Fifteen Filipino tycoons made it to Forbes Magazine’s "World’s Richest People" list for 2025, led by property magnate Manuel Villar with an estimated net worth of $17.2 billion. 

Villar, known as the “brown taipan,” recently announced that Golden MV Holdings Inc. achieved nearly P1 trillion in net profit in 2024, the highest in Philippine history.

Following Villar is ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon with $10.9 billion, while San Miguel Corp. chair Ramon Ang ranks third with a net worth of $3.7 billion. Lucio Tan places fourth with $3 billion.

The children of late SM founder Henry Sy Sr. also made the list individually: Henry Jr. ($2.3 billion), Hans ($2.2 billion), Herbert ($2.1 billion), Harley ($1.9 billion), Teresita ($1.9 billion), and Elizabeth ($1.7 billion).

Other notable Filipino billionaires include Andrew Tan ($1.6 billion), Lucio Co ($1.4 billion), Susan Co ($1.3 billion), Tony Tan Caktiong ($1.3 billion), and Eusebio Tanco ($1.2 billion).

This year’s list is slightly shorter than the 2024 roster, which featured 16 Filipino billionaires. Forbes attributed the ranking to factors like changes in stock prices and exchange rates.

Globally, Elon Musk topped the list with an estimated $342 billion, followed by Mark Zuckerberg ($216 billion) and Jeff Bezos ($215 billion). Forbes reported a record-breaking 3,028 billionaires this year, with a collective wealth of $16.1 trillion, marking a $2 trillion increase from 2024.

“For the world’s richest people, it’s another record-breaking year despite financial uncertainty and geopolitical tensions,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes Senior Editor, Wealth.