Successful Entrepreneurs

Andrew Gotianun is a Chinese Filipino entrepreneur from the Philippines who at one time held a net worth of US$860 million (2007). He runs the Filinvest Development Corporation which owns most of the Filinvest Land and the East West Bank.Gotianun also focuses on biofuels and has acquired two sugar mills and a plantation. As of 2008, his fortune has decreased sharply to $235 Million, a result of the global financial downturn. Gotianun made a living from salvaging ships at the end of the Second World War. Several years later, he became involved in an automobile dealership. Later still, in 1955, he founded Filinvest Development Corporation a company which became engaged in real estate in 1967. Gotaniun and his wife, Mercedes, temporarily retired from business activities in the 1980s but returned a short time later, with a plan to make improvements to the corporation. He is among those honored at the BizNewAsia Real Estate Who is Who (BREW) awards.

Henry Sy, Sr. (born October 25, 1924) is a Chinese Filipino businessman and the founder of SM Group and chairman of SM Prime Holdings, the largest retailer and shopping mall operator in the Philippines. He earned his Associate of Arts degree in Commercial Studies at Far Eastern University in 1950. Acknowledged as the country’s "Retail King," he has come a long way from the modest shoe store he set up in Quiapo in 1946, to become Asia's biggest shopping mall operator with over 30 malls throughout the Philippines


Tony Tan Caktiong is the founder and current Chairman and CEO of Philippine fast food chain Jollibee. He graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in chemical engineering and graduated high school from Chiang Kai Shek College. Caktiong had initially planned an ice cream parlor when he founded Jollibee, then subsequently added additional dishes such as hamburgers, french fries, and fried chicken.
Caktiong, on July 8, 2008 was elected board director of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT)'s 11-member board replacing Ma. Lourdes Rausa-Chan. He is also an independent director of First Gen Corp. Also, Caktiong top billed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) video documentaries. The WIPO webcast page featured personalities chosen from the 184 member states.



Lucio Tan is one of the most prominent business magnates in the Philippines and the second richest man in the Philippines. He owns Asia Brewery, the second largest brewery in the Philippines, Tanduay Holdings, one of the world's largest rum makers, Fortune Tobacco, the largest tobacco company in the country, Philippine Airlines the Philippines' flag carrier, (these companies are just some of the 300 companies that Tan controls). According to some estimates, the total value of his business empire would not be less than $2.3 billion, and he controls 40 to 60% of that. Tan was born on July 17, 1934, in Amoy, Fujian, Republic of China. His parents moved to the Philippines when he was a child. He studied chemical engineering at Far Eastern University in Manila and later obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in the said program from the University of Santo Tomas. He actually quit before graduating to take a job in a tobacco factory. Though a non-smoker, he started a cigarette company called Fortune Tobacco in 1966. This humble venture, which was housed in a small hut in Marikina, proved to be the enterprise that would catapult Mr. Tan to success. From this flagship company emerged numerous successful ventures in agribusiness; airlines and related services; banking, finance and securities; brewery; chemicals; distillery and alcohol; education; food; hotel; manufacturing; property development; steel fabrication and construction; and tourism and travel services.

John L. Gokongwei, Jr. (born August 11, 1926 in Gulangyu, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China) is a Chinese Filipino Businessman with holdings in telecom, financial services, petrochemicals, power, aviation and hog farming. In 2008, Gokongwei has a networth of $680 million. His father, John Gokongwei Sr. the founder of Universal Robina Corporation. He is the chairman of JG Summit Holdings, one of largest conglomerates in the Philippines. In 2005, his company had spent $700 million of internally generated funds for buying new aircraft for his airline, Cebu Pacific Air, the largest carrier in the Philippines. From 2003 up to the present his telecom arm Digitel Telecommunications Philippines spent nearly $800 million for its mobile unit Sun Cellular which is the 3rd largest mobile operator in the Philippines as of 2008. He is currently negotiating a $1 billion takeover of UIC a property giant from Singapore of which he owns in excess of 30%. UIC controls Singapore Land one of the biggest property landlord in Singapore. Gokongwei also owns Universal Robina Corporation, largest manufacturer of snacks in the Philippines and the maker of the very successful C2 green tea drink in the country. He also controls Robinsons Land one of the biggest property concerns in the Philippines that operates the Robinsons Mall.

Manuel "Manny" Bamba Villar Jr. (born December 13, 1949) is a Filipino businessman and politician. He is currently a Philippine Senator, president of the Nacionalista Party, and a candidate for president in the 2010 Presidential Election. Villar was born to a poor family in Tondo,an impoverished and densely populated district of Manila. After graduating from the University of the Philippines, he worked as an accountant and financial analyst, then launched a highly successful business in real estate. The number of homes built by Villar's companies has totaled to over 200,000 units, and his business career made him one of the country's wealthiest persons.






Andrew L. Tan is an entrepreneur from the Philippines who engages in real estate, liquor and fast food. According to a 2007 edition of the Forbes Magazine, Tan became the Philippines' fourth billionaire after Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Henry Sy, and Lucio Tan(no relation). His fortune that year was $1.1 Billion. It declined to $700 Million due to stock problems. Originally a poor immigrant from China, Tan was born in the Fujian province. He spent his childhood at an apartment in Hongkong which was shared by other families and had short supply. Later, he moved to Manila where he studied accounting at University of the East. For economic reasons, he would head to school walking rather than riding on public transportation. He then graduated. During his early years in business, the government of Quezon City honored him "Businessman of the Year" for 2004.

George S.K. Ty is a Chinese Filipino finance tycoon. He founded Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, currently the largest bank in terms of Assets and Capital in the Philippines. He also has stakes in the Bank of the Philippine Islands and Philippine Savings Bank, a Metrobank subsidiary. George Ty was the owner of the G.T. International Tower in Makati. He used to be a billionaire where he once had a networth of $2.2 Billion back in 1998.

Lex Ledesma is a Filipino entrepreneur, former competitive debater, and educator. He is currently working with the ILO on a program to promote entrepreneurship in Philippine schools. He is also one of the founders of The One School, a new institution of tertiary education in Manila's Central Business District of Makati whose curriculum has a prominent focus on imparting entrepreneurial skills.