THE wife of 61 years of the late industrialist John Gokongwei Jr. died on Saturday (November 16), just a day after he was laid to rest.
“Our mother, Elizabeth Yu Gokongwei, 85, passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 16, 2019, one week after the death of our father John Gokongwei Jr., her husband of 61 years,” said a statement by the Gokongwei children Robina, Lance, Lisa, Faith, Hope and Marcia.
Elizabeth was born on February 9, 1934.
Wake details are private, to be shared with family and friends, the children said.
John Gokongwei Jr., whose rags-to-riches story has inspired many Filipino entrepreneurs, died on November 9 at the Manila Doctors Hospital, leaving behind an empire that straddled retail, property, banking, telecommunications, food, petrochemicals, hospitality, media, and air transportation.
He was laid to rest on Friday, November 15, with son Lance delivering the final eulogy and promising to take on the responsibility left by their father.
The patriarch had passed on the helm of his diverse businesses to his children many years ago. Lance is chief executive officer of Cebu Pacific while his sister Robina Gokongwei-Pe oversees the retail side as CEO of Robinsons Retail. Their sister Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng heads Summit Media.
Lance, groomed early on by his father to steer the business, is president and CEO of the holding firm JG Summit. His uncle James Go is chairman and chief operating officer there.
Gokongwei has consistently landed on Forbes‘s list of the Philippines’s richest men. In the latest listing, he was ranked third richest. His estimated net worth is $5.8 billion.
When he turned 80, he donated half of his shares in JG Summit—estimated at P20 billion then—to the family foundation, saying he wanted to give back to people after being blessed so much.
Image credits: Gokongwei Brothers Foundation