When John Gokongwei, Jr. was born in 1926, one of the finest building in Cebu city ( the first one in the city to have an elevator, in fact) built by his prosperous great-grandfather stood as a lonely reminder of his clan's vanished wealth. By 1942 during the Japanese occupation, the profits from the movie houses owned by his father had disappeared, too. If others had rags-to-riches stories, the young Cebuano's story was riches-to-rags.
Thus, at the tender age of 15, Gokongwei had to venture into the buy-and-sell business, selling all sorts of items: foodstuff, soap, candles, textiles, anything that could help his family of six siblings and widowed mother to survive. He would travel in decrepit saliboats to Lucena south of Manila to purchase goods for resale in Cebu. He also took night classes to complete his schooling.
He arrived in Manila, Philippines in 1950 to start a trading firm, and with the modest profits, entered the cornstarch business. Believing in the young entrepreneur's abilities, china Bank granted him a substantial loan. By 1956, John Gokongwei had become a millionaire. He eventually entered into the food, garments, textiles, real estate, electronics, department store, flour and sugar milling, agribusiness, hotels, publishing, cement, petrochemicals and banking industries, making him one of the riches men in Asia.
Words of John Gokongwei: "If you want to start your own business, you should posses certain qualities like integrity, honestly, thrift, diligence and a willingness to take measured risks. It' hard work, really. You cannot just build a business on dreams, do it."
Continue Reading on Success Stories . . .
He arrived in Manila, Philippines in 1950 to start a trading firm, and with the modest profits, entered the cornstarch business. Believing in the young entrepreneur's abilities, china Bank granted him a substantial loan. By 1956, John Gokongwei had become a millionaire. He eventually entered into the food, garments, textiles, real estate, electronics, department store, flour and sugar milling, agribusiness, hotels, publishing, cement, petrochemicals and banking industries, making him one of the riches men in Asia.
Words of John Gokongwei: "If you want to start your own business, you should posses certain qualities like integrity, honestly, thrift, diligence and a willingness to take measured risks. It' hard work, really. You cannot just build a business on dreams, do it."
Continue Reading on Success Stories . . .
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