Tony Tan Caktiong, (; born 1953) is a Filipino

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busi ...

businessman. He is the founder and chairman of

Jollibee Foods Corporation Jollibee Foods Corporation (abbreviated as JFC and Jollibee Group; also known as Jollibee after its primary fast food brand) is a Filipino multinational company based in Pasig, Philippines. JFC is the owner of the fast food brand Jollibee. W ...

, and the co-chairman of

DoubleDragon Properties DoubleDragon Corporation (formerly, Injap Land Corporation and DoubleDragon Properties Corporation) is a Philippine real estate development company based in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 2009 as a subsidiary of Injap Inves ...

Early career and education

Tan Caktiong was born to Chinese immigrant parents from

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...

. His father worked in a restaurant in China and as a cook in a Buddhist monastery in Manila before setting up his own restaurant in Davao City Tony Tan Caktiong attended high school at

Chiang Kai Shek College Chiang Kai-shek College ( tl, Kolehiyo ng Chiang Kai Shek; ) is a Chinese Filipino institution of higher learning founded by Chinese Filipinos, recognized by the government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Republic of China (Taiwan). ...

and graduated from the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

with a degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...

in 1975. Tan had initially planned an

ice cream parlor Ice cream parlors (American English) or ice cream parlours (British English) are places that sell ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and/or frozen yogurt to consumers. Ice cream is typically sold as regular ice cream (also called hard-packed or hard se ...

when he founded Jollibee, then added dishes such as

hamburger A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, ...

french fries French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips (Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...

, and

fried chicken Fried chicken, also known as Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating o ...

Career

Jollibee Foods Corporation

Tan Caktiong founded the fast food chain

Jollibee Jollibee is a Filipino chain of fast food restaurants owned by Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC). As of December 2021, JFC had a total of about 1,500 Jollibee outlets worldwide, with restaurants in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, East Asia ...

in 1978, after having started it as an ice cream parlor in 1975. Expansion and acquisition of Greenwich Pizza Corp. enabled it to enter the pizza-pasta segment. In early 2006,

bought out the remaining shares of its partners in Greenwich Pizza Corporation, equivalent to a 20% stake, for P384 million in cash. As of August 2008, Tan Caktiong's Jollibee has a total of 1,480 stores worldwide including

Red Ribbon The red ribbon, as an awareness ribbon, is used as the symbol for the solidarity of people living with HIV/AIDS, and for the awareness and prevention of drug abuse and drunk driving. In Canada the red ribbon represents Canadians with Multiple S ...

, Chowking,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, Manong Pepe's and

Mang Inasal Mang Inasal Philippines, Inc., also known as Mang Inasal, ( Hiligaynon for "Mr. Barbecue") is a barbecue fast food restaurant chain in the Philippines, established in Iloilo City in 2003. History The company was started by Edgar "Injap" Sia ...

. As of November 2015, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' estimated his net worth at US$4.1 billion.

DoubleDragon Properties

In 2012, Tan Caktiong, through his holding company, Honeystar Holdings Corporation, invested in Injap Land Corporation, a property company founded by Edgar Sia II. With Tan Caktiong's entry, the company was renamed DoubleDragon Properties Corporation.

Personal life

Tan Caktiong is married to Grace Tan Caktiong. He is also the brother of Ernesto Tanmantiong, who is the President and CEO of Jollibee Foods Corporation.

Awards

*''Entrepreneur Of The Year Philippines'', 2004 *Huizenga was named the 2005 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year, 2004 * Gawad Mabini with the rank of Commander (Dakilang Kasugo), 2016 *Honorary doctorate from the

, 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tan Caktiong, Tony Jollibee Foods Corporation Fast-food chain founders Filipino billionaires Filipino chief executives Filipino people of Chinese descent Living people University of Santo Tomas alumni Filipino company founders 1953 births Filipino chairpersons of corporations