MANILA, Philippines – Ports tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. is the Philippines’ richest person based on Forbes’ 40th annual World’s Billionaires 2026 list released Tuesday night, March 10. 

Razon was followed by taipan Lucio Tan, whose business empire spans tobacco, alcohol, banking, airlines, and property.

The net worth of 2025’s richest Filipino, real estate magnate Manuel Villar, dropped sharply following a scandal involving alleged misleading disclosures of his property conglomerate Villar Land Holdings, formerly Golden MV Holdings. 

Razon, 66, chairman of ports multinational International Container Terminal Services Inc., saw his net worth increase by $5.6 billion, or from $10.9 billion in 2025 to $16.5 billion in 2026. 

The net worth of Tan, 91, went up slightly from $3 billion in 2025 to $3.5 billion in 2026. His conglomerate includes Fortune Tobacco, Asia Brewery, Philippine National Bank, Philippine Airlines, Eton Properties, among others.

The net worth of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation chair Ramon Ang, 72, has been comparatively steady for the past four years, from $3.4 billion in 2023, $3.5 billion in 2024, $3.7 billion in 2025, to $3.6 billion in 2026. 

The 15 Filipinos on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires 2026 list, plus their net worth as of March 1, 2026, and sources of wealth, are:

1. Enrique Razon Jr.: $16.5 billion — ports/logistics 
2. Ramon Ang: $3.6 billion — diversified/food and beverage
3. Lucio Tan: $3.5 billion — diversified 
4. Manuel Villar: $3.1 billion — real estate
5. Henry Sy Jr.: $2.5 billion — diversified
6. Hans Sy: $1.8 billion — diversified
7. Herbert Sy: $1.8 billion — diversified
8. Harley Sy: $1.7 billion — diversified
9. Andrew Tan: $1.6 billion — diversified
10. Lucio Co: $1.6 billion — retail
11. Teresita Sy-Coson: $1.6 billion — diversified
12. Elizabeth Sy: $1.5 billion — diversified
13. Susan Co: $1.5 billion — retail
14. Tony Tan Caktiong: $1.1 billion — food
15. Eusebio Tanco: $1 billion — digital entertainment, ports, education

Villar topped the Philippine ranking in 2025, but his net worth plummeted by $14.1 billion, or from $17.2 billion in 2025 to $3.1 billion in 2026, partly due to a revaluation of his real estate assets and the impact of the financial scandal on his stocks.

The Philippines’ corporate regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission, filed criminal complaints against Villar Land Holdings Corp., its related companies, and senior executives, accusing the group of market manipulation, insider trading, and misleading disclosures. Villar has denied the charges, saying Villar Land has “consistently upheld the highest standards of good corporate governance.”

Digital gaming tycoon Eusebio Tanco, also chairman of STI Education System Holdings, who landed on Forbes’ list in 2025 for the first time, saw his net worth fall slightly from $1.2 billion in 2025 to $1 billion in 2026 after the government imposed tighter regulations on online gaming platforms. His DigiPlus currently dominates the Philippine online gaming sector, with a market share of around 40% in the first half of 2025.

SM Group founder Henry Sy was the richest on Forbes’ list for many years until his death on January 19, 2019. His six children — Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert, Harley, Teresita, and Elizabeth — have since replaced him on the list.

Spouses Lucio and Susan Co, cofounders of supermarket/hypermarket chain Puregold Price Club, have seen their net worth rise by roughly $400 million, or from $1.2 billion in 2024 to $1.6 billion in 2026. Lucio’s water utility firm recently acquired Villar’s troubled PrimeWater Infrastructure Corporation.

Andrew Tan is head of Alliance Global Group, which includes Megaworld, Emperador Incorporated, and McDonald’s Philippines, among others.

Jollibee Foods Corporation founder Caktiong’s conglomerate now includes not just Filipino favorite Jollibee but also international brands, including Chinese dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan. JFC also recently acquired South Korean chain Compose Coffee. (READ: Where’s the lucky 8 in Jollibee Group’s new logo?)

Elon Musk is richest, Trump is 645th

Forbes said its 2026 list includes “3,428 billionaires, up by 400 from last year’s record-breaking number, and by far the most since the list’s inception in 1987.”

“It’s the year of the billionaire,” said Chase Peterson-Withorn, Forbes senior editor for wealth. “The planet added more than one billionaire per day over the past twelve months as the AI-powered stock market boom boosted fortunes to previously unimaginable heights.”

American Elon Musk is the richest on the list, with a net worth of $839 billion as he moves closer to being the world’s first trillionaire. 

“His net worth skyrocketed by half of a trillion dollars from last year, thanks to a rise in the value of Tesla, and SpaceX, which is aiming to go public in 2026,” Forbes said. 

Larry Page ($257 billion) and Sergey Brin ($237 billion), cofounders of Google, were second and third, respectively; Amazon’s Jeff Bezos ($224 billion) was fourth; and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($222 billion) was fifth. 

Forbes said US President Donald Trump’s “fortune increased by 27%, to an estimated $6.5 billion, thanks largely to crypto dealings and his New York fraud penalty being thrown out.” He ranked No. 645 worldwide. 

Forbes said its World’s Billionaires list “is a snapshot of wealth using stock prices and exchange rates from March 1, 2026.” – Rappler.com