Richest Filipinos and Theire Rela Estate Businesses
Real estate is regarded as one of the finest investments to make, and it is not surprising that property and other related holdings are a constant in the portfolios of the Philippines’ wealthiest
On the 30th year of Forbes’ guide to the world’s richest, 14 of the Philippines’ wealthiest individuals made it into the list. Contributing a total of $46 billion to the collective $7.67 trillion net worth of the record 2,043 US dollar billionaires around the world who were listed in 2017, they continue to expand their fortunes, with interests in a variety of industries, including banking, construction, retail and fast food, just to name a few.
Real estate is one of the more common businesses among them. The richest of the rich in the country can be counted on to either own a variety of properties for residence and business, have a hand in companies that are involved in real estate management and/or development, or have outright have the industry as the main reason why they are some of the wealthiest in the country.
Henry Sy
Ranking: PH #1; World #94
Net worth: $12.7 billion
The Philippines’ wealthiest for the tenth consecutive year, Henry Sy maintains his fortune via SM Investments Corporation (SMIC), which he founded in 1958 as a shoe store named Shoe Mart. Presently comprised of shopping mall development and management, retail, real estate development, banking, and tourism, SMIC is now run mostly by Sy’s children and is recognized as the largest retailer in the country.
SMIC’s subsidiary SM Prime Holdings, Inc. is the largest property conglomerate in the Philippines and one of the real estate industry leaders in Southeast Asia. It is the largest mall developer, both in terms of gross floor area (GFA) and geographical reach, and presently operates close to 60 malls in the Philippines and six malls in China.
SM Prime also specializes in residential properties, with various premium middle-market developments across Metro Manila via SM Development Corporation (SMDC) and luxury residences in Tagaytay City via Highlands Prime, Inc. The Mall of Asia Complex, a residential, business and tourism district located on reclaimed land from the Manila Bay in Pasay City, is owned and developed by SM Prime; and is the home of SM Mall of Asia, SMX Convention Center, and the Mall of Asia Arena, as well as SMDC projects Sea, Shell, and Shore Residences.
John Gokongwei Jr.
Ranking: PH #2; World #250
Net worth: $5.8 billion
Retaining his place as the second wealthiest person in the Philippines is John Gokongwei Jr., the founder and chairman emeritus of JG Summit Holdings, Inc., one of the largest conglomerates in the country. JG Summit has interests in various industries, such as banking, air transportation, food manufacturing, hotels, petrochemicals, power generation, publishing and telecommunications.
JG Summit’s real estate and property development subsidiary is Robinson’s Land Corporation (RLC), which is involved in the development and operation of shopping malls and hotels; and is also one of the country’s most well-known developers of mixed-use properties, office buildings, and residential houses and condominiums, as well as socialized housing projects in key cities and other urban areas nationwide.
RLC reported earnings of Php6.15 billion for its fiscal year that ended last September 2016, a 7.88 percent increase from the year prior. This was mainly driven by RLC’s 44 malls, as well as residential sales, with the company having a total 79 condominium buildings and residential projects to its name overall. At present, RLC’s portfolio also includes 13 office projects and 15 hotel properties in the Philippines.
Lucio Tan
Ranking: PH #3; World #501
Net worth: $3.7 billion
Rising as the third wealthiest person in the Philippines after being ranked fifth the year before is Lucio Tan, thanks to his present net worth of $3.9 billion. Tan and his family’s fortune are derived from different business interests, which include, but are not limited to, banking, tobacco, food and beverage, mining, milling, and transportation.
Most of these are listed under LT Group, Inc. (LTG), a publicly listed holding group founded by Tan. Under LTG is real estate arm Eton Properties Philippines, Inc., which specializes in high-end and middle income high-rise and horizontal residential developments, office projects, commercial centers, and mixed-use township developments.
To date, Eton Properties has 26 projects under to its name; and has completed seven high-rise condominiums, one mid-rise development, three residential subdivisions, two commercial centers, one events venue, and three BPO hubs. The company also has a foreign counterpart, Eton Properties Ltd, which is an established real estate brand operating in Hong Kong and China.
George Ty
Ranking: PH #4; World #544
Net worth: $3.5 billion
The fourth wealthiest person in the country, George Ty is perhaps better recognized for being denied a bank loan to start a business when he was 19, difficulties of which spurred him to start his own bank a decade later. He founded Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, which is currently the second-largest bank in the Philippines in terms of assets and capital.
Aside from banking, Ty’s GT Capital Holdings also has interests in the auto industry, power generation, and insurance. Its real estate arm is Federal Land, Inc., which specializes in many large-scale developments, such as residential condominiums, office buildings, retail and commercial centers, mixed-use townships, and master-planned communities.
Federal Land’s subsidiaries include Horizon Land Property, which is committed to developing secure and family-friendly communities in the Philippines; Bonifacio Landmark Realty Development Corporation, the developer of luxury hotels and residences like the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Grand Hyatt Manila Residences; and Omni Orient Management Corporation, Federal Land’s property management arm.
Enrique Razon, Jr.
Ranking: PH #5; World #564
Net worth: $3.4 billion
Spanish-Filipino business leader Enrique Razon has made most of his fortune as the chairman and chief executive officer of International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI), the country’s largest port operator; and also operates subsidiaries in Eastern Europe, Africa and the Americas. He inherited the company from his father in 1987, and since then transformed it into an industry leader.
Razon’s wealth expanded in recent years after owning a major stake in Bloomberry Resorts Corp. Among the subsidiaries of Bloomberry are Sureste Properties Inc. (SPI), which develops and operates tourist facilities, including hotels and casino entertainment complexes; and Sureste Realty Corp., which is classified under real estate agencies and appraisers.
Bloomberry is most recognized for owning, developing and managing Solaire Resorts & Casino in Paranaque City. It is in the midst of planning and building a mixed-use developments, which will also feature a casino in Quezon City. The development is reported to rise on a 15,676-square-meter piece of land that SPI purchased from the National Housing Authority (NHA) for Php1.9 billion.
Tony Tan Caktiong & Edgar Sia
Ranking: PH #5 (Tan Caktiong) & #12 (Sia); World #564 (Tan Caktiong) & #1,940 (Sia)
Net worth: $3.4 billion (Tan Caktiong) & $1 billion (Sia)
There is arguably no fast food franchise more recognizable in the Philippines than Jollibee, which Tony Tan Caktiong founded in 1978 after its initial beginnings as an ice cream parlor in Cubao, Quezon City, in 1975. Since then, Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC) has diversified into other fast food and restaurant properties, including Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, and Red Ribbon, among others.
Expanding his business interests, Tan Caktiong partnered with entrepreneur Edgar “Injap” Sia II, the founder of grilled food label Mang Inasal. A 70 percent stake at Mang Inasal was purchased by JFC for $3 billion. Sia also founded Injap Land Corp., which was started in 2009 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sia’s holding company Injap Investments Inc.
In 2012, Tan Caktiong’s HoneyStar Holdings acquired 50 percent of Sia’s Injap Land, resulting in an equal venture renamed DoubleDragon Properties Corp. (DD). DD continues to work on its goal of accumulating 1 million square meters worth of leasable space by the year 2020, almost 70 percent of which will be from a hundred community malls under its CityMall subsidiary, which is in partnership with Henry Sy’s SMIC.
Included in DD’s office portfolio is Jollibee Tower, a 41-story Grade A tower in the heart of the Ortigas Center and DD Meridian Park, the company’s flagship office and commercial block in the Bay Area in Pasay City. Other projects include the five story Uptown Place in Iloilo City and the Skysuites Tower, previously an unfinished residential tower purchased by DD from the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.
David Consunji
Ranking: PH #6; World #630
Net worth: $3.1 billion
A former teacher in Bataan and later a concrete inspector for Kuenzle & Streiff, David Consunji founded D.M. Consunji, Inc. in 1954. The company chairman since its inauguration, Consunji’s business has since ventured into power generation and mining (DMCI Power Inc., Semirara Mining and Power Corp., DMCI Mining) and water utilities (Maynilad Water Services Inc.).
In 1995, he established DMCI Holdings, Inc. to consolidate his businesses. Its real estate arm is DMCI Homes, owned and operated through wholly owned subsidiary DMCI Project Developers, Inc. It officially started its commercial operations in 1999 when it constructed its first medium-rise development, the Lakeview Manors, in Taguig City.
To date, DMCI has constructed a number of commercial establishments, high-rise offices, and residential condominiums in the Philippines. It continues to expand its portfolio, with an initial capital expenditure of over Php12 billion set for 2017. For the first quarter, the company has launched two of the eight projects in its pipeline, Prisma Residences in Pasig City and Mulberry Place in Taguig City.
Andrew Tan
Ranking: PH #7; World #814
Net worth: $2.5 billion
A Chinese immigrant who later moved to the Philippines and studied accounting at the University of the East, Andrew Tan initially built his fortune on brandy company Emperador Distillers, Inc. Along with Emperador, Tan’s holding company Alliance Global has interests in food and beverage, gaming, and real estate, and notably owning the McDonald’s fast food franchise in the Philippines.
Megaworld Corporation is Alliance Global’s real estate arm that is engaged in the development of large-scale, mixed-use townships incorporating residential, commercial, educational, and leisure components. It also provides other services such as project design, construction oversight, and property management. Subsidiaries under Megaworld are Empire East and Suntrust Properties.
Among its landmark projects are Forbes Town Center, a six-hectare commercial and residential district in Bonifacio Global City; and McKinley Hill, a township spanning 50 hectares. The company is also set to build two more office towers, 10-story One Republic Plaza and six-storey Emperador House in Davao City.
Manny Villar
Ranking: PH #8; World #1,376
Net worth: $1.5 billion
While Manny Villar is widely recognized for being a politician, he is best known for supposedly coming from humble background before becoming one of the wealthiest people in the Philippines. He initially worked for one of the country’s largest accounting firms after graduating from the University of the Philippines, but eventually resigned to start his first business, which was delivering seafood to public market stalls.
His foray into real estate began in 1975, when he purchased two reconditioned trucks to start a business delivering sand and gravel for construction companies in Las Piñas. This soon led to building houses, where a loan Villar took out with a rural bank would be the initial investment in his first project, Camella Homes Phase 1 and 2, also located in Las Piñas.
Villar and his family’s Vista Land & Lifescapes (VLL) Inc. is now one of the Philippines largest real estate developers, with interests into housing residential development (Vista Land), and shopping mall and commercial space management and operations (Vista Malls and Star Malls). In 2015, Villar formed another company, Vitacare Healthgroup, Inc., with the intention of building a chain of hospitals nationwide.
Robert Coyiuto, Jr.
Ranking: PH #8; World #1,376
Net worth: $1.5 billion
The son of the late Chinese-Filipino business leader Robert Coyiuto, Sr., Robert Coyiuto, Jr. has seemingly been destined to himself become a business leader. The senior Coyiuto, after being eased out from managing his uncle’s Pioneer Insurance, subsequently founded Prudential Guarantee & Assurance. The junior Coyiuto is presently the company’s chairman.
Coyiuto Jr. also owns a 30 percent stake in the privately held National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and a stake in publicly listed Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Corporation. He is most known for also owning PGA Cars, a Philippine distributor of luxury car brands Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley. Coyiuto was also once independent director of Robinsons Land Corporation.
Coyiuto’s only other involvement with real estate is his 0.26 percent share of Cebu Property Ventures & Development Corporation (CPVDC). A full-line property developer with headquarters at Cebu Business Park, Cebu City, CPVDC is engaged in real estate development, sale of residential condominium units, and lease of commercial office spaces.
Ramon Ang
Ranking: PH #9; World #1,468
Net worth: $1.4 billion
A mechanical engineering graduate of Far Eastern University, Ramon Ang went on to become one of the Philippines’ most prominent business titans. He is best known for being the vice chairman, president, and chief executive officer of San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Ang gained control of SMC upon acquiring the shares of Chairman Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr.
San Miguel Properties, Inc. (SMPI) is the real estate arm of SMC. SMPI particularly specializes in community and subdivision development, but notably includes premium serviced living apartment Makati Diamond Residences among its projects. The project in Legaspi Village, Makati was built via SMPI subsidiary SMPI Makati Flagship Realty Corp.
Apart from his significant interests in SMC, Ang also serves as the Chairman of Cyber Bay Corporation and Eagle Cement Corporation. The latter is a 100 percent Filipino-owned company that manufactures and distributes cement under the brands Eagle Cement Advance and Eagle Cement Strongcem. The company will reportedly go public in May 2017.
Eduardo Cojuanco Jr.
Ranking: PH #10; World #1,678
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Although he no longer has majority control over San Miguel Corporation, Eduardo “Danding” Cojuanco Jr. will always be seemingly synonymous with the SMC brand. He remains the company’s chairman, and holds the same position in many of SMC’s subsidiaries. These include San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc., Ginebra San Miguel Inc., and Petron Corporation.
In terms of real estate, the politician, diplomat, and businessman also presently serves as the chairman and CEO of San Miguel Properties, Inc. It is the surviving corporation of the merger between SMPI and Monterey Farms, and presently includes Legacy Homes Inc. (LHI) and Excel Unified Land Resources Corporation (Excel) as its subsidiaries.
LHI is engaged in the development and sale of low- and medium-end residential housing projects, while Excel specializes in the acquisition, development, and sale of high-end real estate properties. Cojuangco also reportedly also owns a private cement manufacturing business; and has invested in orchards, stud farms, and wineries in Australia.
Roberto Ongpin
Ranking: PH #11; World #1,795
Net worth: $1.1 billion
The great grandson of Roman T. Ongpin, a Filipino-Chinese businessman and philanthropist, former Trade Secretary Roberto Ongpin founded Belle Corporation in 1990. Belle developed Tagaytay Highlands based on his concept of a golf course, club facilities, and residential community all located in one place. He also served as director of Araneta Properties, Inc. until 2009 and Makati Shangri-La Hotel & Resort, Inc. from 2003 to 2014.
These days, Ongpin serves as the chairman of the board, chief executive officer and director of Alphaland Corporation. Some of Alphaland’s high-end and top-of-the-line projects include Alphaland Southgate in Makati, Balesin Island Club in Polillo, Quezon, and the Alphaland Baguio Mountain Lodges.
Comments