John Gokongwei and his family now owns a lot of big companies: chemicals, food, airline, mall chain, mobile service provider and even an entertainment showbiz magazine. He was asking me about the sales of Great Taste Coffee and I said, Were up based on recent data. He had a very big smile. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Well look at the financial statements for you, Lance on dad John Gokongwei: Why he always had food in his pocket and loved to fly cheap, /ancx/food-drink/recommended-bars/03/02/23/a-jazz-bar-just-opened-inside-makati-cinema-square, /ancx/culture/art/03/01/23/kids-of-top-artists-showcase-works-alongside-their-dads, /ancx/culture/spotlight/02/28/23/a-first-look-at-lazadas-new-cafeteria-style-office-in-bgc, /ancx/culture/spotlight/02/28/23/cebu-pacs-smile-mag-is-back-with-new-younger-design, /ancx/style/necessary-style/02/27/23/the-union-x-jordan-1-low-ajko-collab-is-a-crowd-pleaser. Today the airline dominates the Philippines domestic market. President and CEO of JG Summit Holdings Inc. Chairman of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, Inc. Together, they have two children, Hannah and Jacob. Gokongwei's only son, Lance, is president. . His presence is very much felt., Where John usually is, instead, is at home with the woman he married 58 years ago, as he was plying the import trade in his native Cebu, pre-JG Summit. In March 1996, his low-cost airline company, Cebu Pacific Air was launched. Go told Usapang Bilyonaryo how his beloved Uncle John made sure he had options in a media career after seeing how he loved writing in college. When I saw my wife for the first time, she was 17 and I was 23 or 24, says Gokongwei. John Gokongwei was married to Elizabeth Yu from 1958 until his death in 2019. The Chippy pillow was a product that we sold at Toys R Us last year, along with the Chiz Curls pillow. the passing of Mr. John Gokongwei, Jr. From journalists Emmie Abadilla Gokongwei brothers John, Johnson, Henry, and James, established the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation in 1992 with the goal of having a lasting impact on education in the Philippines. Present during the visit were Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and Senators Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go and Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III. At some point after the meal he slips away, and his only son, Lance, is summoned for quiet talk about the family business, JG Summit, which the host founded in 1957 and which today is the second-largest family-run business in the Philippines, with a market capitalization of $13.2 billion. John Robinson Lim Gokongwei, Jr. (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: W Yhu; Peh-e-j: G Ek-hui; born Go Ek-hui) is a Filipino business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Already, controlling shares in Summit are being transferred to the second generation. John died in 2019. [17] As a result, its income and revenues fell. He built his first company, Amasia Trading, which sold and bought goods in the United States, Manila, and the Visayan region. From left to right: Henry, Johnson, Juanita, Edward, John Sr., John Jr., and Lily Christina. This, later on, became Universal Robina Corporation (URC) when it ventured into other finished goods. Since Day 1 of his wake, Ive always been asked two questions: the first one is where the Chippy pillow came from by the way it is a pillow and not a blanket or a family size Chippy pack and the second is about my Angkongs advice to me, which was to play around.. He would also say: Keep working hard and just stay humble. He advised me to study hard. [19] On its 30th year, the foundation's goal is to participate in the learning journey of 10,000 teachers and one million learners by 2025. It's his daughter's reply to his "I love you," after he tucksher in to bed. Competitive swimming was not one of my strengths and so I switched to golf and played with my Dad, whom I easily beat. He had to close down. (Tan went on to start his own diverse conglomerate, LT Groupwith a market cap of $4 billion and no interests in cornstarch.). Megan Young and Mikael Daez Share Mistakes And Learnings From Their Failed Businesses, How This Viral Ube Champorado Stall In Caloocan Started And Attracted Crowds, Neri Naig Opens Baguio Family Rest House For Rent, How Beauty Queen Samantha Bernardo Started Her Sleepwear Business With P5K Capital, Gretchen Barrettos Daughter, Dominique, Co-Owns E-Commerce Beauty & Self-Care Shop, Comedian Brenda Mage Achieves Childhood Dream Of Owning A Farm. This page was last edited on 28 January 2023, at 21:04. In speeches hes recalled being driven by a chauffeur and living in a big house. Life changed suddenly and drastically when Gokongwei was 13 and his father died of typhoid fever. He never gave up in what he believed in, always took risks, and continuously learned new things. But as for the second question, Ill get to that much later. John Gokongwei Jr. died on November 9, 2019. He then finished his last two years in Singapore. We need hard work, perseverance, innovation, courage, and total dedication. JG Summits Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) had been the first there to launch unlimited mobile texting. In 1961, he established Consolidated Food Corporation (later known as CFC Corporation, which later merged with Universal Robina Corporation), which launched its instant coffee brand Blend 45. The company merged with Universal Robina Corporation. He had been Executive Vice President of JGSHI and was elected President and Chief Operating Officer effective January 1, 2002. [15] Exactly one week after his death, his widow Elizabeth Yu Gokongwei died at the age of 85.[16][17]. To our beloved Angkong, the one true genius, extraordinary family man, and philanthropist, thank you for everything. We were in Rome, Italy then, it was just house coffee and tasted so bitter. Gemma Cruz Araneta, the first Filipina Miss International in 1964, is a Rizal descendant, the first major beauty contest winner Its the time of year when first cousins who once moved to the other side of the world come for a visit. Anyway, like my mom, I decided that sticking to something despite so many defeats is no longer being smart. His strong resolve towards life made him successful and become one of the richest men in the. He returned to the Philippines to workliterally at his brothers elbow, in their tight office space. One day he noticed that my grades were slipping. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. His funeral was held on November 15. ), As they prepare for the leadership shift, Robinas eldest son, a senior studying chemistry at New York University, will likely be the first member of the third generation to join. nullity of amended by-laws, cancellation of certificate of filing of amended by- laws, injunction and. [15], In 2018, Gokongwei was named CEO of JG Summit. It is now the biggest player in the ready-to-drink tea and cup noodles business and the second-largest in the coffee sector in the Philippines. Gokongwei was one of two remarkable rags-to-riches business tycoons, the other one being Henry Sy Sr., whom Ive known for over three decades and considered a friend since I was a college student. Contact Us
Last November 9, 2020, marks the first death anniversary of John Gokongwei Jr., a Filipino business tycoon and philanthropist who founded JG Summit, one of the largest conglomerates in the country. "I salute him. Subscribe to Forbes Asia. But please do guide me when I decide to play around, not at work of course. Gokongwei denies that he expected succession from his kids, but the eldest children remember differently. John died on November 9, 2019, at the Manila Doctors Hospital, Manila, Philippines. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. With a net worth of US $5.3 billion, making him the third richest man in the Philippines in 2019, John Gokongwei Jr. has really come a long way from the young boy who sold soap, thread and other basic needs in post-war Cebu. JG Summits legend is well known among the firms 35,000 employees: Gokongwei, the eldest of six children, grew up well-off in an ethnic Chinese family in Cebu, where his father owned a chain of movie theaters. Her twin sisters, Faith and Hope, each have management roles there. Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "2022 Forbes list: Sy siblings still richest in PH, Villar is biggest gainer", "John and Elizabeth Gokongwei: A love story not limited by life on earth", "Lance Gokongwei really, really wanted to be a baller: Find out how he's living out his dream in Xavier's alumni team - Bilyonaryo Business News", "CEO in the news: JG Summit's CEO-to-be is already putting ambitions into action", "Lance Gokongwei is proof you should never judge a man by his car", "URC poised to grab leadership in 'healthy' beverage market", "Find out why Gokongwei's potato chip venture with Japan's Calbee bombed - Bilyonaryo Business News", "Lance Gokongwei resigns as Cebu Pacific President & CEO", "JG Summit appoints Lance Gokongwei as CEO", "JG Summit Q1 net income down 19% on coronavirus concerns", "Lance Y. Gokongwei appointed board member of top sustainability reporting standards body - BusinessMirror", "Lance Gokongwei lets wife be CEO of household: "She's the gold standard in parenting", "What Does Lance Gokongwei Want His Children to Know", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lance_Gokongwei&oldid=1136120034, Articles needing cleanup from November 2022, Cleanup tagged articles with a reason field from November 2022, Wikipedia pages needing cleanup from November 2022, Articles with a promotional tone from October 2022, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. John Gokongwei Jr. came from a wealthy clan in Cebu but they lost everything because of world war 2. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Be No. He knows hell be here, says Robina. On his mothers side, his grandfather was the immigrant tycoon and Iloilo Chinese community leader Pedro Marquez Lim. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The following day (November 16), Elizabeth died, at the age of 85. Philstar Global Corp. All Rights Reserved. In 2003, John launched his telecom company, Digital Telecommunications Philippines, which invested almost $800 million to establish its mobile carrier, Sun Cellular, the third-largest mobile operator in the country back then. Still, in 1999 president Joseph Erap Estrada filed a 101 million pesos ($2.6 million then) libel lawsuit against the familys Manila Times, then run by Robina, after the newspaper called Estrada an unwitting godfather for approving a disputed power contract. In February 2008, Forbes Asia magazine's first Heroes of Philanthropy list included four Filipinos Gokongwei, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Ramn del Rosario Jr. and Oscar Lpez. Elizabeth Yus father owned a hardware store there. Left with no choice but to survive, young John had to start from scratch to build a better life for himself and his family. His response took me aback. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. His eldest daughter, Robina, heads the operations of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. (she owns Robinsons Malls), as the company's COO since 2002. James got accepted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and earned a degree in chemical engineering. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. And now at your old age to tear away from it, its very hard.. As for himself, he says its time for him to enjoy life and focus on philanthropy. We need hard work, perseverance, innovation, courage, and total dedication. John and Elizabeth got married in 1958. . Gokongwei was the founder and chairman of JG Summit Holdings, which owns . Success Story of John Gokongwei. In 2013, Johns company purchased San Miguel Corporations stakes in MERALCO, the Philippiness biggest power distributor, for almost $1.8 billion. With your meaningful insights, help shape the stories that can shape the country. John Gokongwei I'm from Cebu. Everybody called him Big John, but we his family, siblings and wife Elizabeth called him Iya, which means Lovable Baby. My father John Gokongwei, Sr. died when he was only 34, my mother was a very pretty, 30-year-old widow. In 2002 Gokongwei donated P200-million to the undergraduate school of management. My thay-kong (Hokkien for great-grandpa) wasnt able to prepare well for his succession in the case of my grandfather, who was his eldest son. John then pursued her for marriage for 4 years. John Gokongwei This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Andrew Gotianun Sr. was a distant relative of John. He came from China with nothing. The couple had six children: their son, Lance, and their five daughters, Lisa, Robina, Faith, Hope, and Marcia. You give birth to it, you nurture it, you raise it through problems, crisis, good times, bad times. However, his companies later dominated other sectors, such as travel, petrochemicals, energy, and banking, too. Lisa is in charge of Summit Media. He was great, very human and inspiring. The discussion ended with that, no resolution, just an exchange of positions and shortly after Mr. John left the room my father sat down with me, had a few more glasses of whiskey and told me that I have to remember that at one point it would no longer be about the money.. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". His conglomerate company JG Summit Holdings, Inc., had an extensive panoply of business and investment holdings across the Filipino economy, including shipping, telecommunications, retail, financial services, petrochemicals, utilities, aviation, food, beverages, and livestock farming. Years of hard work, discipline and brilliant strategic thinking made the entrepreneur into the countrys undisputed Snack Foods King with his Jack n Jill brands, a visionary industrialist and founder of many other progressive enterprises under JG Summit Holdings, Inc. Gokongwei pioneered the budget airline concept, which made Philippine airline travel affordable, with Cebu Pacific Air. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". I was really shocked that someone who was 78 could beat me in swimming. The PLDT group later bought the company for $1.7 billion. These days she fusses after him. James, Johns brother, is the COO and chairman of the company. A decade later, he attended a 14-week advanced management program at Harvard University.[5]. (Although James says his retirement wont be total retirementI will still be around as executive chairman. He also donated to various educational institutes and was the third-richest man in his country at the time of his death. Our new product developments have contributed a lot, and so have Great Taste Premium and Great Taste Choco. I swear to God that he had the biggest smile I ever saw in his face. Family businesses (Fambiz) constitute anywhere from 80 to 90 percent of businesses in the Philippines, yet many are plagued with problems. . When he turned 80, Mr. John blazed a trail in philanthropy when he announced on his birthday that he was donating half of his personal holdings in JG Summit to establish the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Gokongwei Group. If a job is given to me, Ill do it, says Lance, now 49. 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