Manny Villar: Wealth, Business Empire, and Life Outside Work
As the richest man in the Philippines, Manny Villar's life in business and politics has been defined by grit, savvy, and a little bit of luck. He learned a lot about entrepreneurship from his mother, watching her in Divisoria growing up.
Nowadays, he's a real estate magnate who has built companies that have provided more than 500,000 homes to middle-class Filipinos nationwide. Apart from his real estate empire, he's even gone into retail, food and beverage, water infrastructure, and more. Not too bad for someone who once was grinding it out as a shrimp trader in the market.
The Chairman of Vista Land & Lifescapes, Starmalls, Inc., and Golden Bria Holdings, Inc., Villar's rise to the top of the country's richest list is unprecedented. Here's everything we know about Manny Villar.
Net worth: $8.6 billion (P489.5 billion)
Age: 73
ALSO READ:
Enrique Razon Jr.: Wealth, Business Empire, and Life Outside Work
Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala: Wealth, Business Empire, and Life Outside Work
In His Youth
Born in Tondo, Manila, Manuel "Manny" Villar was the second child out of nine raised by government employee Manuel Montalban Villar, Sr. and seafood merchant Curita Bamba. The family lived a simple life. Villar's mother spent most of her days in the Divisoria Market. It was there that the billionaire-to-be learned the persistence it takes to create a business. The former senator would help his mother out until college.
He would go to high school at the Mapúa Institute of Technology. At the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Villar was a working student as he was obtaining his business administration degree in 1970. He would return to the university to finish his master's in accounting in 1973. The young Villar was said to have been impatient in school, really. He had big entrepreneurial dreams to conquer.
After his studies, he became an accountant for a while, even working for one of the leading accounting firms in the Philippines, Sycip Gorres and Velayo. Eventually, he'd leave to start his own seafood delivery business. Villar would also become a financial analyst at the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines.
His start in real estate infrastructure development, on the other hand, can be traced to 1975. It was with an initial capital of P10,000 that Villar bought trucks and got his sand-and-gravel business going in Las Piñas. From there, he would take out a loan from a rural bank, , which then led to the construction of his mass housing projects.
Manny Villar's Business Empire
From there, he would take out a loan from a rural bank, which then led to the construction of his mass housing projects, founding C&P Homes. This later became Camella Homes. His first project was Camella Homes Phase 1 and 2 in Las Piñas, starting out with 160 units. These would primarily cater to middle-class and lower-middle-class families. Since then, he has become an industry leader in Southeast Asia.
By the '80s, Villar would expand his operations to include Primewater Infrastructure Corp. and Golden Haven, Inc. The former would establish water distribution systems in and around the Philippines while the latter mostly focused on memorial lots, apart from developing columbarium facilities. His biggest asset remains his stake at Golden MV Holdings (formerly Golden Bria).
Of course, he's still best known as a real estate tycoon. Villar's family-owned Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc. is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. His portfolio includes Vista Land, which now also focuses on commercial retail and office developments, as well as, Vista Estate, which are mixed-used high-rise residential and commercial properties around the Philippines. The Vista Mall properties would flourish, as well. These feature about 32 shopping malls, 69 commercial centers, and more. Villar's eye for retail and food and beverage would carry over to the creation of AllDay, and Coffee Project.
Villar's Impact on Philippine Economy and Society
In 1992, Villar began his political career, becoming a congressman during the Ramos administration. He had been a valuable member of the economic team in the Lower House.
Among one of his first big accomplishments was helping conceive the New Foreign Investments Act, as well as restructuring of the Central Bank of the Philippines. During his time in the House, he was an environmentalist (he led the passage of the Clean Air Act) and a champion for entrepreneurs. He would also lead measures like the Retail Trade Liberization Act, the New Central Bank Act, the New Securities Code, and the New Banking Act. By the 2000s, Villar became known as the first House Speaker in Philippine history to impeach a President.
As a senator, he became known for filing bills dedicated to alleviating poverty. These included measures for accessible health care, shelter, social services, eradicating violence against women and children, and more. He had even been an active sponsor of the Sipag at Tiyaga Caravan, which was a livelihood program dedicated to serving the underprivileged.
He is also the first post-war public official who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President.
Outside the Boardroom
Villar remains active in business and in politics, albeit in different ways now. His family has made quite the name for themselves in the Lower and Upper House these days. They remain a close ally of the President. Villar's wife, Cynthia, and son, Mark, currently sit as senators. His daughter, Camille, on the other hand, is a congresswoman in the family's hometown in the South of Metro Manila. The billionaire's other son, Paolo, is President and CEO at Vista Land & Lifescapes.
Interestingly enough, the billionaire used to play a lot of tennis, he once said. He's still a fan of the sport. Villar reportedly also has an extensive art collection, featuring mostly Amorsolo paintings in his residences.
