Andrew Lim Tan did a part-time job in a transistor radio factory where his father also worked, walked to and from school, ate banana cue for lunch and sold items to help in the family finances.
He was born in Quanzhou, Fujian province, China in 1952, but the family moved to Hong Kong when he was still a boy in search of the proverbial greener pasture.
This roughly summed up the humble beginnings for the Tan family who migrated to the Philippines from Hong Kong when Andrew was 16 due to the high cost of living in the Crown Colony. They rented a small apartment in Sta. Cruz, Manila, uncertain of what lied ahead for them.
As a student at the University of the East where he graduated cum laude in Business Administration in 1974, Andrew dreamt of having his own grocery store, but ended up later in life as the fifth richest man in his adopted country.
He briefly worked for the late taipan, industrialist and banker Leonardo Ty. In 1977, he ventured into home appliance business, and two years later, he acquired Emperador brandy.
There was no looking back from there, and his business endeavors morphed into an empire.
Today, he is the chairman of the Alliance Global Group Inc. and Megaworld Corp., with a net worth estimated at $2.5 billion as he turned 71.
From a modest start-up, Megaworld grew by leaps and bounds to be one of the leading residential and commercial real estate companies in the country. Alliance Global is a holding company with diverse exposures in food and beverage and gaming, with its flagship brandy company Emperador.
After the EDSA People Power revolution, Tan mulled going into real estate development, thus Megaworld came into existence, The firm engaged in condominium projects, eventually becoming a leader in residential and commercial development in the country.
With Tan at the driver’s seat, Megaworld went into master-planned townships by the mid-1990s, giving rise to Eastwood City in Barangay Bagumbayan, Quezon City, built with the concept “live, work and play” in mind. Eastwood eventually gained the distinction “first cyberpark” in the country.
Megaworld’s mixed-use townships format subsequently sailed across the archipelago, The concept introduced a harmonious blend of schools, commercial hubs, offices and homes covering more than 4,000 hectares nationwide.
“We are keeping up to the changing times. Just this year, we launched iTownships, a campaign that is intended to guide us in future-proofing our townships. The campaign allows us to create ‘future-ready’ communities by integrating innovative design, safety, smart technology, connectivity, and energy efficiency into our developments,” Tan said in an interview.
“Time has become more and more limited for today’s consumers. People want to experience everything—shopping, dining, relaxation, entertainment and learning, among others—within the very community where they live and work,” he said.
Tan also founded Alliance Global in the mid-1990s, with investments in food and beverage, real estate, gaming and fast-food chain. These included Resorts World Manila, Emperador Distillers Inc., Megaworld, Empire East Land Holdings Inc., Golden Arches Development Corp., Travelers International Hotel Group, Inc. and Suntrust Properties Inc. Hotels such as Richmond, Marriott and Sheraton are also under the Alliance Global.
To keep his body in good shape, Tan swims and spends time at the gym whenever opportunity allows.
Tan is married to Katherine Tan, a philanthropist in her own right. But she is also in the family’s businesses, sitting as a board member in some of them.
They have four children. Kevin, the oldest, now sits as the CEO of Alliance Global and chief strategy officer of Megaworld, while Kendrick, serves as executive director of Emperador.