The brown taipan, Manuel B. Villar Jr., who recently disclosed that one of his real estate companies earned ₱1 trillion, is back as the Philippines’ richest man, after being briefly replaced by port and gaming magnate Enrique K. Razon Jr., as ranked by Forbes Magazine.
There are 15 Filipinos in Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billionaires List, which includes six heirs of Henry Sy Sr., making the Sy family the most represented in the list. Insurance, education, and gaming tycoon Eusebio Tanco first entered the prestigious ranking after his DigiPlus Interactive Corp.’s stellar performance on the stock market.
The self-made, 75-year-old Villar is ranked 117th on Forbes list of the world’s 3,028 billionaires, with a net worth of $17.2 billion, followed by 65-year-old Razon at #227, with a net worth of $10.9 billion. Razon and Harley Sy are the youngest Filipinos on this year’s list.
San Miguel Corp. Chairman Ramon S. Ang is the third richest Filipino, ranked #979 with $3.7 billion, while taipan Lucio Tan came in fourth at #1,219 with $3 billion. At 90 years old, Tan is the oldest among Filipino billionaires.
Fifth to 10th on the list are Sy siblings Henry Sy Jr. (#1,573 with $2.3 billion), Hans Sy (#1,626 with $2.2 billion), Herbert Sy (#1,688 with $2.1 billion), Harley Sy and Teresita Sy-Coson (tied at #1,850 with $1.9 billion), and Elizabeth Sy (#2,019 with $1.7 billion).
Coming in at 11th is Andrew Tan (#2,110 with $1.6 billion), followed by Co spouses Lucio (#2,356 with $1.4 billion) and Susan (#2,479 with $1.3 billion), Tony Tan Caktiong (#2,479 with #1.3 billion), and Tanco (#2,623 with $1.2 billion).
In this year’s list, Forbes, the definitive ranking of the world’s richest people, showed that wealth has surged in ways never seen before. This year’s list features 3,028 billionaires, the most since the list’s inception in 1987.
The world’s wealthiest people are collectively worth a record-breaking $16.1 trillion. A record 15 people worldwide now have 12-figure fortunes, up from 14 last year and zero in 2017.
The controversial Elon Musk dethroned French luxury goods titan Bernard Arnault for the top spot, as Musk’s net worth grew by 75 percent to an estimated $342 billion.
His jump in wealth follows big new valuations of xAI and SpaceX, and a 12-month rise in Tesla stock, despite the recent selloff. Musk is the first person to reach the $300-billion mark.
United States (US) President Donald Trump more than doubled his net worth to an estimated $5.1 billion, thanks to his shares of Trump Media & Technology Group and big cash inflows from his recent crypto ventures.
“It’s another record-breaking year for the world’s richest people, despite financial uncertainty for many and geopolitical tensions on the rise. And, from Elon Musk to Howard Lutnick and the other billionaires taking over the US government, they’re growing more and more powerful,” says Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes Senior Editor, Wealth.
Mark Zuckerberg follows Musk in the No. 2 spot with an estimated net worth of $216 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos at No. 3 ($215 billion), Larry Ellison at No. 4 ($192 billion) and Bernard Arnault and family ($178 billion), rounding out the top five.
The 2025 ranking features 288 newcomers, including musician Bruce Springsteen, Chipotle founder Steve Ells, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai, actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Scale AI co-founder Alexandr Wang, the youngest self-made billionaire in the world at age 28.
The US has more billionaires than any other country, now boasting a record 902 on the list, worth a combined $6.75 trillion. China follows, with 450 billionaires, while India comes in third, with 205.
The $100 Billion Club: A record 15 people worldwide now have 12-figure fortunes, up from 14 last year and zero in 2017. This elite group is worth $2.4 trillion in all, meaning just 0.5 percent of the world’s 3,028 billionaires hold approximately 15 percent of all billionaire wealth.
Meanwhile, 107 people dropped off the list this year, including Hermès heir Nicolas Puech and Hobby Lobby’s David Green, among others. An additional 32 billionaires died.