MANILA -- Business tycoon and SM Group founder Henry Sy Sr. passed away on Saturday morning at the age of 94, several reports confirmed.
"With deep sadness, I would like to inform the group that our beloved Chairman Tatang, Mr. Henry Sy Sr., passed away peacefully in his sleep early Saturday morning. Please pray for the eternal repose of his soul," said Steven Tan, SM Supermalls chief operating officer, in a statement, according to a report by ABS-CBN News.
Sy was the country’s richest man for 11 years in a row, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of USD19 billion.
He established ShoeMart in 1958, and eventually expanded into large malls and other business ventures like banking and property investments.
Aside from businesses in the Philippines, Sy has also invested in China by establishing SM malls there.
Sy's family, according to a report by Town and Country Philippines, originally hails from Xiamen, China and moved to the Philippines during World War II.
The report said Sy opted to stay in the Philippines with only 10 centavos even when his family returned to their homeland.
Sy finished his degree in commercial studies at the Far Eastern University. (PNA)
