Henry Sy – Filipino Billionaire

It is often viewed by Filipinos that the only way to get your head above water in the Philippines was get out of the country and go to the US or other countries that offer more opportunity. This is due to the poor economy and lack of jobs in the Philippines. That may be true in most cases but Henry Sy is an exception. Henry did the complete opposite, he left China to go to the Philippines to make his fortune at the age of 12. And make a fortune he did, Henry Sy is a billionaire with a net worth of 1.7 billion as reported by Forbes.com, although other sources say he is worth much more than that.

Henry started his entrepreneurship in the 1950s by selling cheap American shoes at his small store in Manila. He later branched out to department stores and later onto Supermarkets. His claim to fame was when he opened the first Supermall in Manila in 1985. Today, what started off as a tiny grocery store has grown into an empire of over 17 Malls across the Philippines and continues to grow.

With all the success this man has accomplished throughout his life, you would expect him to be uptight and reserved, but he is the complete opposite. According to TIMEasia he still goes to grocery stores and shops for food for his family. And if that isn’t enough, he even cooks what he buys and serves his family lunch, this man is truly a family man. In fact, although his business ventures have grown into such big corporations they are still run by his family and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Henry Sy was born on Christmas day which is very fitting for a man that has accomplished so much success in his life. He is now 83 years old and and is truly a filipino success story. He is a great example of being a leader and not being a follower.