The Sy siblings – Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert, and Harley – remain the richest in the Philippines with a combined net worth of $13.9 billion, Forbes Magazine revealed Thursday.

(Clockwise) Ramon Ang, Manny Villar, Teresita Sy Coson (center), Enrique Razon Jr., Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Lucio Tan, Tony Tan Caktiong, Lucio Co, and Andrew Tan
(FORBES / MANILA BULLETIN)

Among the siblings, Hans has the highest net worth at $2.5 billion which makes him the 1,063rd richest person in the world. He is the chairman of National University and China Banking Corp.

The second wealthiest in the Forbes' Philippines Richest List is former Senate President Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. with a net worth of $5 billion. Worldwide, Villar ranks No. 450.

Villar is the chairman of Vista Mall, formerly known as Starmalls. He is also the chairman of Vista Land & Landscapes.

President Duterte ally Dennis Uy of Mislatel Consortium is 22nd this year with a net worth of $650 million.

This year’s biggest gainer was Edgar Sia II, chairman of DoubleDragon Properties.

“He added $300 million, or 75 percent, to his net worth, which is now $700 million. That rise was partly due to the successful IPO of his MerryMart in June; shares of the grocer have nearly doubled since the listing as quarantine measures boosted sales,” Forbes said.

Forbes Magazine said tycoons on the 2020 Forbes Philippines Rich List saw their collective wealth fall 22 percent to US$60.6 billion as the COVID19 pandemic disrupted the country’s economy.

A total of 32 in the list saw their net worth decline as the country’s benchmark stock index, the PSEi, reflected the economic challenges the pandemic poses, falling 26 percent since fortunes were measured a year ago.

The Sy siblings took the biggest hit in dollar terms although they remain at No. 1 with $13.9 billion. Their fortune was down by $3.3 billion amid a contracting economy and soaring unemployment.

Villar held on to his rank as the country’s second richest, even as his wealth fell $1.6 billion to $5 billion.

Razon moves one spot up to No. 3 this year with a net worth of $4.3 billion, down from $5.1 billion previously.

Banking fortunes were especially hard hit.

The Ty siblings (No. 12, $1.4 billion) of GT Capital and Metrobank saw their fortunes fall 46 percent, while Frederick Dy (No. 37) was down more than 46 percent to $190 million as shares in his Security Bank fell 52 percent over the past year.

Fast food billionaire Tony Tan Caktiong (No. 9, $1.9 billion) suffered a pandemic- induced blow to his wealth this year.

The lack of dine-in services cut sales by nearly half and sent his company’s shares down more than 40 percent, reducing Tan Caktiong’s net worth by 37 percent. Oscar Lopez (No. 32), who holds a majority stake in TV network ABSCBN, saw his net worth nearly halve to $240 million after lawmakers in July rejected the company’s bid to renew its 25-year broadcast license; its shares have lost close to 65 percent of their value over the past year.

The two newcomers on the list include Lance Gokongwei and his siblings, who debuted at No. 4 with a net worth of $4.1 billion. They replace their father John Gokongwei Jr., who passed away in November, 2019. Gokongwei shares this fortune with his five sisters Faith, Hope, Lisa, Marcia and Robina.

The estate of San Miguel’s Eduardo Cojuangco, who passed away in June, was inherited by his wife, Soledad Oppen-Cojuangco, who ranks No. 16 with a net worth of $1.15 billion. She shares the fortune with their four children Carlos, Luisa, Margarita and Mark.

Six names dropped off the list, including Edgar Saavedra of Megawide Construction.

Megawide’s shares fell by more than 65 percent after reporting a first-half net loss of P398 million ($8 million). Megawide’s co-founder Michael Cosiquien, however, stayed on the list as most of his wealth is tied to an earlier sale of the company’s shares.

Cosiquien ranks No. 40 with a net worth of $175 million.

Four tycoons returned to the ranks, largely due to this year’s lower cutoff, which fell 23 percent from last year’s list to $100 million. They are Michael Romero (No. 46, $135 million) of Globalport 900; Luis Virata (No. 48, $115 million) of Nickel Asia, Mikel Aboitiz (No. 49,$110 million) of Aboitiz Equity Ventures and Lourdes Montinola (No. 50, $100 million) of Far Eastern University.

The list was compiled using information from the individuals, stock exchanges, analysts, private databases, government agencies and other sources.

Net worths were based on stock prices and exchange rates as of the close of markets on August 28, 2020.

Private companies were valued by using financial ratios and other comparisons with similar publicly traded companies.

Since 2017, the list no longer includes families in which the founder of the business has died, unless the successors are wealthy enough to make the cutoff individually; in these cases, inherited fortunes are combined.

Meanwhile, Amazon's Jeff Bezos remain the wealthiest person in the world with a net worth of $113 billion. Cosmetics mogul and reality television star Kylie Jenner maintained her spot as the youngest billionaire in the world.