Lessons from a beleaguered billionaire

This billionaire’s story is one for the books. No, he didn’t win the Lotto, but he may have been just as lucky as a lottery winner. Until his luck ran out, that is.

He wasn’t born poor, but there was no silver spoon. He also didn’t have a self-made or rags-to-riches billionaire dad. He grew a business from out of almost nothing. It was a small operation and he grew it into a big firm, big enough to hold office in a towering building in a posh central business district. He became a billionaire in the wink of an eye.

The first time we met some years ago, he went around with a posse of bodyguards in uniform and a convoy of heavily tinted shiny black vehicles.

Now some of the guards are gone, although the vehicle is still as sleek.

What happened?

His business got into big trouble. He found himself in a huge, huge mess, having caught the ire of authorities.

Mr. Billionaire has been out of the limelight for some time, so I decided to give him a call. I was wondering if there was a story somewhere, but after chatting with him for almost two hours over a dinner of baked oysters and vegetable tempura, he said there was no story yet. He is still trying to pick up the pieces.

Because of his run-in with regulators, he is now into the export business while still trying to grow his primary business again.

He agreed to meet with me on the condition that it would be somewhere below the radar.

“How about The Bar at the Peninsula?” I asked.

That’s too exposed, he said.

It was as if I was meeting with the Philippines’ most wanted. But I was not. I was meeting with a businessman who got in trouble with regulators. Like anyone accused of committing a crime, he insists he is innocent.

We ended up in a posh village, in a quiet corner of a Japanese place that served good oysters.

He looked the same. It was as if it’s business as usual. You wouldn’t think he got caught in big trouble with authorities.

Lessons

I asked him what lessons he learned from his rise and fall. He dished out quite a lot.

For one, he said, it’s difficult to deal with regulators. He believes regulators cannot implement rules that are attuned to reality. Philippine regulators, he said, are embarrassingly behind their global counterparts.

Their rules are applicable to the dark ages and not to the modern times, he said.

Regulators also like to issue press releases even when the investigation is still ongoing. He didn’t appreciate that, he said.

He said he was put on the spotlight when regulators announced their actions to the media even before he could air his side. It was trial by publicity, he said.

He also realized that when one has a good idea for a new business, one shouldn’t share it even to fellow businessmen, big or small. One of his plans, he said, was immediately copied by a tycoon. He lost his chance to grow that business.

Another lesson, he said, is to not let life’s punches pin you down. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, Mr. Billionaire added. He is still laughing, cracking jokes and trying to eke out a living.

The final point, he said, is about the struggle to succeed in a society that is too politicised and where connections matter.

He said it’s hard to succeed in the Philippines if you’re not well connected to the current administration or the powers-that-be, if you don’t have a name, or if you didn’t come from a family of billionaires. He feels that some of the country’s crazy rich are so snobbish and condescending that they don’t want others to succeed like them.

“I was just lucky to make it big, but when the Big Boys realised that, they just had to stop it.”

But Mr. Billionaire said his story isn’t over yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets back on his feet again, being the rogue that he is. Whether or not he catches the ire of authorities again, only time will tell. As for me, maybe I’ll have my story then.

Iris Gonzales’ e-mail address is [email protected]