Villar is chair of Vista Land & Lifescapes, which is run by his son Manuel Paolo, and controls the P1.5-trillion Golden MV Holdings—the developer of the 3,500-hectare Villar City estate, whose share price has more than doubled over the past year.
He also holds major stakes in five other listed firms including Vistamalls, VistaREIT, AllHome, AllDay, and Premiere Island Power REIT.
Real estate power fuels billionaire surge
Villar leads a group of fifteen Filipinos included in Forbes’ 2025 billionaire rankings, which is mainly based on stock prices and exchange rates from March 7, 2025.
He overtakes Razon, who holds a net worth of $10.9 billion, driven by his holdings in ports and logistics. Razon, who owns International Container Terminal Services and Bloomberry Resorts, was worth $11.1 billion in Forbes’ previous richest list last August, briefly overtaking Villar.
His wealth has since declined due to a slowdown in the gaming sector. At the time, Villar was worth $10.9 billion.
Razon, Ang, and Tan round out the top five
Ramon Ang, CEO of San Miguel Corp., comes next with $3.7 billion, credited to his diversified interests in food and beverage.
Lucio Tan, at age 90, holds $3 billion, maintaining his fortune from diversified holdings.
SM heirs and retail magnates hold strong
He is followed by six Sy siblings: Henry Sy Jr. with $2.3 billion, Hans Sy with $2.2 billion, Herbert Sy with $2.1 billion, Harley Sy with $1.9 billion, Teresita Sy-Coson with $1.9 billion, and Elizabeth Sy with $1.7 billion.
Andrew Tan, who chairs Alliance Global, holds $1.6 billion from real estate, food, and liquor.
Lucio Co, founder of Puregold and S&R, is listed with $1.4 billion, while Susan Co follows with $1.3 billion.
Tony Tan Caktiong, the founder of Jollibee, is also listed with $1.3 billion in food and beverage. Eusebio Tanco, chair of online gambling giant DigiPlus Interactive, joins the list with $1.2 billion from digital entertainment, ports, and education.
