Lucio Tan

Lucio Chua Tan Sr. (traditional Chinese: 陳永栽; simplified Chinese: 陈永栽; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tân Éng-chai; pinyin: Chén Yǒngzāi; born July 17, 1934) is a Filipino billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He presides over the Filipino conglomerate company LT Group, Inc., a company with extensive business interests in sports, banking, airline, liquor, tobacco, real estate, beverages, and education. Born in Amoy, Fujian in China, Tan's family migrated to the Philippines during his childhood and became residents of Naga, Camarines Sur. In the 1950s, Tan worked as an employee at a cigarette company during his chemical engineering studies at the Far Eastern University. After his graduation, he established the chemical firm Himmel Industries in Pasig in 1960, and by 1966, he co-founded the cigarette manufacturing company Fortune Tobacco Corporation in Parang, Marikina in 1966. During martial law, Tan acquired General Bank and Trust in 1977 and renamed it Allied Banking Corporation; by 1982, Tan established Asia Brewery. After President Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown during the People Power Revolution in 1986, Tan's business activities with Marcos came under intense scrutiny, with several tax evasion cases filed against him. By 2001, Marcos' wife Imelda Marcos admitted to Marcos having "beneficial ownership" with Tan in his businesses. In 1992, Tan acquired majority ownership of Philippine Airlines. By the 2000s, he was deemed the wealthiest person in the Philippines. As of March 2026, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$3.5 billion, making him the third-wealthiest person in the Philippines.