The swashbuckling tycoon’s great love story

Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering.  As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable. – Bruce Lee

How are the love lives of billionaire tycoons different from or the same as those of us ordinary mortals? Most people remember the late Enrique Emilio Jacobo "EZ" Zobel for his corporate conquests as the entrepreneurial big boss who helped build up Ayala Group, Bank of Philippine Islands and developed the modern-day Makati financial district, or as the debonair athlete who conquered polo fields, as the pilot who flew his plane 15 times around the world, a philanthropist and founder of Makati Business Club, and an outspoken critic of presidents from his friend Marcos to Cory and even President Gloria M. Arroyo. He was once even touted as a possible post-Marcos presidential candidate.

Not many people know that Enrique Zobel was a romantic and great husband to a 25-year-old American lady who conquered his heart in 1976: Dee Anne Hora-Zobel. The tycoon’s first marriage to a cousin didn’t work out in the 1960s, though they had two kids, and he remained with his American wife until his last days. His widow is now quietly continuing his numerous charities through the Enrique Zobel Foundation. The last time this writer interviewed the late tycoon was at the sprawling garden of his one-hectare residence in Ayala Alabang, with his wife Dee by his side.

With the Enrique Zobel Foundation’s philanthropic tie-up with America’s 125-year-old Van Heusen shirt brand to launch a special Enrique Zobel Collection (part of the sales will go to the late tycoon’s favorite Philippine charities mostly at Calatagan in Batangas), his widow Dee Zobel recently agreed to an exclusive interview with The Philippine STAR at Shangri-la Hotel Makati. Van Heusen/Madison Retailers executive Lal Gopwani said they were honored to work together with the Enrique Zobel Foundation. When the late tycoon’s nephew Fernando Zobel de Ayala by chance met Dee Zobel in the Shangri-la, he commented "Wonderful!" after hearing about the idea of teaming up with Van Heusen on a new philanthropic project. Here are excerpts from the interview:

PHILIPPINE STAR: How did you first meet Enrique Zobel and where?

DEE ZOBEL: We first met in Hawaii in the Mokulei polo field on the north shore of Oahu island in 1976. I was just there as a spectator and fan of polo, and EZ was there playing. This might sound corny, but there was really electricity and mutual attraction that moment we first met. It was instant, it was really love at first sight. That afternoon after we first met, he left but soon came back again to Hawaii and he called me. Ever since that time, we were never more than two weeks apart over the next 28 years. We married in 1982 in San Francisco.

Is your family name, Hora, Spanish in origin? Do you speak Spanish?

No, Hora is Czech in origin. But ever since I fell in love with EZ and moved to the Philippines, I had to learn Spanish and also Tagalog for self-preservation (laughs). EZ was trilingual – fluent in English, Spanish and his Batangueño Tagalog because of his farms at Catalagan in Batangas province. He switched into each of the three languages so easily. Though I lived in Hawaii, I was really born in New York City.

What is your background? Where did you work before?

I had a bachelor’s degree in fashion design and merchandising. I was working for Philippine Airlines before, I was studying and working part-time for PAL. Maybe I should thank PAL for this opportunity to have met EZ (laughs).

You’re still young. Did your husband advise you not to remarry again if he passed away?

No, no, he never said that. No, I’m not thinking of remarrying. When you’ve had the love of your life, it’s impossible to replace that kind of love. Lots of friends were encouraging me to start dating again, but it’s not going to happen for a while. I love EZ very much and I really miss him… I’m going to start crying if we get into that…

Please describe your late husband.

EZ was just a charismatic man. He was obviously handsome, charming, well traveled. There was not much not to like about him. I and his relatives called him EZ, while older kin called him Enriquito, but I wonder why some people called him Enzo, maybe it’s because of the Enzo building.

How did your husband suffer his horse-riding accident in 1991 in Spain?

It was just a practice game, and we were actually getting ready to leave for Singapore, because his daughter Mercedes was about to give birth in Singapore at that time. I was then packing our things when it happened. He later couldn’t remember much of what happened next, the ICU days at University of California in San Francisco, then the rehabilitation at St. Mary’s Hospital also in San Francisco. He was a strong man; a lesser man could not have survived this accident.

It’s amazing how you were able to fly him out of Spain for emergency medical care.

We have to thank a Filipina doctor living in Hawaii for that, our Filipina friend Dr. Elenita Alvarez suggested we use an air ambulance to bring EZ to the US and it was she who put me in touch with them. At first the Spanish doctors didn’t believe EZ could make the trip to the US. He had the accident in May 1991, and he recovered by August and September, that’s also when he started remembering things. We came back to the Philippines in late October. We went to the hospital first before going home.

How did the accident change your husband?

He realized that many of the important things in life to him were no longer doable – the hunting, flying, playing polo and all the adventures were all of a sudden gone. He started to look inward, spent more time with his family and relied more on his mental faculties.

What did your husband think of Hollywood actor Christopher Reeves, who suffered a similar accident?

He thought Reeves was an amazing man, because he used his celebrity status to raise public awareness and lots of funds for medical research. They communicated to each other, and my husband funded some studies on finding medical cure for spinal chord injuries. It’s sad Christopher Reeves’ wife died a year after his death. She was a very supportive and loving wife. It’s tragic she died of lung cancer even though she never smoked, maybe it was caused by stress.

You and Enrique Zobel came from different backgrounds, countries, cultures and ages but became very close.

(Laughs) If I didn’t like horses, dogs or sports, EZ and I probably wouldn’t have lasted together. Actually, like him, I’m more comfortable on the farm and wearing jeans. I’m often on the beach in Hawaii, it’s a healthy environment. The 24-year age difference between us wasn’t a problem. EZ was so young at heart.

When did he start the Enrique Zobel Foundation and did he ask you to continue this for him?

He started this foundation in 1990 as a non-stock and non-profit philanthropic institution with the main objective of advancing educational opportunities for the rural youth of Calatagan, Batangas. Yes, he asked me to take charge of it. We share the same ideals. We have adopted all 22 public elementary schools of Calatagan. The foundation had also put up Banco ng Masa as a micro-finance rural bank to help mall entrepreneurs in the First District of Batangas covering 10 municipalities. You’d be shocked to learn how many kids – not only in Batangas, but nationwide – suffer from malnutrition and tuberculosis which is called a primary complex. Doctors told me TB is not only a big problem of Batangas kids, but it’s endemic nationwide because of weaker immune systems due to lack of good nutrition. If you go to the provinces, lots of schools don’t even have running water. Many rural kids don’t have access to clean water.

Do you have charities outside of Calatagan?

Yes, the foundation had supported the Children’s Ward of National Orthopedic Hospital, the Chosen Children’s Village in Silang, Cavite. We also supported the Regional Orthopedic Hospital in Bicol and other institutions. I wish to thank various partner organizations of our foundation, such as the Rotary Club of Makati led by Freddie Borromeo and his wife, the American Women’s Club of the Philippines, SM Foundation of Henry Sy, Sugar Industry Foundation and others. Our foundation has a very good executive director Lito Rodriguez, he’s very hands-on in Batangas and he comes once a week to Makati. You know, if you read my husband’s speeches and written work, you’d be shocked to read that most of the social, economic, political and other problems he had raised before are still the same problems confronting the Philippines today.

What is your religion?

I’m Catholic.

What is your opinion on the need for family planning to alleviate mass poverty and social injustice in the Philippines, which, unfortunately, the government seems to be doing nothing about?

I personally believe in the importance of family planning. I think population growth in the Philippines is just too high and too fast, the infrastructure and social services just can’t cope with the fast-growing population.

As an American from the world’s wealthiest nation who was later married to one of ASEAN’s richest billionaires, what do you think of poverty in the Philippines?

It is sad, the poverty ratio is totally out of balance in the Philippines. EZ felt the same way and was very idealistic. He was Spanish/German by ancestry, but he was Filipino in his concern for the Philippine future. He was more precisely proud of his Batangueño roots.

His ancestors came from the Basque area of northern Spain?

Yes, the Basques trace their roots to that northern and colder part of Spain, so the people from there seem to be more aggressive and driven. The southerners of Spain, I think, are more relaxed by nature, maybe also because of the warmer climate down there.

The late historian Carlos Quirino told me EZ had once commissioned him to research an unpublished history of the Zobel-Ayala clan and he said the Zobels were originally German Jews. Quirino also told me Danding Cojuangco had also commissioned him to research an unpublished history of the Cojuangco clan, and even asked him to go to Fujian, China. He did it, but he didn’t go to Fujian.

I’d have to look for that history by Carlos Quirino. A relative of EZ went to Germany to research this but she wasn’t able to find Jewish roots, not that there’s anything wrong with having a Jewish lineage.

Do you remember Zobel’s name having been publicly suggested as a possible president of the Philippines?

No, I told him, "Please don’t get involved in politics…" Yes, he was outspoken, but he wasn’t only making criticism or just cranking, EZ actually offered constructive criticism and alternative ideas. It was after 1986, after the fall of Marcos, that EZ’s name was mentioned as a possible president. But I think people like EZ could sometimes be more useful for the Philippines behind the scenes than in front.

Compared to most scions of wealthy families, why was your husband so driven and so hardworking?

EZ was a workaholic. He was the first man in the office early mornings and also the last to leave. He never got bored, he always looked for something to do. He read a lot and was knowledgeable on many subjects. He just had incredible energy, he had four secretaries and assistants. Perhaps also because he was an only child, he learned early how to entertain himself. He always felt he didn’t have enough time to do lots of things. But to me, what showed his true strength was he wanted to do more even after his accident, which paralyzed him from the neck down. Most people don’t know how much he suffered every day from therapies and pain, but he didn’t wallow in self-pity or depression, he even wanted to help others.

Are the kids and grandchildren of EZ as sports-minded and hardworking as your husband?

His son Iñigo still plays polo well, and his 22-year-old grandson Jake (his name is Jacobo) is also playing now. Like his grandfather, Jake is handsome with blonde hair and blue eyes. He’s taking a gap year from school in order to do polo.

I hope you recommend that they go into Olympic sports, so they’d have a chance to be world champions with gold medals.

Jake is also into skeet shooting. He loves soccer, he’s really a soccer player. The Philippine season of polo starts in January. EZ’s granddaughter Paula is jumping in the grand prix of horses. She’s based in Europe now. She’s doing horse jumping with Danding Cojuangco’s granddaughter Danielle. Paula is 23 years old and she’s very much like her grandfather, very determined. She’s an excellent student. She’s now doing a double thesis in banking and finance. She started at Boston University in Brussels, Belgium in order to do her horse-riding sport. Paula’s amazing, has photographic memory. She’s going to be the businesswoman in the family, an amazing young lady. She got her lolo’s love of horses.

With the recent death of your husband’s Spain-based aunt Mercedes Zobel McMicking, I heard she bequeathed her controlling shares in Ayala Group through the Mermac firm equally to the seven kids of Jaime Zobel de Ayala and equally to EZ’s two kids Iñigo and Mercedes. How is EZ’s son Iñigo Zobel compared to your husband?

Iñigo has good street sense and business acumen. He’s not a workaholic like his late father, but Iñigo goes to the office and gets the job done well. He and his dad have different management and working styles, but it’s unfair that some people have this inaccurate playboy image of him. He and sister Mercedes also sit on the board of the Enrique Zobel Foundation.

What are your hobbies?

I love traveling. I would love to go to South Africa and, of course, China. I’ve never been to China. Next year, I will also travel for the first time to Prague, where my grandmother was born. I’m going to Eastern Europe to celebrate the birthday of a friend. But of all places I hope to visit, I think China is the most exciting place.

How do you find living in the Philippines, being an American here in a tropical archipelago in Asia?

I love living in the Philippines. I find Filipinos very open and warm. I consider Manila my home, I live here in Makati. I have spent 30 years here, most of my adult life here. I used to live in Hawaii, so it’s not that difficult, this move to the Philippines, because both are tropical archipelagos in the Pacific. There are also many Ilocanos in Hawaii. Actually, Hawaii is small with just over a million people, and the Philippines is more modern. Hawaii is tiny and a bit provincial compared to life here in the Philippines, which I find more sophisticated. Tourism should be bigger here, because you have some of the world’s most beautiful and varied scenic places in the world. Unfortunately, the Philippines still has this reputation overseas as unsafe due to political instability, as well as peace and order problems. An American friend visiting me once even asked if they needed to hire bodyguards, but I told them I never felt frightened or threatened living here. The Philippines is really a beautiful place to live in. Hawaii is well known for its beaches, but they’re nothing compared to the beaches of the Philippines. I think I’m going to hurt some feelings back home (laughs).

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