Henry Sy Sr., founder of the SM Group, died on Saturday morning, Jan. 19. He was 94 years old.

“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,” Steven Tan, SM Supermalls Chief Operations Officer, said in a statement.

There will be a public viewing at Heritage chapels in Taguig City, which is scheduled to start at 9 in the morning today until Wednesday evening. There will also be mass every evening at 7 p.m. The interment is reportedly on Thursday.

Sy was only 12 when he followed his father to the Philippines. With only 10 centavos in his pocket, the young Sy was surprised that his father only managed a sari-sari store. It was later on burned to the ground after the Japanese invasion, but Sy decided to stay.

He eventually ventured into the shoe business and established the first Shoemart retail store in Quiapo, Manila, in the year 1958. It expanded into a shoe store chain in the 60s, and grew into the retail giant that it is today. Since then, SM Supermalls has become a Filipino household name.

The father of Philippine retail was named the country’s wealthiest man for 11 straight years by Forbes Magazine, with an estimated net worth of $19 billion. His business empire includes 72 shopping malls, banking, gaming, mining, and property development both locally and in China.

Before his passing, Sy Sr. had arranged Jose Sio to succeed him as SM Investments chair. His children, Teresita Sy-Coson and Henry Sy Jr. will both remain as vice chairs of the said company where Harley Sy is currently an executive director.

The taipan, besides his company’s establishment of the SM Foundation and SM Cares, supported various social causes. Education was one of his main priorities, giving nearly $120 million to schools and foundations. He had provided thousands of education scholarships and donated to many charities working in that sector.