Bilyonaryo Andrew Gotianun Sr. passed away 10 March 2016. He was 88.
His company, Filinvest Group, and others paid tribute to Gotianun as a dreamer and visionary.
While every Filipino?s dream is to own a home, his dream was for every Filipino to own a home. Today, the Filinvest…
Posted by Filinvest on?Thursday, March 10, 2016
Taipan Andrew Gotianun Sr. passed away yesterday at age of 88. $FLI $FDC $EW
? ABCapitalGroup (@ABCapitalGroup) March 11, 2016
Gotianun was among the taipans who honed their business skills making money from the rubble of the World War II . Gotianun is an apo of a brother of Don Pedro Gotiaco, a wealthy rice dealer at the turn of the century in Cebu.
In the case of Gotianun, who lost his father at a young age, he went through salvageable parts of old ships for scarp metal and spare parts.
In the 1950s, Gotianun and his wife, Mercedes, relocated to Manila where they formed Filinvest Development Corp. which started out as a car lender and eventually expanded into banking – Family Bank and Trust Co. and Insular Bank of Asia and America (IBAA).
In an interview with ABS-CBN, Gotianun credited his success to Mercedes: ?I am the dreamer. She executes my ideas and made those dreams a reality.”
Daughter Josephine Gotianun-Yap revealed that his father continued to look for new business opportunities even after turning over the reigns to his children. “He uses the Internet to research a certain business that he is interested in. He prints out tons of research makes us read it. My father does not get tired of doing research,? said Josephine.
Known for his knack for spotting opportunities where others only see risks, Gotianun sold his banks at the height of the economic downturn following the assassination of Ninoy Aquino in 1983 and bought land. After a brief retirement in Canada, Gotianun and his wife came back after the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986.
Gotianun went strong in low-cost housing, thumped the Ayalas and Gokongweis for Alabang Stock Farm property in the biggest real estate deal under the Cory administration, re-entered the financial world with East West Bank, and dabbled into sugar milling.
The Philippines has indeed lost one of its most revered businessman and philantropist.
