Born to a Dutch family of Jewish heritage, his father Benjamin Frederik David Philips was a first cousin to Karl Marx (Gerard's paternal grandmother Sophie Pressburg was a sister of Henriette Pressburg, the mother of Karl Marx).

With his brother he came up with a plan: cost effective, reliable incandescent light bulbs.

[2] They initially operated the Philips Company as a family business, with Gerard's younger brother Anton and Anton's son Frits Philips and son-in-law Frans Otten later brought into the business.

[3] On 19 March 1896, Philips married Johanna van der Willigen (30 September 1862 – 1942).

From it the professional football department developed into the independent Philips Sport Vereniging N.V.