A total of 14 Filipino billionaires made it to this year’s ranking by Forbes Magazine of the Richest People in the World with real estate and retail magnate Manuel B. Villar Jr. still at the head of the pack. Villar was ranked as the 232rd richest in the world with a net worth of $8.6 billion which includes his real estate empire Vista Land & Lifescapes and growing retail business led by AllHome and AllDay Supermarkets as well as expanding restaurant and café business led by The Coffee Project. To calculate net worths, Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 10, 2023. The second richest Filipino is container terminal and gaming tycoon Enrique K. Razon Jr. at No. 312 with a net worth of $7.3 billion who controls International Container Terminal Services Inc. and Bloomberry Resorts Corporation. San Miguel Corporation President Ramon S. Ang came next at No. 852 with a net worth of $3.4 billion followed by the SM Group’s Henry Sy Jr. and real estate and liquor baron Andrew Tan who are tied at No. 1,217 with each having a net worth of $2.5 billion. Tied at No. 1,272 with a net worth of $2.4 billion each are siblings Hans Sy and Herbert Sy as well as taipan Lucio Tan followed by three more Sy siblings Harley Sy and Teresita Sy-Coson who are tied at No. 1,368 with a net worth of $2.2 billion each and Elizabeth Sy at No. 1,575 with a fortune of $1.9 billion. Rounding up the list are the Gokongwei Group’s Lance Gokongwei at 2,020 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, Jollibee’s Tony Tan Caktiong at No. 2,259 with $1.2 billion, and Iñigo Zobel at No. 2,540 with $1 billion. Forbes reported that “Nearly half of all billionaires are poorer than they were a year ago” as “Falling stocks, wounded unicorns and rising interest rates translated into a down year for the world’s wealthiest people.” “Globally, we counted 2,640 ten-figure fortunes, down from 2,668 last year. Altogether, the planet’s billionaires are now worth $12.2 trillion, a drop of $500 billion from $12.7 trillion in March 2022,” the magazine said. It added that, “Nearly half the list is poorer than a year ago, including Elon Musk, who falls from No. 1 to No. 2 after his pricey acquisition of Twitter helped sink Tesla shares. Bernard Arnault, head of luxury goods giant LVMH, takes his place as the world’s richest person, marking the first time a citizen of France leads the ranking.” The United States still boasts the most billionaires, with 735 list members worth a collective $4.5 trillion. China (including Hong Kong and Macau) remains second, with 562 billionaires worth $2 trillion, followed by India, with 169 billionaires worth $675 billion. There were 150 fresh faces in the latest Forbes Richest List who made the billionaires list for the first time in 2023 such as basketball legend LeBron James ($1 billion), golf great Tiger Woods ($1.1 billion) and fashion icon Tom Ford ($2.2 billion). The average age of the world’s billionaires is 65, and the oldest billionaire is 101-year-old insurance magnate George Joseph ($1.3 billion). Notably, there were plenty of youngsters who have gotten super rich super quickly, including 15 people who are 30 years old or younger. The list includes Michal Strnad ($2 billion), 30, whose Czechoslovak Group, which he took over from his father in 2018, is one of the biggest suppliers of arms and ammunition to the Ukrainian army.