An Entrepreneur Who Laughed His Way from Land to Bank

“The best investment on earth is earth.” — Louis Glickman

Andrew Lo Gotianun Sr. was the Chairman Emeritus of Filinvest Development Corp best known as the founder of the publicly-listed real estate firm, Filinvest Land Inc. He was also the Chairman Emeritus of East West Bank. In 2010, Forbes ranked him as the 14th richest Filipino with a net worth of USD500 million. He was the cousin of John Gokongwei, Jr., who is the third richest Filipino. He was a descendant of the prominent Go clan. His granduncle, Don Pedro Gotiaco, a Chinese immigrant during the 19th century, became one of the richest Filipinos during those times.

On November 24, 1927, the man who built a fortune out of real estate and finance was born in Amoy, China. He was a scion of wealthy Go clan of Cebu and arrived in the Philippines at the age of 10. His schooling was cut short by World War II and by the untimely death of his parents. To support his siblings amidst the ruins after the war, he engaged in salvaging ships and later sold second-hand cars that later on became a consumer lending company that helped people buy things like refrigerators, electric fans and brand-new cars.

As a teenager, Gotianun gathered parts from old ships while living in Cebu before moving to Manila. There, using the profits from the consumer lending business, he bought idle land and developed them into residential subdivisions for the middle class in Cebu, Marikina, and Quezon City. He moved to Manila in the 1950s where he met his wife, Mercedes. Together, they continued the business of selling and financing second vehicles under the company name Filinvest Credit Corporation.

In 1955, he founded the Filinvest Development Corporation as a business for financing second-hand car. It is the holding company of the Gotianun family and the largest shareholder of the publicly-listed company Filinvest Land Inc., with 53 percent stake.

In 1967, he ventured into real estate business and founded Filinvest Realty Corporation. In 1970, Filinvest Development Corporation continued its expansion to consumer finance by partnering with foreign companies such as Chase Manhattan, Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Ford Philippines. In the same decade, Gotianun established the Filinvest Credit Corporation and the Family Bank and Trust Company. By the 70s, Gotianun had become a pioneering figure in the real estate industry. He also put-up Family Savings Bank in 1971 and the Insular Bank of Asia and America.

In 1973, the couple founded Filinvest Development Corporation as a holding company for their real estate and consumer finance businesses. In the 1980s, all real estate businesses were consolidated under a new company called Filinvest Land Inc. At this time, they divested their holding in the banking industry. In 1984, Gotianun divested his shares in Family Bank and Insular Bank of Asia and America to focus on real estate development. Citation Homes was incorporated in 1989 and was eventually renamed as Filinvest Land Inc. in July 1993 and went public in October of the same year. Under his leadership, Filinvest Land became one of the leaders in the real estate industry.

In the 1990s, the group listed Filinvest Land at the local stock exchange. At the same time, it became a partner of a government agency to development a large tract of land south of Metro Manila. In the new millennium, the group diversified into sugar milling, power generation and resort development. In 1994, Gotianun entered the banking industry once again by establishing East West Banking Corporation. The bank was the first bank to be issued a commercial banking license in 20 years. In 2007, Gotianun’s Filinvest Development Corp. acquired 100 percent share of Pacific Sugar Holdings Corporation (PSCH) from the ALG Holdings Corporation through an exchange of FDC's 1.55 billion shares. PSCH owns three sugar companies: Davao Sugar Central Co., Cotabato Sugar Central Co. and High Yield Sugar Farms Corporation.

Andrew Gotianon Sr. passed away in 2016 at the age of 88. He had 4 children with his wife Mercedes. According to Forbes magazine, his net worth was more than $900 million at the end of 2016. Her third child and only daughter Josephine succeeded her father as head of the Filinvest Group.

A very successful author once said, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” This wise dictum cannot be more gloriously manifested than the kind of lives exemplified by the late Andrew Gotianun Sr. Despite being born under a wealthy family, he was reared under an atmosphere of exacting frugality, simplicity, faith, hard work and discipline. He had made all of us in the Chinese-Filipino community beam with pride. Who could not be – when he aptly epitomized the kind of entrepreneurs we long to be: leaders who find success through constant curiosity and having the courage to pursue new things beyond their comfort zones? Running a business built on a foundation of unimpeachable integrity, impeccable work ethics and an eye for fairness. And most of all, an enterprise which created a lasting legacy of generosity.