FAMOUS BUSINESS MAN IN THE

PHILIPPINES

LUCIO TAN
From the tobacco business, to airline, to
liquor, real estate and education – Lucio
Tan has proven that you can always find
opportunities through humble
experiences.
Lucio C.Tan Sr., (in full Tan Eng Tsai), is a Chinese Filipino
billionaire businessman and educator with interests in
banking, airline, liquor, tobacco, real estate industries and
education. In 2013, Forbes magazine listed him as the second
richest billionaire from the Philippines with a net worth of
$7.5 billion.
• Born: 17 July 1934 (age 84 years), Fujian, China
• Net worth: 4.6 billion USD (2019)
• Spouse: Carmen Tan
• Children: Lucio Tan, Jr., Timmy Tan, Michael Tan, Vivien Tan
• Education: University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University, Chiang
Kai Shek College
• Siblings: Frank Chan, Tan Hui Bin, Mariano Tanenglian, Harry Tan, Eng
Chan, Shirley Chua
Here's another rags to riches entrepreneur story as we witness the
success story of Dr. Lucio Tan.

Lucio Tan was born on July 17, 1934 in China’s Fujian province. His
family moved to Philippines, in Naga, where he was a child. He
worked his way through college studying Chemistry in Far Eastern
University but quit before graduating, set up a business that deals
with scrap in the late 1950s and and later on found a job in a tobacco
factory where he was tasked to buy leaf tobacco in the Ilocos
provinces.

Because of this experience, Lucio Tan started his own cigarette

company named Fortune Tobacco in 1966. It was also during this
time when his close friend Ferdinand Marcos was newly elected as
President. The tobacco business was a success and it expanded
introducing a budget brand ‘Hope’ in 1975. By year 1980, Fortune
Tobacco was the Philippines’ largest cigarette manufacturer.
In 1977, Lucio Tan acquired from the Philippine Government the then bankrupt
bank General Bank and Trust Co. (Genbank) for only P500,000 which was
described by many as a sweetheart deal. It was later renamed to Allied Bank.
In 1982, Lucio Tan established and put up Asia Brewery where he used to his
benefit, the Marcos ruling that lifted the ban on the establishment of new beer
companies. Back then, it was the only brewery allowed to compete with the
market leader San Miguel Corp.
In 1993, Lucio Tan secured control of the country’s airline carrier Philippine Air
Lines (PAL).
While a lot of articles say that Lucio Tan benefited a lot from tax concessions
and privileges that the Marcos Regime gave to him in exchange for a rumored
60% on all his shareholdings, on December 7, 2007, the Philippine Supreme
Court affirmed the decision dismissing the state’s sequestration of Lucio Tan’s
companies. The court’s decision says that “there can be no question that
indeed, petitioner’s orders of sequestration are void and have no legal effect.”
In 1995, he founded yet another company in the aviation industry. The Macro
Asia Corporation was envisioned to be the leading provider of aviation and
logistics services. This vision has become a reality as Macro Asia Corporation is
now the provider of technical ground handling, engineering and maintenance
services, and catering services to majority of the international airlines.
In 2000, Tan has become the majority stockholder of Philippine National Bank.
The merger of PNB and Allied Bank is expected to be completed before the end
of this year.
• HIS COMPANIES DEAL WITH LIQUOR, TOBACCO, AVIATION, BANKING AND
REAL ESTATE. THSE ARE;
* Asia Brewery, the 2nd largest brewer in the Philippines.
* Tanduay Holdings, one of the world's largest rum makers.
* Fortune Tobacco, the largest tobacco company in the
country.
* Philippine Airlines, the Philippines' Number 1 Airline and
Aviation Company and Asia's FIRST Airline
* University of the East one of the most financially stable
universities in the Philippines in terms of assets.
* Philippine National Bank, the 5th largest bank in the
country.
* Allied Bank, the Philippines' 8th largest lender (Merged with
Philippine National Bank).
* Eton Properties Philippines, the global real estate brand of
the Lucio Tan Group.
• 84 years (17 July 1934) To date, Lucio Tan's Group of
Companies provides jobs to 50,000 people. To these employees, Lucio
Tan is simply Kapitan. A nickname that is very much appropriate to
him as he was able to navigate his vast businesses through rough seas
and tough times.

• Today, Lucio Tan is still one of the richest person in the Philippines
ranking him as second to Henry Sy last year 2008 with a total asset of
%1.5 Billion. His Lucio Tan Group of Companies now owns several
industries that includes liquor (Tanduay Holdings, Inc. and Asia
Brewery), tobacco (Fortune Tobacco), aviation (Philippine Airlines),
banking (Allied Bank and Philippine National Bank), real estate (Eton
Properties Philippines), and education (Univerity of the East).
 There are a number of lessons we can learn from the
success story of Lucio Tan, who was not born rich but
worked his way to become one of the richest
billionaires in the country.
Tan, known as a tobacco, beverage and airline
magnate, has a net worth of about $6.1 billion,
according to Forbes magazine.
But unlike other tycoons, Tan has managed to keep a
low-profile, and has made rare appearances before the
media.
Tan has faced controversies throughout his career, but
financial adviser Salve Duplito said this is one of the
lessons that entrepreneurs can learn from the
1) Turn hunger and difficulties into ingredients for success
Duplito said Tan will not be where he is now as the country’s second richest man
without his knack for finding opportunities in crises.
“Never fear crises, both external and personal ones. Tan has shown that there
are always opportunities in the most difficult times,” she said on ANC’s “On The
Money.

2) Stay simple
Duplito said another lesson to be learned from Tan’s success is his
simplicity and humility.
“It is easy to gain only little money, and yet be afflicted by a massive inflation
of ego. It is such a tragedy when people who have stepped up a little bit in
life suddenly act like they are too good for the people they’ve left behind,”
she said.
3) It’s not just who you know, it’s who knows you
Tan was also able to make his businesses successful through the
relationships he nourished throughout his career.
“Appreciate the value of networks. Increasing the things that have value to the
human family are the things that we can do together,” said Duplito.
Duplito highlighted the importance of collaborating, creating joint projects, and
speaking about your passions.
“You don’t have to sell your ideas to somebody else. If you involve them, they
become believers,” she said.

4) Money cannot buy everything

Duplito said that Tan’s success did not all come from having money, but
also from good values.
“Ethics and good governance are things worth sticking your neck out for. If
you ask me, if faced with a choice between poverty and ill-gotten wealth,
I’d choose poverty,” she said.
Duplito added that Tan's success story is proof that "mindset trumps
inheritance."
“You don’t need to be rich to be successful.
You just need to work hard because truly,
“great things start from small beginnings.”
-Lucio Tan

“We need to direct our efforts toward

one goal, and that is to survive.”
-Lucio Tan