Jose Yao Campos | |
---|---|
Born | Yao Cho Liat September 16, 1921 |
Died | May 1, 2006 | (aged 84)
Nationality | Filipino |
Occupation | Businessman |
Known for | Founder of Unilab |
Chinese name | |
Chinese | 姚祖烈[1] |
Hanyu Pinyin | Yáo Zǔliè |
Hokkien POJ | Iâu Chó͘-lia̍t |
Jose Yao Campos (September 16, 1921 – May 1, 2006), also known by his Chinese name Yao Cho Liat, was a Filipino businessman best known as the founder of Unilab. He became an early supporter of Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos, who tapped him as a "financial advisor." In 1986, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) cited him for having served as a "front man" for various "ill-gotten" wealth, including $52.5 million of real estate representing the most prominent Marcos Mansions. He became the first of the Marcos cronies to make a deal with the PCGG in exchange for immunity from suit. By the time he died in 2006, his family had become one of the Philippines' most powerful business clans, with Unilab helmed by his firstborn, Joy Campos Hess and her son, Clinton Hess. His eldest son Joselito Campos founded the food company NutriAsia and acquired in Del Monte Philippines and Del Monte Pacific; and his youngest child Jeffrey Campos running Greenfields Development Corporation.