Coyiuto Jr (second row center) with PTRCA’s new graduates
Forbes magazine published its list of wealthiest people in March. Ten Philippine business tycoons made it to the annual ranking of global billionaires. Included in the ranking is stockbroker, insurance and car dealership magnate Robert Coyiuto Jr., with a net worth of $1.5 billion. In the automotive field, Coyiuto was a dealer of BMW automobiles. He then decided to distribute the premium brands of the Volkswagen group, starting with Audi. He has since then expanded to also sell Lamborghini and Bentley. There was widespread speculation that his group was vying for the distributorship of Volkswagen cars, before it was announced that Ayala’s Automotive Central Enterprise Inc. was awarded the contract. Coyiuto’s PGA group also has dealerships of other brands.
PGA Cars co-founded the Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia in the Philippines, the first training facility of its kind outside Porsche’s home in Germany. The aim is to to produce sought-after Porsche Service Mechatronics specialists—mechanics who have intimate knowledge of the Porsche body and engine—for deployment to various posts in the region.
SM group founder Henry Sy led the group of Philippines’ wealthiest, with a net worth of $11.4 billion. This was lower than last year’s $13.2 billion but enough to keep him in the top spot for the country. Lucio Tan takes second with estimated net worth of $6.1 billion, ranking 227th worldwide. Ranked third-richest in the Philippines this year is Megaworld and Alliance Global Group founder Andrew Tan, 61, with an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion. The other billionaires on the list are construction magnate David Consunji (net worth: $3.3 billion), Metrobank group and GT Capital founder George Ty and family ($2.3 billion), Jollibee group founder Tony Tan Caktiong ($1.7 billion), and Filinvest group founder Andrew Gotianun ($1 billion).
Except for Gokongwei, all these billionaires were also on the 2013 list.
On the global list, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is back on top, with telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, going to second spot. He had topped the list the past four years. Spanish clothing retailer Amancio Ortega, best known for the Zara fashion chain, retained the No. 3 spot for the second year in a row, extending his lead over legendary American investment guru Warren Buffett, who is again at No. 4. The magazine said its estimates were a snapshot of wealth on Feb. 12, when it locked in stock prices and exchange rates from around the world.
With report by Doris C. Dumlao and Tina Arceo-Dumlao
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