Henry Sy, Sr.

(Chinese: ; pinyin: Sh Zhchng; Pee h-e-j: Si Ch-sng; born

December 25, 1924) is a Chinese Filipino businessman with interests in retailing, real
estate, hospitality, banking, mining, education including healthcare services. He
pioneered the establishment of SM Malls, anchored by Shoemart Department Store and
Supermarket earning him the title, the Philippines' Retail King. He is the chairman of
SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the holding corporation for all his business interests in his vast
business empire. In 2011, Forbes Magazine listed him as the richest man in the
Philippines.
In 1958, Sy established a small shoe store in Quiapo, Manila that marked the
establishment of SM Prime Holdings. In November 1972, the small shoe store became
SM Quiapo, SM's first standalone department store.
On December 25, 1985, he established his first SM Supermall, SM City North EDSA.
He is the Philippines' richest man, gaining $5 billion in 2010, amid the global financial
crisis. The huge gain was due to his holding company, SM Investments Corporation,
which has interests in Banco de Oro, inter alia. Forbes magazine's 2008 list of 40
wealthiest Filipinos, revealed the Sy family's net worth was $6.2 billion. Earlier, he was
the second wealthiest individual in the Philippines, next to Lucio Tan, and (as of 2010)
201st in the world.
Sy is considered a tai-pan. The Sy group is the operator of Banco de Oro and owner of
Chinabank. In 2006, he bought the remaining 66% of Equitable PCI Bank, the
Philippines third largest lender, in which he already had a 34% stake, and merged it with
Banco de Oro in 2007. The merger created the Philippines' second largest financial
institution with resources of close to $17 billion. Rumors say that the Sy family has a
personal stake of $4 billion in these three banks, although there is no sufficient evidence
to strongly substantiate that.
In August 2005, Sy's stake in the San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia's largest food
and beverage conglomerate, reached 11%. He sold that stake in October 2007 for $680
million.
Henry Sy, Sr., was named "Management Man of the Year" by the Makati Business Club
in 1999 and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La
Salle University in January of that year. He organized the SM Foundation Inc., which
helps underprivileged and promising young Filipinos. Several of his children hold senior
management positions in his companies, although he has groomed daughter Teresita
Sy-Coson and his grandchildren Hailey Sy-Coson, Darcie Sy, Lance Harold Sy, Cheska
Sy, Honey Sy, Janella Sy, Sarita Sy, Samantha Ong-Sy and Josiah Sy as his
successors. Sy's holding company, SM Investments Corporation, has consistently been

cited as one of the Philippines best-managed companies. On May 20, 2006, the SM
Mall of Asia, built in the reclamation area of Pasay City, was opened to the public. It is
the third-largest mall in the world as of 2012.

John Robinson L. Gokongwei, Jr. (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese:

E
; pinyin: W Yhu; Pee h-e-j: G Ek-hui
; born August 11, 1926 in Gulangyu,
Xiamen, Fujian Province, China is a Chinese Filipino businessman with holdings in
telecommunications, financial services, petrochemicals, power generation, aviation and
live stock farming. As of September 2014, Gokongwei is the fifth richest entrepreneur in
the Philippines, with a net worth of over $5 billion, ranking behind only to Henry Sy,
Lucio Tan, Enrique Razon and Andrew Tan.[1
John Gokongwei was born into a wealthy Cebu-based family, originally from China's
Fujian province. The family fortune was lost when his affluent father died. John was 13
years old at this time. He initially supported his family by peddling items along the
streets of Cebu from his bicycle.[2] From the age of 17 to 19, he traded using a wooden
boat, taking items to Lucena by sea, and thence to Manila by truck. After the Second
World War, he started his own company called Amasia, which imported textile
remnants, fruit, old newspapers, magazines, and used clothing from the US. During this
time, he courted a young girl, Elizabeth, who would later become his wife. In the early
1950s, along with his brothers and sisters who returned from China, he started to import
cigarettes and whiskey too.
In 1957, seeing that trading would always have low margins and would always be
dependent on government policies, the family concern entered the era of
manufacturing. With a loan of 500,000 pesos from Dr. Albino Sycip, then chairman of
China Bank, and DK ChiongHe started a corn milling plant, producing glucose and corn
starch. The company was named Universal corn products and later expanded into
Universal Robina Corporation) San Miguel Corporation was a big customer of theirs.
In 1961, as his company started to launch brands such as Blend 45 (an instant coffee
brand, to compete with Nestle's Nescafe), John returned to school, to study and obtain
an MBA at the De La Salle University. A decade later, he underwent a 14 week
advanced management program at Harvard.
He is married to Elizabeth, and has six children (1 son and 5 daughters) - Lisa, Robina,
Lance, Faith, Hope and Marcia. All his children play an active role in the Gokongwei
Empire and companies owned by JG Holdings. His only son, Lance Gokongwei, is now
in charge of the Gokongwei Empire, serving as president and COO while John serves
as chairman emeritus.
On August 29, 2007, at the Ateneo de Manila University, Gokongweis biography, John
L. Gokongwei Jr.: The Path of Entrepreneurship, by the Universitys Dr. Marites A.
Khanser, was launched, and it narrated the "riches-to-rags-to-riches" story of the taipan. Gokongwei stated that entrepreneurship is a way out of poverty. Khanser's book
also enumerated the Nine Rules of business success that Gokongwei followed since he
was still a young businessman. In 2002 Gokongwei donated P200-million to the

undergraduate school of management. He also gave donations to University of San

Carlos, Xavier School, De La Salle University, Sacred Heart School and Immaculate
Conception Academy.
On February, 2008, Forbes Asia magazines first Heroes of Philanthropy list included 4
Filipinos Jaime Zobel de Ayala, John Gokongwei, Ramn del Rosario Jr., and scar
Lpez.The list is composed of 4 philanthropists each from 13 selected countries and
territories in Asia.
John Gokongwei and fellow businessman Andrew Gotianun are cousins.
He is the chairman of JG Summit Holdings, one of the largest conglomerates in the
Philippines. In 2010, his company signed a $3billion order with Airbus for refleeting of
his airline, Cebu Pacific Air. From 2003 his telecom company Digital
Telecommunications Philippines spent nearly $800 million for its mobile carrier, Sun
Cellular which is the 3rd largest mobile operator in the Philippines at that time before
selling to the PLDT group for $1.7 billion. He attempted a $1 billion takeover of UIC, a
property giant from Singapore of which he owned in excess of 30%. UIC controls
Singapore Land, one of the biggest property landlord in Singapore. Gokongwei also
owns Universal Robina Corporation, one of the largest manufacturer of snacks in
Southeast Asia. URC acquired Griffins foods in July 2014, a New Zealand food
company for $609 million. In 2013 his company bought the stake of San Miguel
Corporation in MERALCO, the largest power distributor in the country, for close to $1.8
billion. He also controls Robinsons Land, one of the biggest property developers in the
Philippines, which also operates a chain of malls. The Gokongwei Family controls over
$20 billion of combined market capitalization for all the companies they own.

Lucio Tan (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Chn

Yngzi born 17 July 1934) is a Chinese Filipino businessman with interests in banking,
airline, liquor, tobacco and real estate industries.
Tan was born in Amoy (now Xiamen), Fujian, People's Republic of China. His parents
moved to the Philippines when he was a child.
Tan earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Far Eastern University of Manila.[2]
Forbes asserts that Tan "worked as a janitor at a tobacco factory" [3] where he
presumably also "mopped floors to pay for school" [4]
In 2013, Forbes Magazine listed him once again as the second richest billionaire from
the Philippines with a net worth of $7.5 billion.[5
Tan owns Asia Brewery, the second largest brewery in the Philippines, Tanduay
Holdings, one of the world's largest rum makers, and Fortune Tobacco, the largest
tobacco company in the country.
In 1985, Tan bought Century Park Hotel.
Tan established the Tan Yan Kee Foundation in 1986 in honor of the late Tan family
patriarch (see below). In 1988, the Lucio Tan Group of Companies acquired Tanduay
Distillery, the oldest maker of rum, from the Elizalde Family. Tan and his group launched
a plant modernization and expansion program that increased Tanduay's production by
almost 50 times.
Tan later bought the University of the East in 1990, which he considers his biggest feat
in promoting education in the country.
In 1993, the country's national flag carrier, Philippine Airlines, joined the list of
companies that Lucio Tan controls and manages, and has now turned over the business
to Lia Tan.

In 1995, he founded yet another company in the aviation industry. The Macro Asia
Corporation was envisioned to be the leading provider of aviation and logistics services.
This vision has become a reality as Macro Asia Corporation is now the provider of
technical ground handling, engineering and maintenance services, and catering
services to the majority of international airlines.
In 2000, Tan became the primary stockholder of Philippine National Bank. The merging
of PNB and Allied Bank is expected to be completed before the end of this year.
In an effort to consolidate his business empire, he established the L. T. G. (Lucio Tan
Group) as a vast holdings entity for all his stakes in the varied companies that the
empire operates. The move should resolve the growing market perception that to date
there is still no clear indication of who shall rise to succeed and secure his business
empire's continuity.

Jaime Zbel de Ayala y Pfitz, PLH (born 1934), also known as Jaime Zbel, is a
prominent Filipino businessman, philanthropist and art photographer. He is the
chairman emeritus of Ayala Corporation. He has received numerous awards for
business leadership, philanthropy and photography.
Zbel was born in 1934 to Alfonso Zbel de Ayala (1903-1967) and Carmen Pfitz (19091999). His siblings are Maria Victoria ("Vicky") and Alfonso Jr. ("Alfonsito"). He is the
grandson of Enrique Zbel de Ayala and Consuelo de Ayala.
He is married to Beatriz Miranda. Together they have two sons (Jaime Augusto and
Fernando) and five daughters (Beatriz Susana ("Bea Jr."), Patrisha, Cristina, Monica
and Sofia).
Zbel joined Ayala y Compaa in 1958 as executive assistant upon the invitation of his
father. His father placed him under the wing of his cousin Enrique and Uncle Col.
Joseph McMicking. As an executive assistant in the company, he took down notes
during management meetings and gradually learned the ropes of the family business.
He was later transferred to the training section of the insurance companies of the Ayala
group. In 1975, he became president of Filipinas Life Assurance Company (now, BPIPhilam Life Assurance Corporation). In 1984, he succeeded Enrique, as chairman and
president of Ayala Corporation. Zbel successfully steered Ayala through the tense, final
years of the Marcos administration. In 1988, the real estate division was spun off as
Ayala Land, Inc. Ayala Corporation also ventured into new businesses, like automotive
(Ayala Automotive Holdings Corporation).
Zbel stepped down as president of Ayala in 1994 and was succeeded by his son,
Jaime Augusto. He continued as chairman until his retirement in 2006 and became the
chairman emeritus of Ayala since.

Eduardo Murphy Cojuangco, Jr. (born June 10, 1935), also known as Danding
Cojuangco, is the chairman of San Miguel Corporation, the largest food and beverage
corporation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, former Philippine ambassador, and
former governor of Tarlac. In 2005, his personal wealth was estimated at US$527
million. It was estimated that, at one time, his business empire accounted for 25% of the
gross national product of the Philippines. He has been called "one of the country's
leading businessmen".
He was a candidate for the Philippine presidency in 1992, ultimately losing in a tight election to
Fidel V. Ramos. Ramos received 23.6% of the vote. Miriam Defensor Santiago came in second
with 19.7% and Cojuangco came in third with 18.2%.[5]
He tested the political waters in 2003, planning to run in the 2004 Presidential and Local
Elections, but soon withdrew. He was a close adviser and personal friend to former President
Ferdinand E. Marcos, which led him to become estranged from his cousin, Corazon Aquino, who
after Marcos' ouster succeeded him as president. Cojuangco is of partial Irish, Spanish, and
Chinese descent.
Cojuangco was a member of the Rolex 12, a group of 12 men who were closest to Marcos and
allegedly were his enforcers of Martial Law. He is also an honorary member of PMA Class 1951.
Cojuangco also was accused by the military men at the scene of Benigno Aquino, Jr.'s
assassination, as the leader who orchestrated the crime.
He is currently the chairman emeritus of the Nationalist People's Coalition, the party he founded
in 1992 which served as his vehicle to further his aspirations in the 1992 presidential elections.
He was also an advocate for sports in the country through using his company as sponsors for
various events. He is notable for supporting basketball in a huge way since the 1980s as a
basketball godfather for President Marcos with the famed Northern Consolidated teams of coach
Ron Jacobs, and the three SMC owned teams currently playing in the Philippine Basketball
Association (the flagship San Miguel Beermen, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, and San Mig
Super Coffee Mixers).
He studied at San Beda College, De La Salle University, University of the Philippines Los Baos
and California State College.
Besides English and Tagalog, he speaks Ilocano, the language of his mother and Kapampangan,
the original language of the Cojuangcos.