'Magnificent Seven': Philippines' Billionaires Join President Bongbong Marcos in Washington
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Seven of the country’s wealthiest individuals joined President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s in his official visit to the United States. One of them, Alliance Global Group, Megaworld Corp. and Emperador's Kevin Tan, nicknamed the group the ‘Magnificent Seven.’
Besides Tan, the others in the group include JG Summit Holdings president and CEO Lance Gokongwei, Ayala Corporation chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel De Ayala, Enrique K. Razon of International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI) and Bloomberry Resorts Corp., SM Investments Corp.'s Tessie Sy-Coson, Aboitiz Group president and CEO Sabin Aboitiz, and San Miguel Corp. president and CEO Ramon Ang.
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The companies that the seven tycoons lead have a combined market capitalization of over P3.3 trillion, or over half of the total gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines in 2022, which was about P5.24 trillion.
“Magnificent Seven in full force, 100 percent support for our beloved country,” Tan captioned his post on his social media accounts on Friday.
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According to Marcos, his official visit to the United States yielded as much as $1.3 billion in investment pledges that will create about 6,700 new jobs in the Philippines.
A report in the government-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA) said that Marcos was able to entice numerous American business groups to either expand their operations or create new ventures in the Philippines, adding that the investment pledges “are a sign of trust and confidence in doing business in the country.”
Six of the seven tycoons share a light moment with President Bongbong Marcos at the Blair House, the US President's guest house at the White House. In photo are (from left): Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Kevin Tan, President Bongbong Marcos, Sabin Aboitiz, Tessie Sy-Coson, and Enrique K. Razon. Not in photo is Ramon Ang
“They are all committed to be part of this development journey that we have embarked upon. We will return to the Philippines with over USD1.3 billion in investment pledges that have the potential to create around 6,700 new jobs for Filipinos within the country,” Marcos said. “When realized, these investments will support our country’s economic recovery efforts and further strengthen the foundations of our economic environment. We expect even more investment that will materialize once these companies firm up their plans.”
