How to be a taipan

Taipan John Gokongwei Jr., the second richest Filipino, celebrated his 90th birthday last Aug. 11 by treating his personal and official families to a “family-only” dinner at his company-owned Crowne Plaza Galleria in Pasig City.

“Lessons from Dad.” By “official family,” I refer to the directors, executives and about 500 selected representatives of the 35,000 employees of his huge conglomerate.

The informal after-dinner program was bright-lined by the anecdote-laden reminiscences of his wife Elizabeth, his only son Lance, and his youngest brother James. Lance and James are the inimitable duo who now manages the giant Gokongwei empire.

But what really drew the loudest applause were the familiar tunes, spiced with modified lyrics revealing the taipan’s soft and funny side, gleefully sung by his five daughters (Robina, Liza, Hope, Faith and Marcia) and baritone Lance. But, truth to tell, they were nearly upstaged by the well-choreographed dance and song numbers of their own children, led by the eldest, 21-year-old Jason Pe.

To cap the memorable evening, the guests were gifted with an easy-to-read book, “Lessons from Dad” authored by, who else, Lance Gokongwei (with Yvette Fernandez). After reading it, I was so fascinated that I handed a copy to our eldest grandson Miggy P. Sandejas, with this message, “Not being a lawyer, you cannot be a chief justice. But with this book, you can someday be a tycoon!”

Here are some tips for aspiring taipans:

1) To Gokongwei, family is first and foremost.  Though a workaholic, he always comes home for dinner. To quote Lance, “The best lessons I learned from my parents were from being with them, observing them, and listening to them at the dinner table. I learned about the importance of family, and the importance of working hard. I learned about running a business from the stories my father told us—he had many adventures! We shared in his many successes and failures.”

Orphaned by his father at age 13, Gokongwei—as the eldest child—took care of his mother, brothers and only sister and moved them to China, sending them money regularly from his meager income from buying and selling various wares. His enduring bond with his siblings was passed on to his children. In the author’s words, “As an extended family, we celebrate with our uncles, aunts, and cousins on Chinese New Year and the Autumn Mooncake Festival.”

He hires his extended family members and pays them what they deserve, just like outside professionals. “No more, no less. If one worked for the family business, one cannot have one’s own business on the side.”

He loves to travel with his wife and children “to see the sights, watch shows and visit museums.” To Lance, “Those are some of my happiest memories—exploring the world with my parents and sisters.”

To the best of my knowledge, family first is also the motto of the other superwealthy, Henry Sy (No. 1), Lucio Tan (No. 3) and George Ty (No. 4), and of the emerging dragons, Tony Tan Caktiong and Edgar “Injap” Sia.

2) Next to family, Gokongwei values education.  Though he never finished college, he is a “voracious reader. He … reads anything and everything: fiction, biographies, history, tomes, business books, among others. He also reads three or four newspapers a day… He reads … on his treadmill, in the car, in the bathroom, and all the way to bed.”

After siring six children, he enrolled in the masters in business administration program of De La Salle University. Since he had no college degree, he had to take up additional units and finally graduated in 1977, “one of the proudest moments of his life.”

He made sure that all his children finished college, with Lance finishing at Wharton School of Business, summa cum laude, with double degrees in applied science and finance.

On his 75th birthday, he gifted Ateneo de Manila with P200 million which was used to build the John Gokongwei School of Management; on his 85th birthday, he gave De La Salle P250 million and gave birth to the Gokongwei College of Engineering.

On his 90th year, he donated to the Sacred Heart School to honor his only sister Lily Ngo. Earlier, he generously gifted the Xavier School where Lance finished grade and high school and the Immaculate Conception Academy where his daughters studied.

3) Gokongwei thrives on free competition. His businesses “weren’t rent-seeking … and didn’t [depend] on ‘connections…. ’” Rather, they depended on the free market, on selling the best quality at the least price.

He believes in transparency and accountability; thus, he lists his large companies in the stock market. He has no “boss mentality. He is not a power tripper, he never asks anyone to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. He believes … in leading by example.”

He is headstrong, but he is also open-minded. From Lance again, “He told us to hire people who are smarter than us, who are better than us, so that we can improve the business.” He “hired the best talent, the best he could find. And he paid them well so they would stay.”

Though family is first, “the business is not there to serve the family… We never charge any of our personal expenses to the company. We pay for our tickets on Cebu Pacific, our stay at Go Hotels, and goods at Robinsons Department Stores.”

Final word from Lance: “Those who actually have money don’t have to flaunt it. Dad never had to prove he was rich. He didn’t feel the need to drive a flashy car or wear expensive suits.”

I met John Gokongwei Jr. 45 years ago. Since then, he has become a multibillionaire but still lives simply, frugally and happily.

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