Some Filipino tycoons fell off Forbes'

2023 richest list

Philstar.com | April 6, 2023 | 1:16pm

This photo shows Mary Grace Uy (L) and Dennis Anthony Uy (R), founders of Converge ICT Solutions.

Converge / Released

MANILA, Philippines — Forbes’ annual list of the wealthiest Filipinos saw some
movement in 2023, as mainstays lost some of their glimmer in the new ranking.
Noticeable in the new Forbes ranking was the absence of the Uys of Converge ICT
wealth, Betty Ang of food giant Monde Nissin Corp., and the late Roberto Ongpin. 
Dennis Anthony Uy and wife Maria Grace Uy, who runs publicly-traded broadband
provider Converge, and Ang, co-founder of Monde Nissin, joined the list in 2022.
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A Zobel made the list, however. Inigo Zobel, a cousin of Jaime Zobel de Ayala, and
whose wealth came from a stake in Ang-led San Miguel Corp., eked out a net worth of
$1 billion based on the list. 
The list was built and compiled using stock prices and exchange rates from March 10. 
Besides that, some mainstays saw their fortunes seesaw in the new list.
Real estate and retail tycoon Manuel Villar, headlining the list as the wealthiest in the
country, saw his net worth balloon to $8.6 billion in 2023 from $8.3 billion a year ago.
Ports and casino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr saw his fortunes turn for the better this year
as well. His net worth, estimated at $7.3 billion, grew from $6.7 billion a year ago. 
Ramon Ang of San Miguel Corp. posted a net worth of $3.4 billion in 2023, larger
compared to his $2.45 billion wealth in the previous outing. He bested the Sy family and
Andrew Tan of Alliance Global Group Inc. in the 2023 ranking. 
The Sys, topbilled by Henry Sy Jr., ranked fourth in country in 2023. His net worth slid
down to $2.5 billion from $2.8 billion a year ago. His family saw their wealth slid down in
the same period as well. 
Tycoon Lucio Tan saw his net worth double to $2.4 billion in 2023 from $1.2 billion in the
previous outing. 
The net worth of Lance Gokongwei of conglomerate JG Summit retreated in 2023 as
well. His wealth stood at $1.4 billion, a far cry from the $1.6 billion a year ago. 
Tony Tan Caktiong, founder of global fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp, suffered a
similar fate. His net worth in 2023 slid down to $1.2 billion from $1.3 billion in the
previous list. — Ramon Royandoyan

VOCABULARY
TYCOONS /大亨/
noun
a wealthy, powerful person in business or industry.
"a newspaper tycoon"
Similar: magnate, mogul

MAINSTAY /中流砥柱/
noun
plural noun: mainstays
a person or thing on which something else is based or depends.
"farming is the mainstay of the rural economy"
Similar: central component, centerpiece, prop, linchpin, cornerstone, pillar

GLIMMER/微光/
verb
shine faintly with a wavering light.
"the moonlight glimmered on the lawn"
Similar: gleam, shine, glint, flicker, shimmer, glisten
CONVERGE /汇流/
Verb
(of lines) tend to meet at a point.
"a pair of lines of longitude are parallel at the equator but converge toward the poles"
Similar: meet, intersect, cross, come together, connect, link up

EKE /勉强/
verb
past tense: eked; past participle: eked
manage to support oneself or make a living with difficulty.
"they eked out their livelihoods from the soil"
Similar: scrape, scratch, scrimp, survive

BESTED /击败/
verb
INFORMAL
past tense: bested; past participle: bested
outwit or get the better of (someone).
"she refused to allow herself to be bested"
Similar: defeat, beat, get the better of

TOP BILLED /最高收费/

prominent emphasis, featuring, or advertising. : the position at the top of a theatrical bill usually
featuring the star's name

CONGLOMERATE /企业集团/
verb
gather together into a compact mass.
"atoms that conglomerate at the center"
Similar: coalesce, unite, join together, combine