Five businessmen with strong ties to sports were among the 17 Filipinos named to this year’s Forbes World’s Billionaires List.
Enrique Razon Jr., Lucio Tan, Hans Sy, Ramon Ang and Inigo Zobel made it to the list composed of 2,755 billionaires from around the world, as estimated by the popular business magazine.
Razon, whose ICTSI is considered as one of the country’s leading terminal operators, is second among Filipinos behind former Senator Manny Villar with a net worth of $5 billion (P243 billion).
The 61-year-old is known as a biggest supporter of Philippine golf, particularly as chairman and president of the Philippine Golf Tour. Razon’s ICTSI also had a brief stint in the Philippine Basketball League in the early-2000s.
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Third is Tan, estimated at $3.3 billion (P160.6 billion), due to his business interests with Asia Brewery and Philippine Airlines, as well as serving as chairman of University of the East.
The 86-year-old’s Tanduay may no longer be in the PBA and the PBA D-League, but the company serves as a major backer of Batangas City in the MPBL, winning the inaugural title in 2018. Tan is also supporting UE’s basketball team in the UAAP.
Fourth on the list with $3 billion (P146 billion) is Sy, one of six children of late SM founder Henry Sy who were also part of the Forbes list.
Sy, 65, helped turn around the National University sports program since the family bought the school in 2008, resulting in UAAP championships in several sports including men’s and women’s basketball.
Ranked 11th with a net worth of $2.2 billion (P107 billion) is Ang, the president and vice chairman of San Miguel Corporation.
Under Ang, SMC has witnessed its three PBA teams — San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia — win the last 11 championships.
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Zobel, who has a stake with Ayala Corporation and also serving on the board of directors of SMC, follows Ang at No. 12 with $1.4 billion (P68.1 billion)
The 64-year-old is known as an avid polo player, following the footsteps of his father Enrique Zobel. A polo field named after him in Calatagan, Batangas served as one of the venues of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.