His parents were Benito Villanueva López, a former governor of Iloilo, and Presentación Javelona Hofileña.
He was the older brother and only sibling of former Philippine Vice President Fernando López.
[3] His family residence in Iloilo City known as the Lopez Boat House, built in 1935, was declared a National Heritage House by the National Historical Commission in 2002.
[4] López began as a provincial bus operator, and eventually became chairman of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, the Philippine's largest media conglomerate, and president of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
[citation needed] In 1972 he accepted a Distinguished Service Award from the Harvard Business School, but several months later was compelled by President Ferdinand Marcos to sign over his shares in Meralco, was stripped of his holdings and forced into exile.