires in the list is William Belo, founder home improvement and construction supply retailer Wilcon Depot, who was at No. 2,692 with a net worth of $1 billion.

The 38th annual World’s Billionaires list, the definitive ranking of the world’s richest people, featured a record-high 2,781 billionaires.

This year’s list has 141 more billionaires than last year and 26 more than the previous record set in 2021.

Overall, French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault topped the ranking for the second consecutive year after his net worth expanded by 10 percent to an estimated $233 billion.

He was followed by Elon Musk with an estimated net worth of $195 billion and Jeff Bezos with $194 billion.

Completing the top five were Mark Zuckerberg with a net worth of $177 billion and Larry Ellison with $141 billion.

“The world’s billionaires are richer than ever. Collectively, they are worth a record-breaking $14.2 trillion, up by $2 trillion from our 2023 list and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, set in 2021,” Forbes said.