The Marcoses are not the richest family in the world, contrary to a claim made by a TikTok video that the household has amassed over $1.4 trillion (P88 trillion) in wealth.
The video, posted by user www.aiiron on June 19, took the list of the world’s top eight richest families from business news organization Bloomberg, but appended the Marcoses and the European Rothschilds at the top. The video has a sticker that says the Marcoses have “1.4 trillion + $.”
The claim that the ex-president Ferdinand Marcos had $987 billion has been debunked. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, only has a net worth of $219 billion.
The P200 billion figure tied to the Marcos name is, meanwhile, from the estate tax liabilities that the family owes the government.
Rep. Lito Atienza recalled that then-first lady Imelda Marcos once confided in him that she had 7,000 tons of gold, which she wanted to return to the government to pay off the nation’s debt.
VERA Files cited a Philippine Daily Inquirer report that Gabriel Singson, former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor, has belied this claim as the BSP only obtained 286.06 metric tons of gold from 1977 to 1987.
The fact-checking organization also said that experts in an Inquirer story explained that Mrs. Marcos’ claim was unbelievable, as even 4,000 tons of gold would outnumber South Africa’ 10-year production, more than half of the gold reserves in Fort Knox in the U.S., and all of the reserves of the German Central Bank.
There has been no official record that concludes the amount of gold the Marcoses possess. Incoming president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also claimed he has never seen gold in his life.
Read the full story on FactRakers.
