Sy Family Net Worth: Richest Family In Philippines Donates PHP100 Million To Fight Coronavirus

The richest family in the Philippines has donated a large sum of money to combat and help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country.

The Sy siblings, who have a total net worth of $17.2 billion as of 2019, donated close to $2 million or Php 100 million to help fight the coronavirus disease and extend assistance to those who are affected by it.

The Sy family owns the largest chain of malls in the country, SM malls. It was founded by the patriarch, Henry Sy Sr. in 1958. He also held the top spot in the money list in the Philippines for years before his death. His children took over the top spot in 2019.

According to Forbes, the list is now dominated by the second-generation of multi-billionaires after the founding members, who are their parents, have passed on.

Th Sy siblings comprised of Teresita, Elizabeth, Henry Jr., Hans, Herbert and Harley, have inherited the businesses of their father. Together, they control SM Investments and SM Prime. SM has now expanded into other industries such as department stores, supermarkets, banks, hotels, real estate and mining.

The Philippines is now struggling to beat coronavirus. With lack of sources from the public sector making it more difficult to provide help to the medical personnel and other frontliners, the private sector and the wealthy businessmen are called to pitch in. The Php 100 million donation from SM will be used to provide medical supplies to hospitals around Manila that are experiencing shortages.

SM has reached out to Manila Healthtek Inc. to provide test kits for hospitals to use as the nation awaits the arrival of local manufactured test kits invented by scientists from the University of the Philippines, Rappler reported.

The Ayala Group is also donating Php 2.4 billion to help fight the pandemic. The help will be in the form of salaries for those affected by the lockdown of the capital. Jaime Zobel de Ayala is ranked number five in Forbes’s richest list in the Philippines in 2019. He has a net worth of $3.7 billion and retired in 2006. His son Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II is leading the conglomerate. The Ayala Group of companies has stakes in malls, banking, real estate and healthcare, among others.