From fish-monger to top Filipino billionaire

HE GREW UP IN THE SLUMS: Manuel “Manny” Bamba Villar Jr., 71, currently chairs the Villar Group, a conglomerate involved in property development, retail and mining. He came from rather humble beginnings. As a boy growing up in Tondo, he sold fish and shrimps in Manila's Divisoria wholesale market. Tondo is a sea-side slum on the western edge of Manila, fronting the bay. Today, he’s the richest Filipino, with assets estimated by Forbes at $7 billion. File photo shows one of Tondo's garbage-filled “estero” (brook), literally an open sewer, that then washes into Pasig River, then out to the Manila Bay.

TONDO BOY: Tondo is the subject of many Filipino movies. Known for being one of the poorest and most crime-ridden and underdeveloped areas of the country, it’s where many of the city's slums are found. It is the birthplace of Philippine national hero Andres Bonifacio and former president Joseph Estrada, and it is also the location of the notorious but-now-closed landfill, the so-called “Smokey Mountain”. A scene in Manila’s Divisoria district taken in December 2020.

MURKY TONDO ESTERO: This 2018 photo shows government workers doing a cleanup drive at the Estero de Magdalena in Tondo, Manila, where flooding occurs due to the build up of litter which clogs the metro’s waterways.

DIVISORIA MARKET: At a very young age, Villar was already helping his mother sell shrimps and fish in Manila’s crowded Divisoria public market. Armed with a burning desire to improve his family’s lot, Villar worked hard at the fish market in between school. Photo shows a scene at the Divisoria night market taken in 2020.

SECOND CHILD IN A BROOD OF 9: Villar’s rise to the pinnacle of wealth is a fascinating story of grit. He was born on December 13, 1949 in Moriones, Tondo, Manila to a simple family. His father, Manuel Montalban Villar, Sr., originally came from Iloilo (in central Philippines), who worked as an ordinary government employee. His mother Curita, who originally came from Pampanga and Bataan, was a seafood vendor. Manny is the second child in a brood of nine. 

SWEETHEARTS: Manny met his wife Cynthia Aguilar-Villar during their university years, while she was also earning her degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She started her career as a financial analyst, before becoming college professor until she married Manny. Cynthia supported her husband in various entrepreneurial ventures that eventually led to making Vista Land the biggest homebuilder in the Philippines.

Php10,000 CAPITAL: Villar finished high school from the Mapúa Institute of Technology in Santa Cruz, near Tondo. He attended the University of the Philippines Diliman and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1970. After completing his business degree, Villar began his professional career working as an accountant for Sycip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV) & Co. In 1975, with an initial capital of Php10,000 (about $1,422 at $1=Php7.030 exchange rate in 1975), Villar purchased a reconditioned truck and started a business delivering gravel and sand for construction companies in Las Piñas. Photo shows the Villars posing next to their restored truck (above), and a Camella mid-range housing project in Bulacan, north of Manila.

FAMILY: From 1989 to 1998, Cynthia Villar also managed a private development bank. In 2001, Cynthia ran and won as Representative of Las Piñas (Manila), completing three terms (nine years) until 2010. She also won the Senate race twice, in 2013 and 2019. Manny and Cynthia have three children: Manuel Paolo, Mark and Camille.

MASS HOUSING, REIMAGINING REAL ESTATE: Today, Villar’s biggest asset is his stake in Golden MV Holdings (formerly Golden Bria), a developer of mass housing projects and condominiums. Villar also chairs mall operator Vistamalls. In October 2019, he took his home improvement chain AllHome public. Today, the Villar-controlled Vista Land property developer has built more than 300,00 homes across 90 cities in 35 provinces. It has also boasts 23 masterplanned city developments. Pine Suites Tagaytay, a property development south of Manila, by Camella, a Vista Land company.

SUBSIDIARIES: Vista Land operates through its five distinct subsidiaries and is one of the leading integrated homebuilders in the Philippines. Vista Land hits all income segments through Brittany, Crown Asia, Camella Homes, Communities Philippines, and Vista Residences. Brittany caters to the high-end market in greater Manila, offering luxury houses in master-planned communities, priced from Php12 ($596,000). Crown Asia caters to the middle-income housing segment in Manila.

PUBLIC LIFE: The public life of Manny Villar straddles both the worlds of business and politics. He managed to excel in both. In 1992, Villar made his political debut, and won with the most overwhelming mandate among Manila’s congressmen. He was the very first person to head both the Congress and the Senate of the Philippines. As a key member of the House’s economic team, Villar helped steer the economic reform measures of Former president Fidel Ramos (1992 to 1998), including the New Foreign Investments Act and the restructuring of the Philippine central Bank (BSP).

INFRASTRUCTURE: As part of former President Fidel V. Ramos’s team, Villar helped negotiate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1992. ’Manny Villar also oversaw various infrastructure projects in his districts, as well as the “Friendship Route” to ease the traffic problems in southern Manila by persuading subdivision homeowners to open up their roads to the general public. It worked.

2010 PRESIDENTIAL RUN: Villar ran for president in 2010, and placed third, with 5.5 million votes, behind Joseph Estrata (who placed second, with 9.5 million votes) and Benigno Aquino III (who became president, with 15.2 million). Photo shows Villar speaking to supporters during a campaign rally in Sarangani province in southern Philippines.

CHILDREN: Manuel Paolo Villar (above, left) graduated from the Wharton School with a degree Economics and Bachelor of Applied Science in 1999, worked for McKinsey & Co. from 1999 to 2001, before joining Crown Asia in 2001 as Head of Corporate Planning. He became President and CEO of the Company in July 2011. Manuel Pool has two current jobs: as President & CEO at Vista Land & Lifescapes, and President and CEO of St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited. 

BUILDER: Mark Villar, 43, a Harvard-educated economist, was handpicked by President Rodrigo Duterte as his Secretary at the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2016, and overseas a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of infrastructure projects under the “Build-Build-Build” programme, including the on-going Manila Subway project. Mark has recently filed his candidacy to run for Senator. Camille Villar, 36, is the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. Camille is also the Vice Chairman of AllHome, President of AllValue and Director of Starmalls/Vista Malls. Mark quit his post recently to focus on his Senatorial run.

PRAGMATIC MAGNATE: Villar is seen as pragmatic businessman. Today, housing and construction businesses — from which the Villar's vast and multi-billion-dollar current wealth came from, remains their favourite. But they have also set sights on retail.

CRISES COME AND GO: Villar recently joined an online business forum in which he said: “Crises come and go. This crisis is about to end. It’s almost over.” Here’s one "fearless forecast" from the Filipino tycoon: brick-and-mortar retail outlets won’t go away. They’re here to stay — thriving alongside online business. It will co-exist with e-commerce, which has greatly expanded during the pandemic. Physical stores, he said, meet specific needs, and won’t go away in a post-pandemic scenario. He also said that after the May 2022 elections, the situation will be far different from now, thanks mostly to the flood of vaccines to beat COVID.

PINNACLE OF WEALTH: Villar has certainly come a long way from his Tondo roots to the pinnacle of his career as a business builder. He's currently listed as the richest Filipino in the 2021 Forbes World's Billionaires List, among among the 17 Filipinos in the international publication's list, up from15 in 2020.