Still on the Philippine Star's 24th anniversary issue, my friend Jude urged me to read Robina and Lisa Gokongwei's tribute their dad—only the third richest man in the Philippines.
This is seriously one of the best things I've read. It is so funny and down-to-earth, it gives you a different view on how rich people live, and we love that. (And let me just say, quite the opposite of how rich people are portrayed in Philippine movies. Star Cinema, please pay attention.)
![John Gokongwei Jr.]()
Photo: PINGGOT ZULUETA
10 Things You Didn't Know About John Gokongwei Jr.
By Robina Gokongwei-Pe and By Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng
1. John is very proud that he is the oldest son of the oldest son of the Go patriarch who came to the Philippines from Kengdong Village in Jinjiang , China in the late 19th century.
The patriarch, Pedro Gotiaoco, was born June 30, 1856.
Pedro’s oldest son was Go Chiong Ut, whose oldest son was John Gokongwei Sr., whose oldest son was John Gokongwei Jr., whose oldest and only son is Lance.
John reveres his ancestors so much that this year, when the Chinese government decided to exhume the remains of his great grandfather Pedro who was buried in Jinjiang, John had the remains transferred to the family mausoleum at Manila Memorial Park, along with the remains of his father John Sr., who was then buried in Cebu.
Last June 26, 2010, 150 descendants of Pedro Gotiaoco attended the re-internment rites for Pedro and John Sr.
2. His favorite dishes are adobong pig’s ears and sautéed pig’s kidneys with chocolate as dessert, which are all forbidden at home but he manages to eat them in his office.
He was upset at his 80th birthday party because in the beginning we tried to be fancy and didn’t order lechon and roasted baka, his second favorite dishes.
His waistline is 46 inches but he tells people it is only 40.
He enjoys shopping at the Big and Tall Store in the U.S. because his size there is “small.”
3. For his suits, he goes to a tailor, Ah Man Hing Chong, at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
He can’t do without pockets to put in his pens, documents, newspapers and magazines. His tailor has been complaining that all the stuff in his pockets ruins the form of his suits. He refuses to throw away his old suits thinking he can go back to his former size eventually.
4. He doesn’t mind if his children and grandchildren are litterbugs, because when he was a child, he was not allowed by his mother to be a litterbug—everything had to be kept in place.
5. When he turned 70, he found himself with only one grandchild when his contemporaries had dozens. He got so desperate he promised his children that they’d get two cars for every male grandchild and one car for every female child. Because it took so long for the second one, everyone forgot about the offer.
6. He believes so much in China’s future that he hired a lady from Shanghai to teach his grandchildren Mandarin. The irony was that when he was a child, he didn’t want to listen to his Mandarin teacher so he placed thumbtacks on her chair and got punished.
7. When he courted our Mom and our mom rejected him initially, he got hives.
That’s when he realized Mom was the one.
8. His favorite people in history are Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte and Alexander the Great.
He loves listening to classical music and his favorite composer is Tchaikovsky.
Because of his love of classical music, he forced all his six children to take piano lessons but the teachers gave up on all six, and that’s when he realized there was not an ounce of musical talent in his family.
9. He stopped smoking the day Ninoy Aquino got shot.
He got so shocked while watching TV that he forgot to light the cigar he was holding. From that moment on, he never lit a cigar or cigarette again.
10. Just say that his grandsons look like him, and you will be his friend.
Plus: Here's how Mr. John peddled soap, thread and candles at 15, and acquired an airline at 70
By Lance Y. Gokongwei
This is seriously one of the best things I've read. It is so funny and down-to-earth, it gives you a different view on how rich people live, and we love that. (And let me just say, quite the opposite of how rich people are portrayed in Philippine movies. Star Cinema, please pay attention.)
Photo: PINGGOT ZULUETA10 Things You Didn't Know About John Gokongwei Jr.
By Robina Gokongwei-Pe and By Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng
1. John is very proud that he is the oldest son of the oldest son of the Go patriarch who came to the Philippines from Kengdong Village in Jinjiang , China in the late 19th century.
The patriarch, Pedro Gotiaoco, was born June 30, 1856.
Pedro’s oldest son was Go Chiong Ut, whose oldest son was John Gokongwei Sr., whose oldest son was John Gokongwei Jr., whose oldest and only son is Lance.
John reveres his ancestors so much that this year, when the Chinese government decided to exhume the remains of his great grandfather Pedro who was buried in Jinjiang, John had the remains transferred to the family mausoleum at Manila Memorial Park, along with the remains of his father John Sr., who was then buried in Cebu.
Last June 26, 2010, 150 descendants of Pedro Gotiaoco attended the re-internment rites for Pedro and John Sr.
2. His favorite dishes are adobong pig’s ears and sautéed pig’s kidneys with chocolate as dessert, which are all forbidden at home but he manages to eat them in his office.
He was upset at his 80th birthday party because in the beginning we tried to be fancy and didn’t order lechon and roasted baka, his second favorite dishes.
His waistline is 46 inches but he tells people it is only 40.
He enjoys shopping at the Big and Tall Store in the U.S. because his size there is “small.”
3. For his suits, he goes to a tailor, Ah Man Hing Chong, at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
He can’t do without pockets to put in his pens, documents, newspapers and magazines. His tailor has been complaining that all the stuff in his pockets ruins the form of his suits. He refuses to throw away his old suits thinking he can go back to his former size eventually.
4. He doesn’t mind if his children and grandchildren are litterbugs, because when he was a child, he was not allowed by his mother to be a litterbug—everything had to be kept in place.
5. When he turned 70, he found himself with only one grandchild when his contemporaries had dozens. He got so desperate he promised his children that they’d get two cars for every male grandchild and one car for every female child. Because it took so long for the second one, everyone forgot about the offer.
6. He believes so much in China’s future that he hired a lady from Shanghai to teach his grandchildren Mandarin. The irony was that when he was a child, he didn’t want to listen to his Mandarin teacher so he placed thumbtacks on her chair and got punished.
7. When he courted our Mom and our mom rejected him initially, he got hives.
That’s when he realized Mom was the one.
8. His favorite people in history are Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte and Alexander the Great.
He loves listening to classical music and his favorite composer is Tchaikovsky.
Because of his love of classical music, he forced all his six children to take piano lessons but the teachers gave up on all six, and that’s when he realized there was not an ounce of musical talent in his family.
9. He stopped smoking the day Ninoy Aquino got shot.
He got so shocked while watching TV that he forgot to light the cigar he was holding. From that moment on, he never lit a cigar or cigarette again.
10. Just say that his grandsons look like him, and you will be his friend.
Plus: Here's how Mr. John peddled soap, thread and candles at 15, and acquired an airline at 70
By Lance Y. Gokongwei