Why Forbes’ billionaires list is incomplete

Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.  —Ayn Rand

There are people who have money and people who are rich.   —Coco Chanel

It is not only Saudi Arabia’s richest man Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud or America’s real estate mogul and TV celebrity Donald Trump who are complaining about the accuracy of the annual wealthiest billionaires list of Forbes magazine; I’ve been as well, and for years now.

No, don’t get me wrong: this small-scale realty entrepreneur isn’t complaining about having been left out of the list; I’m just shocked at the number of names missing, such as the Zobels of the Ayala Group and BPI, John Gokongwei Jr., Manny V. Pangilinan, Ramon Ang, Manny and Cynthia Villar, the Aboitizes and the Lopezes.

Invited as a guest speaker by the Rotary Club of Makati West, on March 14 at noon, I will talk on “Success Lessons from the Business Leaders of the Philippines” at the Mandarin Oriental, Manila ballroom. My talk and open forum will be based on my research and numerous in-depth conversations with our often media-shy tycoons. I will also discuss several names conspicuously missing from the annual Forbes list.

In his report “Filipino billionaires’ circle grows in 2013” on the front page of the March 6 Philippine STAR, author Neil Jerome Morales quotes Forbes magazine on the 11 tycoons on the list of Philippines’ top 10 wealthiest:

Henry Sy — US$13.2 billion

Lucio Tan — $5 billion

Enrique Razon Jr. —  $4.9 billion

Andrew Tan — $3.95 billion

David Consunji — $2.8 billion

George SK Ty — $2.6 billion

Lucio Co and Susan Co — $2 billion

Robert Coyiuto Jr. — $1.6 billion

Andrew Gotianun — $1.2 billion

Roberto Ongpin — $1.2 billion

Any businessman or banker in the Philippines would wonder about the accuracy of any top 10 Philippines’ wealthiest list, if any of these famous names were not on the roster. In no particular order:
• The Jaime Zobel de Ayala family, with sons Jaime Augusto and Fernando Zobel de Ayala of the Ayala conglomerate which includes Ayala Land, Globe Telecom and BPI

•  The Iñigo Zobel family

•  Manuel “Manny” V. Pangilinan of the Hong Kong-listed First Pacific Group, PLDT, Smart, TV5, Philex, Meralco, etc. — Our sources tell us that MVP is the first Philippine customer who ordered the new Rolls-Royce stretch limousine, and it’s the ghost extended-wheel model estimated to cost up to P32 million.

•  John Gokongwei Jr. — Even if he has donated a lot of his JG Summit stocks to his foundation, which is focused on educational charities, he is still one of the country’s wealthiest and wisest billionaires. In the same way Bill Gates has donated a lot of his Microsoft stocks to his foundation, but he remains the world’s second wealthiest billionaire.

•  The Aboitiz family of Cebu are leaders in public utilities like power and controls Union Bank.

•  Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. may have passed on control of San Miguel to Ramon Ang, but he remains one of the wealthiest in the country.

•  Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corporation, Petron and many other ventures.

•  Mercedes Tan Gotianun — If Puregold retail chain boss Lucio Co’s spouse Susan Co is listed, then UP summa cum laude graduate, the entrepreneurial wife of Filinvest/East West Bank boss Andrew Gotianun should also be listed.

•  Manny and Cynthia Villar of real estate are definitely top billionaires.

•  Oscar Lopez, Manolo Lopez and Gabby Lopez of Rockwell Land, Power Plant Mall, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., energy businesses and others.

•  Jorge Araneta and sister Judy Araneta Roxas of the prime 35-hectare Araneta Center, Gateway Mall and Araneta Coliseum

•  Alfonso Yuchengco of RCBC and Malayan Insurance is still a top taipan.

•  Manuel Zamora and Buddy Zamora are leaders in mining.

•  Carlos Chan of Liwayway Marketing and the snack brand Oishi, which is not only successful in the Philippines but also all over China and the ASEAN region.

•  The Socorro Ramos family of the National Book Store chain, real estate and mining.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal claims he was insulted and short-changed in Forbes’ latest list of the world’s biggest billionaires. Forbes said it doesn’t agree with Alwaleed’s own estimate of his net worth at US$20 billion or more, thus taking him out of the prestigious world’s Top Ten richest list and ranking him at “only” Number 28.

I admire the smart and talented Prince Alwaleed; he is the visionary who in 2007 invested in the Raffles Hotel and Fairmont Hotel projects in Makati City here in the Philippines. It’s the first time in a generation that new luxury hotels have been built in Metro Manila.

In early October last year, Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) — a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian conglomerate Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) — sold its major shareholdings in the Fairmont Hotel and Raffles Suites & Residences development in the Philippines to Ayala Land Hotels and Resorts Corp. of Ayala Land Inc. (ALI).

The Saudi billionaire is a friend of ex-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has awarded Prince Alwaleed the highest Philippine honorary medal — The Order of The Golden Heart With the Rank of Grand Officer. He had also hosted a luncheon in her honor at his Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia. Prince Alwaleed is also a major investor in Citigroup.  

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At the recent March 3 baptism of the Ava Marie Alejar, daughter of TV5 host, actor, singer and realty executive Jojo Alejar, at Mount Carmel Church in New Manila, Quezon City, among the various godparents included Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista’s spouse Tates, actress/beauty queen Miriam Quiambao, GMA-7 host Arnold Clavio, TV5 host Ben Tulfo, Cainta Mayor Mon Ilagan, Dr. Reynato A. Carpio of Grand Monarch Estate Developers, Inc., and others.

When I asked self-made realty entrepreneur Rey Carpio of Cagayan province about his success secrets, he replied: “STD — Sipag, tiyaga at diskarte (hard work, perseverance and good tactics or strategies).  It is the diskarte which really makes the difference.” His business heroes are Manny Villar and Donald Trump, both top realty developers.

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