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Manuel B. Villar Jr., a former politician who currently runs his family’s business, is on Forbes Asia magazine’s list of entrepreneurs in the region who are helping those in need, especially during the pandemic.
In its article titled “Heroes of Philanthropy,” the magazine listed the 15 richest people in Asia Pacific and focused on their philanthropic efforts for their respective causes.
Villar, who runs real estate developer Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., was featured alongside Hong Kong’s Li Ka Shing and Japan’s head of Fast Retailing, Tadashi Yanai, who gave large sums of money to fight the pandemic.
“The director of one of the largest developers in the country gave more than 2 hectares of land to the Saint Jude Catholic School in Manila last year and finalized the donation of 5 hectares to the University of the Philippines, Villar’s alma mater, to an innovation campus, ”said the magazine. The two parcels have a combined value of P8 billion.
He also contributed to the new facilities at 4 local schools, he said.
“Education can lift our people out of poverty. It can give dignity and work, ”Villar said, citing the magazine. The smaller donations have gone to churches, poverty alleviation and the fight against Covid-19, which included protective equipment and the conversion of buildings into quarantine facilities, the magazine said.
The magazine did not rank entrepreneurs on the list, but cited their remarkable efforts to combat Covid-19.
Li Ka-shing, for example, donated about HK $ 250 million (or US $ 32 million) to various forms of aid through his foundation, including HK $ 100 million to communities in Wuhan in China.
Japan’s Yanai, who runs the company that operates the Uniqlo stores, donated $ 105 million to 2 universities in Japan, most of which will be used to facilitate disease research and develop a coronavirus vaccine.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, donated $ 77 million along with his charity to fund Covid-19 relief, as well as educational scholarships and health care programs across his country, he said.
“Our goal is to capture individual philanthropists who are donating from their personal fortunes. Therefore, the list does not include donations made by companies of the richest tycoons in Asia unless the donations were made through a private company owned by the majority, ”the magazine said.
