During these difficult years, he had to make ends meet by initially supporting his family by peddling items along the streets of Cebu from his bicycle.

[5] From the years 1943 to 1945, or between the ages of 17 and 19, he became a merchant trader using a wooden boat, taking his goods to Dalahican, Lucena by sea and then to Manila by truck.

After World War II, he started his own shipping company called Amasia Trading, which imported flour, onions, fruits, used clothing, old newspapers, and magazines from the United States into the Philippines.

By 1957, seeing that trading would always generate profit low margins[5] and would always be dependent on the whims of government policies, the family concern shifted towards industrial manufacturing.

In 2013, his company bought the stake of San Miguel Corporation in Meralco, Philippines's largest power distributor for close to $1.8 billion.

In February 2008, Forbes Asia magazine's first Heroes of Philanthropy list included four Filipinos – Gokongwei, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Ramón del Rosario Jr. and Oscar López.

[10] Gokongwei married Elizabeth Yu in 1958 and had six children (one son and five daughters) – Lisa, Robina, Lance, Faith, Hope and Marcia.

He is also second cousins with the Gaisano family, with Doña Modesta Singson-Gaisano being his grandaunt (his grandfather's sister) which he used to call in Hokkien Chinese: 老阿姑; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lǎu Á-ko͘; lit.

'Old Auntie', under his great-grandfather, Don Pedro Singson Gotiaoco[15] In addition, he was a first cousin once removed of Nikki Coseteng.