Billionaire-philantrophist John Gokongwei Jr., 93, dies

Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2019 09:08:58 +0000

GOKONGWEI

By JAMES LOYOLA

John Gokongwei Jr., one of the Philippines’ original taipans who built a giant conglomerate from scratch, passed away at the age of 93.

“Our beloved husband, father, and grandfather John Gokongwei Jr. passed away peacefully 11:41 p.m., Nov. 9, at the Manila Doctor’s Hospital surrounded by his loved ones. Please pray for the repose of his soul. Details of his wake to follow. Rest in peace, Mr. John,” Gokongwei’s son Lance said in a message.

Ranked by Forbes Magazine as the country’s third richest with an estimated net worth of $5.3 billion in 2019, Gokongwei was the founder and chairman emeritus of JG Summit Holdings Inc. which has interests in food and beverage manufacturing, air transportation, telecommunications, petrochemicals, banking, power, property and hospitality, retail, and media.

Gokongwei was 15-years-old when had to leave school and work for the survival of his family after the death of their father. He started by peddling soaps, candles, and threads in a distant town in Cebu where he would earn a profit of about P20 a day.

“The pesos I made in the palengke (market) were the pesos that went into building the business I have today. After this experience, I told myself, ‘If I can compete with peop
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