Property tycoon no longer Philippines’ richest man after losing US$16 billion

MANILA: Manny Villar, one of the richest people—if not THE actual richest—has suffered a severe reversal of fortune, with reports saying he has lost a staggering US$16 billion (S$20 billion).

Last week, after a six-month suspension, his company, Villar Land, resumed trading. However, in just three trading days, Villar Land’s shares went down by a whopping 76%.

Mr Villar, along with people related to him, is the owner of nearly nine-tenths of the shares of Villar Land, which was formerly known as Golden MV Holdings.

According to a Bloomberg report, his fortune is now valued at US$5.6 billion (S$7.32 billion), and he is no longer number one on the country’s wealthiest list, as that title now goes to business tycoon Enrique Razon.

However, this may just be the beginning of Mr Villar’s troubles.

What caused Manny Villar’s downfall?

In September of last year, Villar Land bought 366.34 hectares of land for ₱5.2 billion (S$115 million) from companies controlled by Mr Villar. In early 2025, an appraiser hired by Villar Land valued the property at around ₱1.3 trillion (S$28 billion).

External auditors, however, disputed the valuation of the land.

However, because Villar Land missed the Apr 15 deadline for filing its audited financial statements for 2024, the trading of the company’s shares was suspended on May 15.

In August, the officers of Villar Land, including Mr Villar and his three children, were slapped with a fine of ₱12 million (S$266,000) by the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission for failure to submit required financial reports.

Later that month, after negotiations that lasted several months, Villar Land lowered the valuation to ₱8.7 billion (S$193 million).

“When a stock returns from trading halt – especially one linked to a high-profile tycoon like Mr Manny Villar – investors typically reassess. The market appears to have concluded that the company’s pre-suspension valuation was far too rich,” Bloomberg quoted Toby Allan Arce, an analyst at Globalinks Securities & Stocks, as saying.

In spite of his current troubles, Mr Villar should not be counted out quite yet, as he and his family remain highly influential in the Philippines. Aside from being a businessman, he served as senator for 12 years and was even Senate President. During his term in Congress, he was also House Speaker for two years.

His wife, Cynthia, was also a senator for over a decade, and two of their children are now in the Senate.

Aside from real estate, he also has business ventures in retail, media, food and beverage, water, and other industries. /TISG

Read also: Manila finds new muscle, Canada joins Philippines’ expanding circle of defence allies