Philippine mall magnate Henry Sy has been named the country's richest man, according to an annual ranking done by Forbes magazine.
Forbes estimated Sy's net worth at $4.2 billion or approximately P191.94 billion, making him the richest man in the Philippines and 201st in the world's billionaire ranking.
The magazine said net worth is determined by tallying "stakes in publicly traded and privately held companies, real estate, paintings, gems, yachts and planes, plus hoards of cash." It said privately held companies are valued by coupling estimates of revenues or profits to valuation metrics for similar public companies.
Forbes said the 85-year-old Sy started his fortune with a small shoe store in Manila and built it into one of the Philippines' largest retail groups.
Sy's son, Hans, currently manages SM Prime, which is the Philippines largest shopping mall developer with 36 malls. Other assets of the Sy family are Banco de Oro Unibank, run by daughter Teresita Sy-Coson; and SM Investment.
Another Filipino in the Forbes billionaires' list is tycoon Lucio Tan who has an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion (P77.6 billion).
Forbes said Tan owns the Philippines' largest cigarette maker, Fortune Tobacco; Philippine Airlines; Asia Brewery; mining operations, banks and property developments in Hong Kong.
The magazine said Tan is being prosecuted by the Presidential Commission on Good Governance, which claims that much of the tycoon's wealth belonged to former president Ferdinand Marcos and should be returned to the country.
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