Posted on: August 8, 2024, 03:01h.
Last updated on: August 8, 2024, 03:11h.
Casino owners in the Philippines grabbed the top two spots on Forbes’ 2024 list of the richest Filipinos.
Forbes Asia on Wednesday unveiled its “Philippines’ 50 Richest” list. The Sy siblings, who inherited their fortune from their late father, Henry Sy Sr., retained the top spot, as they have for more than two decades.
The six Sy children are the heirs to SM Investments Corporation, a conglomerate with holdings in banking, real estate, retail, and energy. The business portfolio includes City of Dreams Manila, an integrated resort casino in the Philippines’ capital city that’s operated by Hong Kong-based Melco Resorts.
SM Investments’ Belle Corporation is the City of Dreams landlord. The casino is located in Manila’s Entertainment City and leases its operations to Melco.
The Sy family is worth an estimated $13 billion per Forbes. While that’s down $1.4 billion from a year ago, the extravagant wealth was easily enough for the Sys to stay on top.
GGRAsia, an online media group focused on Asian gaming industries, reports that the Sy children are mulling additional investments in the Philippines gaming industry, specifically in the Clark Freeport Zone.
Bloomberry Billionaire Second
After the Sy kids, Forbes reports that Enrique Razon Jr. is the second richest Filipino with a net worth of approximately $11.1 billion. Razon’s business empire centers around his International Container Terminal Services, the Philippines’ largest port operator.
Razon also controls Bloomberry Resorts, which owns and operates Solaire in Entertainment City and is a direct competitor to Sys’ City of Dreams. Bloomberry expanded its Manila footprint with Solaire North, a $1 billion development in Quezon City, in May.
Bloomberry’s holdings additionally include Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino in South Korea. In February, Casino.org reported that Bloomberry was “open to the possibility” of unloading the boutique casino resort on Jeju Island south of the Korean Peninsula.
Unlike the Sy fortune, Razon’s net worth has continually climbed since 2020. Forbes says his fortune has ballooned from $3.4 billion to $5 billion in 2021, to $6.7 billion in 2022, and to $7.3 billion last year. Razon added nearly $4 billion over the last year to his wealth.
Manuel Villar is third on the Philippines rich list at $10.9 billion. Villar’s portfolio is based in real estate, specifically mass housing developments, but he’s long been rumored to be considering a play in casino gaming.
In late 2022, Casino.org reported on rumblings that Villar will transform his Global South shopping complex in Metro Manila into an integrated resort casino. Villar said in July that those plans remain, with his intent being to open a casino at the mall as early as mid-2025.
Rest of the Richest
Two other members of the “Philippines’ 50 Richest” list are invested in casinos.
At No. 13 is Andrew Tan at $1.8 billion. Tan’s Alliance Global conglomerate is the landlord of Newport World Resorts (formerly Resorts World Manila). Alliance operates the Manila casino resort through its subsidiary, Travellers International Hotel Group, Inc.
Further down the list is Dennis Uy at No. 41 with a net worth of $305 million, a far cry from the $810 million his net worth was estimated at by Forbes in 2022. The millionaire inherited his wealth through his father’s oil empire but has since tried his hand at gaming and resort development. It’s largely been a bad bet.
Uy continues to shop his unfinished Emerald Bay casino resort in Cebu.
Forbes Asia says the combined wealth of the 50 Filipino tycoons year-over-year climbed $400 million from $80.4 billion to $80.8 billion.
