Unlike most of the 10 richest Filipinos on Forbes ' 2020 World's Billionaires list, Chinese-Filipino billionaire Lucio Tan wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His humble beginnings trace back to when his family moved from Fujian, China, to Cebu, Philippines. Fondly called “El Kapitan” by those close to him, he rose through the ranks and became the founder and chairman of LT Group, a billion-dollar conglomerate of tobacco, spirits, banking and property development. Here is more on the 86-year-old business mogul whose net worth is a whopping US$2.2 billion. Does Mukesh Ambani have the biggest luxury car collection in Asia? He worked as a janitor to send himself to school View this post on Instagram A post shared by JD JAMES | Travel vlogger (@multijames95) on Mar 17, 2016 at 5:20am PDT As the eldest of eight siblings, Lucio Tan had a ton of responsibilities on his plate. So that he could afford to study chemical engineering at the Far Eastern University in Manila, college student Tan mopped floors at a cigarette factory. After learning the ropes of the business, he started his own tobacco company, Fortune Tobacco – which went on to be the largest cigarette manufacturer in the country. Who is Andrew Tan, the Chinese billionaire behind McDonald’s Philippines? He sends 1,000 students to China every year View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wilson Lee Flores (@wilsonleeflores) on Nov 10, 2019 at 7:35pm PST As someone who had to keep his nose to grindstone to get his degree, Lucio Tan has become an advocate for education. He takes pride in sending a thousand students to China every year, where they study Chinese history, language and culture. The billionaire businessman proved it’s not always about money, lending a hand to build schoolhouses and founding the non-profit Foundation for Upgrading the Standard of Education (FUSE). 5 billionaires in the Philippines you should know He wakes up at 4am every day to play golf View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vivienne Tan (@thevivtan) on Aug 19, 2016 at 7:01am PDT The list of Lucio Tan’s passions is rather a long one – it includes Chinese literature and history, classical music and plenty of sport. One sport in particular that the tycoon is willing to wake up for before the crack of dawn is golf. At the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club, he plays nine holes with his long-time buddies, then runs his conglomerate, and finishes his day before 9am. He was accused of tax evasion by President Rodrigo Duterte View this post on Instagram A post shared by Joanne Rae Ramirez (@joanneraeramirez) on Jul 17, 2018 at 12:51am PDT It has not always been sunshine and rainbows for Tan, even after he hit the big time. In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte accused him of owing the Philippine government around US$600 million in unpaid taxes. After the tycoon was cleared of tax evasion, the national leader vowed to “shut up” about the issue. The billionaire who rescued a baby from a trash can – meet Hans Sy He still uses vintage Nokia phones View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vivienne Tan (@thevivtan) on Dec 24, 2015 at 9:18pm PST Despite being able to afford any phone on the planet, local media has spotted the tycoon in recent years carrying four identical vintage Nokia phones in his pocket. Perhaps “El Kapitan” still likes to keep it old school. Want more stories like this? Sign up here . Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .