The Philippines' mall magnate Henry Sy and tobacco king Lucio Tan remained among the world's richest despite a global financial maelstrom that has sunk many billionaires' fortunes, according to Forbes magazine.
Rising from the 843rd place in 2008, Sy and his family ranked 234th in Forbes' list of super-rich this year even with a lower net worth of $2.7 billion.
The Sys control SM Investments Corp., which owns stakes in a dozen companies including the country's top lender by assets, Banco de Oro Unibank. Their collective wealth was $3.1 billion last year.
Tan and his family, meanwhile, moved up to the 522nd place from 785th previously, with a net worth of $1.4 billion, which was also lower than the $1.5 billion recorded in 2008. The Lucio Tan group has investments in the nation’s largest cigarette maker, Fortune Tobacco; flag carrier Philippines Airlines; and Asia Brewery. It also owns mining projects and a property in Hong Kong.
In its latest report, Forbes said "the richest people in the world have gone poorer," with only 793 people out of the 1,125 last year making it to the billionaires list for 2009. The world's richest posted a collective net worth of only $2.4 trillion as the financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion in fortunes.
Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates regained his title as the richest man in the world, with $40 billion, after slipping to third last year when he was worth $58 billion. Bershire Hathaway Inc. chairman Warren Buffett took the second place with $37 billion followed by Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim, with $35 billion.
Chief Executive of Forbes Magazines Steve Forbes said that, while few would shed a tear for the plight of a billionaire, it was bad for the economy when entrepreneurs were in trouble.
"Billionaires don't have to worry about their next meal, but if their wealth is declining and you're not creating numerous new billionaires, it means the rest of the world is not doing very well," he told reporters. "The typical billionaire is down at least one third on their net worth."
"It's the first time since 2003 that we have lost billionaires, but we've never before lost anywhere near this number," said Luisa Kroll, senior editor of Forbes.
New York City replaced Moscow as home to the most billionaires, with 55. Russia, which saw the number of super-rich soar in recent years, suffered among the biggest shocks, with the number of billionaires down to 32 from 87. With a report from Reuters
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