Six business tycoons from the Philippines led by SM group patriarch Henry Sy made it to Forbes Magazine’s 2012 list of richest people on the planet.

The list includes Lucio Tan, Andrew Tan, Enrique Razon Jr., Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. and Roberto Ongpin. It was the first time for Cojuangco and Ongpin to join the roster of the world’s billionaires (in US dollar terms).

Forbes published on March 7 its latest gallery of the world’s richest people, an all-time high 1,226 billionaires, who were worth a record $4.6 trillion. When the magazine started this tradition of counting billionaires around the world 25 years ago there were only 140 names.

At the top of Forbes’ global list is Mexican Carlos Slim, 72, who has an estimated net worth of $69 billion. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, 56, is second and investment guru Warren Buffet, 81, chair of Berkshire Hathaway, third

Sy and family ranked 116th richest in the world, cementing his title as the wealthiest man in the Philippines. Forbes estimated his net worth at $8 billion.
 

Banking, retailing

The 87-year-old Sy leads SM Investments, the dominant player in Philippine banking, retailing and shopping mall development. It is also a fast-growing player in residential and tourism-oriented property development. Sy’s group has recently added mining to its portfolio.

Lucio Tan and family ranked 314th on the list with an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion. Lucio Tan, 77, has interests in tobacco and liquor manufacturing, airline, property and banking. He has vast property interests in mainland China and is likewise a big investor in Guam.

Property tycoon Andrew Tan ranked 601st on the global list with a net worth of $2.1 billion. Andrew Tan, 59, built a fortune on real estate development, particularly in offering high-rise residential units to the mass market and in pioneering mixed-use developments to attract business process outsourcing firms.

He has also successfully ventured into the gaming business in partnership with the Genting group of Malaysia. He likewise has consumer-based interests, including a beverage unit and the Philippine chain of McDonald’s fast-food stores.

Razon, 52, is the fourth and the youngest tycoon from the Philippines with an international rank of 683rd. Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.9 billion. He has built a fortune on international port operations.

Razon has unloaded his interest in the country’s electricity transmission superhighway and is now building a casino-hotel complex in Pagcor City. He also has an interest in oil exploration.

Cojuangco, 76, is the fifth Philippine tycoon on the list with a global rank of 960th. The 76-year-old chair of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.

Cojuangco has a 15-percent stake in San Miguel which has diversified from its traditional food and beverage businesses into power generation, power distribution (via a minority but significant stake in Manila Electric Co.), oil refining, mining, toll road, airport, banking and telecommunications.

Ongpin, 75, is ranked 1,153rd on the list with an estimated net worth of $1 billion. Ongpin brought in London-based Ashmore as a partner in Philippine investments in recent years. Apart from his interest in San Miguel and Petron Corp., Ongpin is into real estate, mining and recently into banking. Compared to last year, Sy, Lucio and Andrew Tan and Razon significantly increased their wealth.

Sy was worth $5.8 billion in 2011 while Lucio Tan, Andrew Tan and Razon were worth $2.3 billion, $2.2 billion and $1.1 billion, respectively. With the local stock market outperforming most bourses in the region, the market capitalization of their respective companies has surged.

Counting malls

“The Philippines’ richest man, Henry Sy started out in his father’s bodega (warehouse) and then opened a shoe store. He now controls the Philippines’ largest mall developer, with 42 locations; has five in China, including one that opened last year. Shares in SM Investments, which makes up bulk of his fortune, popped 50 percent in the past year. BDO Unibank, run by daughter Teresita Sy-Coson, is the country’s largest bank,” Forbes said.

BDO is worth over P1 trillion, the first local bank to breach this mark in asset base. The Sys also own another big bank, China Bank, which is run by the tycoon’s sons. The retailing group, operating through a chain of SM Department stores, hypermarts, supermarkets and SaveMore, had a turnover of P148.2 billion in 2011.