At 58 years old, Sharon Cuneta has made big bucks as a celebrated movie star, but it was her smart investments that grew her money and made her a billionaire.
At a media junket for the fifth-anniversary celebration of In Life Sheroes held at The Peninsula Manila, the megastar disclosed that it was her father Pablo Cuneta who taught her how to handle her earnings well.
READ: Sharon Cuneta Reveals She Earned Her First Million Pesos at 15 and First Billion in Her Mid-30s
In an interview with PEP.ph, the outlet asked if she remembers when she made her first million. Sharon responded: "I was 15, 16." According to the singer and actress, it was her talent fee for her very first movie, Dear Heart, which she co-headlined with Gabby Concepcion in 1981.
"I started singing at 12. I did my first movie at 15. At that time, I was [the highest-paid] newbie. I was being paid the suweldo of a superstar that time," she said. "My dad gave that price for Dear Heart thinking they would say, 'Sobra naman.' E, kinol. So, biglang napilitan, happily. I really saved it. My parents didn't touch my money."
Since then, Sharon said she really made it a point to invest her earnings.
Regarding her first billion, Sharon initially answered that she had earned in at the age of 30, when she married former Senator Kiko Pangilinan.
However, she clarified that she was in her early to mid-30s when she earned her first billion pesos, finally crossing it off her bucket list.
"I answered I made my first billion before I married Kiko—mali pala ako!" Sharon explained in a text message sent out to the select entertainment editors who interviewed her at the junket. "I was making a mental list of my savings' timeline. First million dollars at around 24. At 30, which was when I married, I promised myself and wrote down that I would become a billionaire ASAP and had two witnesses to sign it! "
She added: "Then I hit my first one billion pesos in my early or mid-thirties! Best as I could remember."
READ: Sharon Cuneta on Investing in Properties
Back to her interview at the junket, Sharon candidly shared that one of her go-to investments is acquiring real-estate properties because they appreciate and can be later sold at a much higher price.
"My income from showbiz, I have been able to grow five to ten times more because of my investments. You're not doing anything. You're just singing, di mo pinapansin. I was just doing what I love," she said. "The important things to remember are: location, location, location."
The megastar also gave simple tips for beginners who are planning to invest their hard-earned money. "My question to myself before I buy a property, would I live in it? If it's medyo middle class, would they want to live here? May tubig ba dito? Mababaha ka ba dito?" she said. "All the things we are afraid of, you list it down: ayoko ng baha, ayoko ng walang tubig. Ayoko ng mababangga ako kapag may truck na nawalan ng break. 'Yung mga ganun lang kasimple. And kapag bago, okay ba developer nito? Ano ang track record?"
READ: Sharon Cuneta on Investing in Luxurious Purchases
Sharon pointed out that her financial achievement may be an exceptional case since she's a celebrity who started her career in the entertainment industry when she was 12 years old. What she emphasized was the value of spending money wisely.
"My father taught me this: It's easier to make 10M from 1M, than to make your first million," she said. "But I was in showbiz, so it was faster for me. The thing is, I listened. So I grew and grew that."
She also maintained that most of her luxurious purchases can give her profitable income later on.
"Wala akong mahal na kotse, kasi nagde-depreciate ang kotse. So, I'm still with my trustworthy van na matagal na. Hindi ako maarte sa kotse," she said. "I have jewelry. Why? Because I know they will appreciate, and I have girls, I have children. Even my Hermès bags or whatever luxury I have... You know how much Chanel has increased their prices? And if you use an Hermès bag very well, but you take care of it, if you resell it, you're still gonna make money and nagamit mo pa. That's the way I shop."
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