Top 5 Richest Men In The Philippines 2008

1. Henry Sy, Sr. with $4.0 billion

• born December 25, 1924

• 843rd richest man of the world (2008)

• 14th richest man in Southeast Asia (2008)

• acknowledge as the Philippine's "Retail King"

• founder and chairman of SM (shopping malls known as "Shoe Mart"- currently 27 stores) Prime Holdings which is considered to be the largest retailer in the country

• controls Banco de Oro, Universal Bank and China Banking Corporation

• bought the remaining 66% of Equitable PCI Bank

2. Lucio Tan with $2.3 billion

• born July 17, 1934

• known as one of the Philippine's prominent business magnate

• has about 300 companies which deal with liquor, tobacco, aviation, banking and real estate. To only name a few are:

1. Asia Brewery - 2nd largest brewer in the Philippines
   
2. Tanduay Holdings - one of the world's largest rum makers
3. Fortune Tobacco - the largest tobacco company in the Philippines
4. Philippine Airlines or PAL - is the national airline of the Philippines and is the first commercial airline in Asia
5. University of the East or UE - considered as one of the most financially stable universities in the Philippines when talking about assets
   
6. Philippine National Bank or PNB - the country's 5th largest bank
   
7. Allied Bank - the country's 8th largest bank
   
8. Eton Properties Philippines - Lucio Tan Group's grobal real estate brand
   

3. Jaime Zobel de Ayala with $2.0 billion

• born 1934

• 1984 to 1994 - served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ayala Corporation which is the largest conglomerate in the Philippines (founded in 1834)

• 2006 - retired as a Chairman

• currently - CEO of the corporation

• 2007 - Jaime tied with Heny Sy (number 1 richest man in the country) as the country's richest person

• serves as Chairman of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Globe Telecom, Inc., and Integrated Microelectronics, Inc.

• serves as Vice-Chairman of Ayala Land, Inc., Manila Water Co., and the Ayala Foundation, Inc.
  

4. Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. with $840 million

• born June 10, 1935

• also known as Danding Cojuangco

• since July 17, 1998 - Executive Chairman and CEO of San Miguel Corporation which is the largest food and beverage corporation in the Philippines

• since October 21, 1998 - Executive Chairman and CEO of Ginebra San Miguel, Inc.

• since July 13, 2001 - Chairman of Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc.

• since May 22, 2001 - Chairman of San Miguel Purefoods Company, Inc.
  

• owner of Gooree Stud at Mudgee, New South Wales which is a Thoroughbred racing and breeding operation whose horses compete in Australia and New Zealand
  

5. George Ty with $830 million

• founded Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (known as Metrobank) in 1962 which is currently considered to be the largest bank in terms of assets and capital in the country.

• has stakes in the Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) and Philippine Savings Bank which is a Metrobank subsidiary
  

• was the owner of G.T. International Tower (an office skyscraper) in Makati, Philippines (G.T. stands for George Ty)