‘Rest in peace, Mr. John’

With a reported net worth of $5.8 billion as of November 2019 and as the patriarch of a business empire encompassing banking, retail, real estate, food and beverage and air transportation, taipan John Gokongwei Jr., has died Saturday evening at age 93, his son Lance Gokongwei confirmed Sunday.

“Our beloved husband, father and grandfather John Gokongwei Jr. passed away peacefully 11:41 p.m., 9th of November, 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.”

Forbes listed Gokongwei as the third richest Filipino as the founder of JG Summit Holdings with big stakes in almost every business in the country, including in telecommunications with a stake in PLDT and power.

Gokongwei traced his success to starting a cornstarch plant under Universal Robina Corp., named after his firstborn Robina, a company which metamorphosed into one of the country’s biggest food and beverage outfits.

Daughters Robina and Lisa presided over the print and publishing side of his empire after buying a newspaper in 1989 only to shut it down in 1999 under the pressure of a P101-billion libel suit filed against the daily by then President Joseph Estrada.

The daughters continued their media sojourn by publishing glossy magazines like FHM, Cosmpolitan and Candy, among many others, many of which are now only existing on digital platform.

In a candid moment in 2018, John Gokongwei said he loved being an entrepreneur so much so that he did not mind earning P20 a day while “working longer and harder than everybody else.”

“I stayed as an entrepreneur, loving what I did and working hard. And always learning from the school of life,” he had said.

In a move that cemented his legacy, Gokongwei donated half of his shares in the JG Summit Holdings amounting to P20 billion to the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, tagged as the “biggest philanthropic endowment in Philippine history.”

“Life has been good to me, and I want to give back the blessings I have received,” he said then before passing the reins of their holding company to son Lance