Henry T. Sy, Sr. (Chinese: 施至成; pinyin: Shī Zhìchéng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Si Chì-sêng; born December 25, 1924) is a Chinese-Filipino business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is involved in the industries of real estate, hospitality, banking, mining, education, and health care. He is responsible for the establishment of SM Malls, anchored by Shoemart Department Store and Supermarket. He is the chairman of SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the holding corporation for all his business interests in his vast business empire. In 2015, Forbes Magazine listed him as the richest man in the Philippines, ahead of 11 other billionaires including John Gokongwei and Lucio Tan.
Early life
Henry Sy was born to a poor family in Jinjiang, China on December 25, 1924. He is the son of Henry H. Sy and Tan O Sia.
He completed his secondary education in a school now known as Chiang Kai Shek College and earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950.
Career
In 1958, Sy established a small shoe store in Quiapo, Manila that marked the establishment of SM Prime Holdings. In November 1972, the small shoe store became SM Quiapo, SM’s first standalone department store.
On November 8, 1985, he established his first SM Supermalls, SM City North EDSA.
He is the Philippines’ richest man, gaining $5 billion in 2010, amid the global financial crisis. The huge gain was due to his holding company, SM Investments Corporation, which has interests in Banco de Oro, inter alia. Forbes magazine’s 2008 list of 40 wealthiest Filipinos, revealed the Sy family’s net worth was $6.2 billion. Earlier, he was the second wealthiest individual in the Philippines, next to Lucio Tan, and (as of 2010) 201st in the world.
Sy is considered a tai-pan. The Sy group is the operator of Banco de Oro and owner of Chinabank. In 2006, he bought the remaining 66% of Equitable PCI Bank, the Philippines third largest lender, in which he already had a 34% stake, and merged it with Banco de Oro in 2007. The merger created the Philippines’ second largest financial institution with resources of close to $17 billion.
In August 2005, Sy’s stake in the San Miguel Corporation, Southeast Asia’s largest food and beverage conglomerate, reached 11%.[8] He sold that stake in October 2007 for $680 million.
Henry Sy, Sr., was named “Management Man of the Year” by the Makati Business Club in 1999 and was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Business Management by De La Salle University in January of that year. He organized the SM Foundation Inc., which helps underprivileged and promising young Filipinos. Several of his children hold senior management positions in his companies, although he has groomed daughter Teresita Sy-Coson and his grandchildren Hailey Sy-Coson, Darcie Sy, Lance Harold Sy, Cheska Sy, Sarita Sy, Samantha Ong-Sy and Josiah Sy as his successors. Sy’s holding company, SM Investments Corporation, has consistently been cited as one of the Philippines best-managed companies. On May 20, 2006, the SM Mall of Asia, built in the reclamation area of Pasay City, was opened to the public. It is the third-largest mall in the world as of 2012.
He has six children.
Henry Sy net worth: Henry Sy is a businessman who has a net worth of $16 billion dollars which makes him the richest person in the Philippines. Born in Xiamen, China, Henry Sy moved to the Philippines, and graduated from Far Eastern University in Manila with a degree in Commercial Studies. He launched his first shoe store in Manila in the late 1950s, along with his own company, called SM Prime Holdings. Less than fifteen years later, his small shoe store had grown into SM Quiapo, the first standalone department store for SM. This department store grew into SM Supermall. SM Prime Holdings eventually became Manila’s largest and most successful mall development firm. Henry Sy currently owns 42 malls, and is the country’s largest retailer. He also owns 28% of Atlas Consolidated Mining, and is the Chairman of Banco de Oro, and the owner of Chinabank. He also bought up Equitable PCI Bank, and merged it with Banco de Oro in 2007, thereby creating the second largest financial conglomerate in the Philippines.
Net Worth details: Henry Sy owns 56 percent of SM Investments which is a conglomerate consisting of property development, banking, and retail. He is the founder and chairman and is credited with all his family’s shares. The family owns 20 percent of mall operator and property developer SM Prime Holdings. Sy also owns 21 percent of Belle Corp, 15 percent of China Banking, and 5 percent of BDO Unibank.
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