Do you want to know the secrets of the Filipino tycoons and what money philosophies are bound to bring you prosperity? Today's special guest, Wilson Lee Flores, will tell us how they have turned their hunger into power. I'm Edric Mendoza and this is On The Money.
Our guest today is Wilson Lee Flores, multi-awarded journalist, historian, poet, entrepreneur, professor, and public speaker as well. Welcome and hello, Wilson. Thanks for being on the show.
You know, it's amazing. I think there's nothing you cannot do. No, no, no. You seem to be doing everything.
Trying to be a jack of all trades. Right, right, right. But it seems that one of your main fascinations is looking at the story of tycoon.
and their practices. Especially self-made entrepreneurs. Especially self-made entrepreneurs. So since you've been writing about that, you wrote recently about George T. And you wrote things like he wears 20-year-old suits. Yes, yes.
But he owns four Rolls Royce limousines and rides a Lexus. Can you tell me more about the man and what you discovered about him? I discovered something about Mr. George T.
and other tycoons like him. Many of the people in the world, we only look at successful and wealthy businessmen. We only are fascinated about their wealth, about their resources, even their lifestyles. But I am fascinated and I study what makes them tick, what motivates them, what are the driving forces behind their success. And I noticed one thing in common with many tycoons in the world and in the Philippines, many of them have gone through some hardships, personal, financial, family, or anything.
So one thing I could not forget, George T. told me in the Metro Bank, Sure. I interviewed him for Philippine Star.
He said everybody in the world, everyone who wants to be a success should be willing to pay the price. Whether it's in terms of hard work, discipline. One thing I noticed about him, he's extraordinarily disciplined.
Discipline. His discipline is not only work discipline, not only thinking discipline, mental, even the physical part. He takes a fit like that?
He swims every day, half hour. Wow. Not literally. swim it like a really athletic type swim every day ever since he was in his 20s he's now almost 80 who would you say are the people you most admire and maybe interesting facts like you said that people learn from yeah many like see mr. John go come with junior okay it's a very fascinating tycoon he is not only driven hard-working one thing I admire about him he's maybe the most well-read tycoon in the Philippines yes yes not only somebody told me about him being He reads a lot.
He reads a lot, books, biographies, newspapers. He reads all magazines. He studies nonstop, even though he was a high school dropout. Interesting.
Because he was poor. He became poor. So he's self-taught. He's almost like he's homeschooled. Yes, like homeschooled.
He kind of taught himself. Very interesting. I think the mother taught him because they could not afford formal schooling. And the father died. The businesses were wiped out.
Very interesting. And then see Mr. And for Mr. Gokongwei, that became a reason for his success. I think so.
The information and the drive and the hard work. And one thing, Andrew Tan of Mega World is very fascinating. He's one of the younger tycoons in the Philippines. He's well-educated, not from the most famous school in the Philippines, but it's a good, not famous school. He was in Magna Cumlaude or Cumlaude Accounting.
And I could not forget what he told me. He used to go to school walking. to save on the jeepney fare every day oh if he was early though he would save on the jeepney fare and just walk to school and walk home to save on the fare every day because it adds up yes but when you talk to him when you meet him when you shake his hands he's a son of a wealthy person he speaks very well he's very very refined very well of kid type guy i one thing good about anderton i i think he's a very good financial He knows how to analyze. That was his strength. I think he's an accountant by background and he's very daring.
Interesting. Very daring. Yes.
Risk taker like that. One entrepreneur family that is very low key that I admire very much also see Andrew and Mercedes Cotillanon. The husband and wife, they are very low key. They're always not in the papers except their companies are listed. They're very hard working.
They're extremely hard working. How so? They're hard.
They hold meetings at 6am in the morning with the executives. Even up to now? Yes, and they're in their mid-80s or late 80s.
And they really work very hard. Lead disciplined lives. Lucio Tan is another tycoon like Manny Villar.
Manny Villar and Lucio Tan are really school of hard knocks. Really self-made men, rags to riches. by always reading a lot. He reads a lot.
But he reads more of Chinese philosophy, Chinese history, and he's very good at Chinese strategies. Interesting. So more principles rather than the industries. Principles and also the strategies he reads from the Chinese historical accounts.
Intrigues, battles, war. So war strategies that could be used for all business and politics. Incredible. And then... And Manny Villar, he's a self-made man from a poor family but went to one of the best schools in the country, UP, and had a very good business education.
So that's very interesting for me. Very interesting. There are many.
Yeah. So these are the guys that you admire, no? Yes. You know how they say that amongst many of the Chinese tycoons, frugality.
Yes, you're right. This is a very important trait. You're correct.
Tell me about that. Frugality, I think it's a... already inculcated in the Chinese culture.
Like you, you don't have to go to the jeep every day. Yes, yes. The example she gave earlier. Yes, yes. And not only that, one of the Thai girls that I know, I don't want to mention her name, she said throughout her life she has never bought any expensive designer clothes.
Right. And she's one of the wealthiest in the country. Right.
One of the self-made people in the Philippines. And then also, it's not frugality to the point of being, depriving yourself and everything, but they lead simple lives. I remember hearing people tell me, before Luchatan became Philippine Airlines'boss, he never rides business or first class. He always rides economy class. And I heard, though, one time he was on a plane flight to somewhere, and his executives were on first class or business class.
He was on economy. Really? Yes, and it's true. And I think his thinking behind it is you arrive at the same time. I see.
Very interesting. What is one of the most extreme stories? stories that you can remember when it comes to these type of frugality one story i could not forget mr jan gokong told me about frugality he said throughout his life now when he was young he always rented a home for 10 or more than a dozen houses when he had a family already he kept on renting the wife never complained that he was a gypsy now because they were moving yes they were moving what a good wife oh yeah and i told him why and he told me a lot of the businessmen in the philippines now when you become wealthy the first thing they do is build a big house or a nice house and even wrong on philosophy and thinking is in una Nia Muna factory Nia businesses yeah they build everything Mona and he did not make the house a priority he he he observed us in Japan because he when he went to Japan in the 50s and 60s he could not forget now in Japan though the offices and the home style of the tycoons or the top executives are small and simple but But the factories in Japan were massive. So he could not forget that. So when he went back to the Philippines, he said he would prioritize building of his factories because the factories are the cash cow.
They will give you money back. They will give you money back. Your house will not. Not so much.
Right. Very interesting. I think the key question would now be is this trait passed on to the next generation? That's very interesting. Like in the case of Lansko Kongwe and the brothers and the sisters, they have all simple lives.
But they enjoy life. It's simple. It's not like they're just living.
I know George T. of Metro Bank. I know the children are not extravagant.
SM, I don't think they are extravagant. I heard from someone that the kids are very disciplined. Okay.
But there's a problem. How to pass it on? To the third generation, right? Yes, second or third. The problem usually, many tycoons in the world, not in the Philippines only, especially self-made people, when they went through so many hardships.
It strengthened them, right? Not only that. Yeah.
some of them have a wrong idea that they don't want their kids to suffer. I see. So they insulate their kids from hardships. From shelter. They don't want their kids to be struggling like they did before.
That's the opposite. That's wrong. So I really believe that many of the self-made tycoons in the world, not only the Philippines, many of them have some form of hardships or struggles behind their success.
That have allowed them to be who they are. This is so interesting. I have so many more questions for you. you wilson we're going to have to take a break right now and go to our viewer questions so stay with us on the money we'll be right back Welcome back to On The Money.
Let's check what Salve Duplito has for us in Salve Says. There are a lot of things we know about Filipino tycoons thanks to prolific writer Wilson D Flores but there is very little we know about him. What drives the country's tycoon biographer who has picked the brains of the best businessman in the world? the country and what money lessons has he learned from them?
I'm not very successful in that sense. I'm an ordinary businessman. But one thing that I learned is that people who have gone through a few difficulties, whatever, it's always actually an advantage because it makes you stronger, better as a person.
In my personal case, I don't usually write about myself. All my life, I've learned that you have to work for whatever you want to have. While you are young, don't be afraid of taking risks.
And while you are young, don't be afraid to lose money. So I lost money when I was young. that very small amount but a good thing about when you are young and you take risk you can always recover not only financially but emotionally even physically you still have all the time in the world not only from tycoons even from medium-sized successful entrepreneurs and tycoons they all common lessons that i learned one thing is it doesn't harm people to see and then number two is to be efficient One thing I learned from the tycoons, which I should still be learning to do, they're very efficient with their time management.
There are three that I know that are the best, most efficient, whom I should emulate, I have not yet emulated. One I know is Mr. John Gokongwei Jr. One is Mr. George Lee of Metro Bank.
One is Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Cotanon. They're all in their 80s. You know, they're remarkable.
One thing I learned from them, I have not yet... done in my life. They never attend any evening parties or any invitations.
I think it's a little bit extreme but they are really disciplined. They don't attend any socials, January to December. They just go home after work, be with their family, the three of them. Mr. John Gokongwei Jr., I know that every day he does the treadmill every day and swims every day and one One thing I learned that I have not yet done, he takes a nap every afternoon after lunch. 20-30 minutes nap.
Yes, 20 minutes only, 30 minutes. I think it recharges him. And he works Monday to Saturday every day.
What about George T? I know he swims. He swims every day 30 minutes and very disciplined.
And he said he never attends any parties and his friends and clients are not angry. so they won't be offended. He hosts a party in his house once a year. A big, big party once a year for everyone.
I think New Year or something, every year. Most of the self-made tycoons are very risky. I think I learned about the tycoons of the 21st century now and the late 20th century. Many of the Philippine tycoons are smarter than the tycoons 50 years ago, 100 years ago. Many of the wealthy families in the past generations had a problem with succession.
They don't know how to pass on wealth and businesses. Usually, second, third generation, they have problems. Many of the big companies before are no longer there. But the good thing about the tycoons now, the Philippine financial system, the economy is more sophisticated. Filipino billionaires have one thing in common.
They were able to turn their hunger into power and massive fortunes. If you're looking for the billionaire DNA that separates tycoons from... from the rest of us humans, you've got to listen to Wilson.
Still with us is Wilson Lee Flores, multi-awarded journalist and historian, poet. Entrepreneur, professor and public speaker. Of course with us is Melissa Hekule with your Money Questions. Hi Mel. Hi Edric.
Hello Wilson. So actually you've told us a lot of stories about other tycoons. Yes, yes, yes.
What about your own story? I'm not of that level but one thing good about my personal experience I think I keep telling people is there's I personally believe there's nothing as exciting in this world as creating your own. uh your own uh making your own money yes uh it's uh some people are uh complaining like i've heard of many families uh they have uh family inheritances that are not equal and all done i remember my mother used to tell me if you want to create a small fortune it's by non-stop uh hard work and frugality that's true but you're doing something good oh yes and my mother was a widow but never in my mind did i doubt that i will be okay I have this belief that everyone in this world is born to be successful. That's just my belief.
And in my personal self, I keep saying I will be okay. So you have to have positive thinking at that. Well, we have some questions from social media.
Now we asked our social media friends and followers which Filipinos they admire the most, and the most common answer we got was Henry C. Why do you think this is? I think aside from his authentic success story, story, Rags to Riches, very inspiring. One thing good about him also, he's into the businesses that are very popular and famous.
The brand is so popular, SM and BDO and all that. There's a form of inefficiency in the SM operations. It's not high-end, it's not low-end, it's somewhere in between the quality, but very consistent, clean, orderly. And one thing I learned about him, I've interviewed him several times before.
he's very down to earth and humble. And he's very soft spoken. There was one time when he opened the podium wall, he invited me to dinner. We talked for five hours. Conversation.
I was embarrassed because I felt I did most of the talking. He's just quiet and listening, soft spoken. But I keep asking him and he would give a few answers.
But he was very wise and very down to earth and soft spoken. But one thing I could not forget he told me. When you look at him though, the way he talks, talks the way he is, he seems to be very quiet and very, you know, but he told me deep inside him now, he's very driven.
He's very competitive. So he's just low key. Yes, but he's very competitive. He wants to be number one in anything that he does, he told me.
And when he told me that, he was not number one yet in banking. And he's already number one in malls and shopping malls. And he's now even number one in movie houses.
And very interesting guy. I've heard this. I actually heard.
that he really goes to all his SM department stores and sits there and checks them out. And he told me his success is not overnight. It took him more than half a century to build it up.
So many of the successes in the world, whether you're an athlete, painter, musician, you have to take a lot of years and years to perfect it and be, you know, no get rich quick phenomenon. That's true. I think that's very difficult.
Now we have another question. question from Norman who says who do you think will be among the second generation of tycoons? Good question.
I couldn't forget Mr. Goh Kong Wei always telling me, Chan Goh Kong Wei telling me, when he was young in the 50s, he was from the province of Cebu, he was a self-made entrepreneur not rich, people were asking that question already who are going to be the next generation tycoons. Yes. And the names they keep naming in the 50s were the sons and daughters the famous tycoons of the 50s.
Really? Not them. about this oh my gosh so so he keeps he keeps on telling me many of the future leaders of the business community are not necessarily their own children though if they could he told me if they could just maintain their success he would be very happy now but he expects now somewhere out there in the story somewhere out there there's a guy there struggling there's another self-made one there who will become like them though he believes so why doesn't he think that the children of those tycoons will continue.
He believes they are good. Like in his case he's very proud of his kid, his son is very good but the drive though, there's something about the drive of a soulmate. It's not a strong. It's still there but you cannot replicate exactly the circumstances of hardships and difficulties.
Which of the kids of current tycoons do you think will be able to really follow in their father's footsteps? I think the owners of SM are very amazing. Yes.
Sobel Children are very good, the ones now running the business. The Philinves and East West Bank children of the Gautianuns are good. Metro Bank and Toyota, George's kids are very good.
Money Billiards kids are very good. The children of Money Billiards, all Wharton graduates, hardworking. Aboytees are amazing. They're really good.
Many of them are okay. They have the best education and they have the benefit. now of all these publicly listed companies that could source capital from everywhere and source the best minds. They could hire the best professionals for many millions. My gosh, I'd love to pick your brain some more, but we're out of time.
Thank you very much for the time. Anyway, send us your money questions via email or through Facebook and Twitter and we'll try to answer them in our next episode or on our next Q&A Friday. Time-tested values, hard work, discipline, keeping it low-key, you know.
Thank you, Wilson. Thank you. Thank you.
That's our show today. I'm Edric Mendoza. Join us again tomorrow for more talking tips. So you're always right on the money.