Top 10 powerful families in the Philippines

- Many names remain relevant even through the years

- When Filipinos think of wealthy clans, names like Tan, Sy or Zobel de Ayala are always remembered

- KAMI listed the most influential clans in the Philippines as of 2017

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Philippines has been developing and a lot of investments just keep on coming in the country. As years go by, there are few names that remain relevant in terms of business and entrepreneurship.

KAMI learned from Esquire the 10 most influential families in the country:

Antonio

Jose Antonio owns the real estate firm Century Properties which was established in 1986. Now, Antonio is worth $260 million as reported by Forbes magazine. His sons Jigger, Marco, Robbie and Carlo are also part of the family’s growing business. Their empire includes Century City Mall, Knightsbridge, Trump Tower and Gramercy Residences. They also have collaborations with Versace Home, Missoni Home and Philippe Starck.

Araneta

Until today, Filipinos use the ever famous Araneta Coliseum. It was named after its founder, J. Amado Araneta. It all started from Ma-ao sugar refinery in Negros. The one in charge now of Araneta Group is Jorge Araneta, Judy Araneta Roxas (mother of Mar Roxas) and Maria Lourdes Araneta-Fores.

Chan

It all started from a trading company Liwayway Marketing in 1940s established by couple Chan Lib and See Ying. They had famous children in the industry such as Carlos Chan, Nenita Chan Lim and Ben Chan of Suyen Corporation. Now, the Chan family owns the famous clothing line Bench as well as brands like Dimensione, Oishi and Chan C Bros.

Cojuangco

The Cojuangcos conquered both politics and entrepreneurship. The clan became prominent in Bulacan and Tarlac. As reported by Esquire, the clan includes former Presidents Corazon Cojuangco Aquino and Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III as well as Antonio Cojuangco, Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Mark Cojuangco, and Charlie Cojuangco.

Gokongwei

John Gokongwei recovered from poverty through hardwork. His son Lance Gokongwei is now taking over of Cebu Pacific and JG Summit. Meanwhile, his daughter Robina is the president of Robinsons Retail Holdings including Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket, Handyman and Toys R’ Us.

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Lopez

It all began from Don Eugenio Lopez of Ilo-ilo. The Lopezes once had Meralco under Manuel Lopez. Now, they have the First Philippine Holdings and one of the leading broadcasting networks in the country, ABS-CBN under Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III.

Sy

Henry Sy has been the richest person in the Philippines for almost nine years now. In a recent report by Forbes, his net worth is around $18.3 billion. He also let his children take over his different businesses. The eldest Henry Sy Jr. is the chairman of SM Prime. Tessie Coson handles BDO Unibank, while Elizabeth watches over SM Hotels & Conventions Corporation. Harley oversees Supervalue, Super Shopping Market, SM Department Stores and SM Investments.

Tan

Ranking as the 7th richest person in the Philippines, Lucio Tan has a net worth of $3.8 billion according to Forbes. The LT Group has Asia Brewery, Tanduay Distillers, Fortune Tobacco Corporation, Eton Properties, Philippine National Bank (PNB), Philippine Airlines and MacroAsia Corporation. Lucio Tan is also the chairman of University of the East.

Tantoco

In 1951, Bienvenido Tantoco and Gliceria Rustia established Rustan’s, a luxurious retail store in the Philippines until now. Their empire expanded to retail franchising with Starbucks, Golden Spoon and Family Mart.

Zobel de Ayala

Jaime Zobel de Ayala is the current patriarch of the family. The Ayala Group of Companies includes Ayala Land, Ayala Corporation, BPI, Globe Telecom and Manila Water.

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Source: KAMI.com.gh