Forbes Released the Philippines’ 50 Richest 2017
Global business magazine Forbes has released the names of the Philippines’ richest men and women for 2017. Most of the names came as no surprise, but there’s one new name that made a debut on the list.
The top five names may be very familiar to most of us.
92-year old shopping tycoon Henry Sy is still the undisputed richest man in the country with a net worth of US $18 billion. He has been at the top of the list for 10 years since 2007.
Among the billionaires that ranked high on the list, Sy is also the one who gained the greatest increase in his wealth. Other businessmen who secured their spot on the list by shooting up their net worth are David Consunji of DMCI Holdings, Edgar Saavedra and Michael Cosiquien of Megawide Construction, Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp., and Eusebio Tanco of STI Holdings who debuted on the 45th spot in the list.
Henry Sy has been the richest man in the Philippines for 10 years. /IMAGE SM Prime website
Other businessmen struggled to keep up due to the new political environment in the country but still managed to maintain a spot among the country’s richest. For instance, Alfredo Yao saw a 26% decline in his net worth, attributed to the current administration’s tax reform which includes the increased tax on sugary drinks. Some mining moguls went missing from the list, while Philip Ang of Nickel Asia scrambled to return at #50 after disappearing from the list last year.
Five women also made it to the Philippines’ 50 richest, with two – Mercedes Zobel (shared net worth with cousin Inigo Zobel) and Mercedes Gotianum – joining the billionaires in the upper ranks.
See the complete list of Forbes’ Philippines’ 50 Richest 2017 at www.forbes.com.
Written by Rizelle “Rei” Leaño
Sources: Forbes.com, Rappler
Images grabbed from SM Prime, GoNegosyo
