Villar among Forbes Asia’s philanthropy heroes for ‘significant donations from own fortunes’

TYCOON Manuel B. Villar, Jr. is the lone Filipino included on Forbes Asia’s 2024 Heroes of Philanthropy list.

The unranked list features 15 business leaders “who have made significant contributions and demonstrated commitment to causes they cherish over the past year,” Forbes Asia’s 2024 Power Businesswomen Editor Rana Wehbe Watson said.

According to Forbes, the listed philanthropists supported causes such as education, healthcare, and women empowerment. They were chosen for their “philanthropic efforts in the past year, making significant donations from their own fortunes.”

Mr. Villar currently serves as chairman of listed companies Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.; Golden MV Holdings, Inc.; supermarket chain AllDay Marts, Inc.; home improvement chain AllHome Corp.; and Vistamalls, Inc. He is a former politician, having held key positions such as Senate president and House speaker.

In October, Mr. Villar donated P615 million to build a church and school inside Provence, a residential community north of Manila that is being developed by Vista Land.

The Diocese of Malolos, Bulacan also received 1.2 hectares (ha) of land valued at P613 million from Mr. Villar, with the rest of the gift in cash.

Mr. Villar previously donated over two ha of land to Manila’s Saint Jude Catholic School and five ha to his alma mater, the University of the Philippines, with a combined value of P8 billion.

As of the end of September, Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc. recorded a 10% increase in its net income to P9.08 billion from P8.22 billion a year ago.

In October, Golden MV Holdings, Inc. acquired 396.88 ha of land in Villar City, the Villar group’s large-scale urban development project connecting southern Metro Manila and Cavite.

Forbes said its Heroes of Philanthropy list does not consider corporate philanthropy unless the company is privately held, and the individual is a majority owner. Previous honorees were considered based on their recent significant contributions.

Other Southeast Asians included in the Forbes list are Singapore’s Eduardo Saverin, cofounder of Meta Platforms and cofounder and CEO of B Capital, and Elaine Saverin, co-founder and director at the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz