3 New Filipino Tycoons Make it to Forbes Billionaires List 2025
Forbes has released this year’s list of Philippines billionaires, which has gone up to 18 from 16 last year. The new entrants include Converge ICT Solutions Inc.’s CEO Dennis Uy and Maria Uy, and STI Educational Systems chairman Eusebio Tanco joining the fold.
The Sy siblings topped the list for the second year in a row, surpassing tycoons such as Manny Villar, Ramon Ang, the Ayalas, and Enrique Razon, Jr. The Sy family of the SM Group still held on to the top spot even after a $1.2 billion drop in their wealth.
Collectively, the wealth accumulated by the top 50 richest Filipinos is worth over $86 billion, rising by six percent from P80.8 billion a year earlier.
The magazine attributed this to domestic demand and an uptick in infrastructure investments and the Philippine economy expanding by 5.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, which was still lower than the 5.9 percent growth posted a year earlier.
The country’s economic managers expect the Philippine economy to grow by 5.5 to 6.5 percent this year, which is lower than its previous target of six to eight percent due to “heightened global uncertainties."
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The Dennis and Maria Uy run one of the largest broadband providers in the Philippines, servicing more than 2.7 million Filipinos in the first quarter of the year. Converge also made Forbes Asia’s list of 200 small and midsized publicly traded companies with sales above $10 million and below $1 billion.
The fiber internet service provider also saw its total revenues reach P10.8 billion in the first quarter of the year, a 13.21 percent increase from P9.54 billion from the same period last year. In 2019, New York-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus invested about $225 million in Converge to bolster the firm’s network expansion efforts.
The Uys took the company public in 2020, raising more than $500 million in one of the largest local initial public offerings in recent years.
Tanco also joined the company of the richest tycoons as STI now has over 63 schools nationwide, 41 percent of which are franchised. He also serves as chairman for digital entertainment company DigiPlus Interactive, which handles BingoPlus and Philippine First Insurance, and is president of shipping and logistics firm Asian Terminals.
The list also highlights familiar names within the Philippine elite, who continue to dominate these lists and are likely to do so for the foreseeable future.
Ports and casino magnate Enrique Razon, Jr. kept his second place spot with a net worth of $11.5 billion. He is the chairman of International Container Services, Inc. and Bloomberry Resorts Corp.
Property tycoon and former Senator Manny Villar was third with a net worth of $11 billion.
San Miguel Corp. Chairman and Executive Officer Ramon Ang followed with a fortune of $3.75 billion, and above Isidrio Consunji and his siblings of DMCI Holdings, Inc. with a combined net worth of $3.7 billion.
Another prominent family is the Que-Azconas, who took over the late Mercury Drug Corp. President Vivian Q. Azcona with a fortune of $3.6 billion. Her son Steven now heads the chain of drugstores. The Ayalas of the Ayala Corp. conglomerate ranked seventh with a net worth of $3.4 billion, while Lucio Tan is in eighth place with a net worth of $3.2 billion.
Making it to the top 10 billionaires in the country were Puregold Price Club, Inc. founders Lucio and Susan Co, who were worth $3 billion, and Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee Foods Corp. chairman’s with a fortune worth $2.9 billion.
Lance Gokongwei and his siblings made the list with a combined fortune of $1.8 billion, derived mostly from their stakes held in JG Summit Holdings that has interests in airlines, telecom, banking, food, power and property. The group also includes Universal Robina, one of the largest food and beverage companies in the country started by their father John Gokongwei, Jr. in 1954 as a simple cornstarch plant. (Esquire Philippines is published by Summit Media, a company owned and managed by the Gokongwei Group of Companies).
Forbes set a minimum net worth of $185 million to make the 2025 list of the 50 richest in the Philippines, higher than the $170 million set last year.
