Lance Gokongwei: Wealth, Business Empire, and Life Outside Work

Lance Gokongwei has steered JG Summit into some of its most lucrative and exciting years. Balancing expansion and recovery during the pandemic and beyond, the scion of the powerful Gokongwei clan has relied on sound business principles he learned from his father, the late great John Gokongwei Jr.

Today, JG Summit stands tall as one of the biggest conglomerates in the Philippines. The billionaire has put innovation and growth at the heart of the company, encompassing interests in airlines, telecommunications, food and beverage, banking, telecommunications, power, retail, real estate, and others.

The President and CEO of JG Summit Holdings and chairman of Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, Gokongwei has guided the company his father built toward a new era of growth and prosperity. Here's everything we know about Lance Gokongwei.

Net worth: $1 billion (P56.7 billion)

Age: 55

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In His Youth

Born on November 23, 1966, Lance Yu Gokongwei is the second child and only son of tycoon John Gokongwei Jr, who founded JG Summit Holdings, Inc. His mother, Elizabeth, was a savvy entrepreneur, as well. Growing up in Manila, the young Gokongwei was always destined to take on the reins of the family business in due time.

He attended Xavier School during his first couple of years in high school before moving to Singapore to get his diploma. After that, Gokongwei was on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he finished summa cum laude with a double degree in Finance and Applied Science.

In the late '80s, he would play a more active role in the family business, first becoming a management trainee at Universal Robina Corp. He was said to have sold Jack ’n Jill snacks to various stores and supermarkets when he started. In the span of a decade, he would become general manager of Universal Robina's branded food business, and then, eventually climbing further up in the Gokongwei business empire.

Lance Gokongwei's Business Empire

Under JG Summit Holdings Inc. are companies like Universal Robina, Cebu Pacific Air, Robinsons Land Corporation, Robinsons Bank, and JG Summit Olefins Corporation, among others.

In the '90s, Gokongwei started to prove his mettle by taking charge of several initiatives under his father's business. He led the development of beverages at Universal Robina, which birthed the tea drink C2, a product that would prove to be one of the most successful the company ever introduced. 

By 2013, he became Universal Robina's chief executive. From there, he brought in Japan's Calbee and France's Danone for potato chips and beverages. On top of that, he led the acquisition of New Zealand-based cookie maker Griffin's Foods for $609 million. URC also bought Munchy Food Industries from Malaysia to become the Philippines' leading manufacturer of biscuits.

It was also in the '90s that the elder Gokongwei asked his son to look into getting into the affordable airline business. Hence, the creation of Cebu Pacific Air. The carrier hit the ground running, although it did have its initial struggles. It was in its early years that the younger Gokongwei "faced his greatest challenge."

Cebu Pacific Flight 387 was the Philippines' worst air tragedy. The plane hit the slopes of Mount Sumagaya in Gingoog City and over 100 people in it perished. Gokongwei's response was swift and proper measures were put in place to ensure that accidents of that magnitude would never happen again. By 2010, Cebu Pacific became the country's largest airline with Gokongwei at the helm. He stepped down as president and CEO of the airline in December 2022.

In 2000, Gokongwei was named president and chief operating officer of JG Summit. Nearly two decades later, he took over his father's primary duties and was named CEO. It was recently reported that the company's core net income was approximately P10 billion in the first half of 2023. Gokongwei also had a hand in the entry to the Philippines of the digital bank GoTyme, as well as new property developments with Robinsons Land Corporation on the horizon.

Gokongwei's Impact on Philippine Economy and Society

The Gokongwei Group's philanthropy has always focused on education. As the chairman of the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, the JG Summit CEO has continued to contribute to educational charities and causes.

For instance, it has been offering scholarship programs for students who have an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In a span of 30 years, the foundation has had more than 2,500 scholars and supported over 30,000 educators. Some of the institutions that have received endowments from the foundation include Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University.

During the pandemic, Gokongwei also supported the efforts to address COVID-19. The foundation donated grocery vouchers to millions and gave away roughly P23 million in medical supplies, school supplies, and the like to local government units and hospitals all over the country.

Gokongwei is involved in groups that dedicate themselves to sustainability and best business practices. He is a member of the National Advisory Council of WWF Philippines and the Global Reporting Initiative. He was named the 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst and Young and one of Ten Outstanding Young Men in the Philippines in 2000, as well. Gokongwei was also Finance Asia's Best CEO in 2015 and 2018.

Outside the Boardroom

Gokongwei and his siblings, Lisa, Robina, Faith, Hope, and Marcia, have their respective posts in the Gokongwei Group's operations. Robina, for instance, leads the operations of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. while Lisa is president of Summit Media.

The JG Summit CEO is married to Jay Leong, with whom he has two children, Hannah, and Jacob. Gokongwei wrote a book dedicated to his father, Lessons from Dad, John Gokongwei Jr., and the anthology titled Letters to My Children. Here's an excerpt from the latter:

“Our family has always been a simple one. We’ve always worked very hard and we continue to do so. Your angkong experienced many years of hardship and learned how to be frugal. He was known to be a bad dresser. He never spent a lot of money on clothes, shoes, watches, cars, or other flashy things. He never flew business class while he could still fit in economy class seats. He never believed any of those frills were important."

The billionaire has always been a voracious reader. "What he did spend money on was books. When we were growing up, he would take us to the bookstore and let us buy as many books as we wanted. Books opened our minds and made us curious about the world we lived in. They made us open to new ideas, excited to try new things. That is why your mom and I let you buy all the books you want, too. We want you to expand your minds the way your angkong and ama had us expand ours.”

Esquire Philippines is published by Summit Media, a company owned and managed by the Gokongwei Group of Companies.