Manny Pacquaio: The Money-Making Machine Free Enterprise – FINEX Column By Jose Ma J Fernandez Sometime soon, our boxing icon Manny Pacquaio (MP), will have to go through a period of introspection in order to make sense and prioritize his wish list of “Wants and Needs”, hopefully, with the help of a well-intentioned third party. The many things MP would like to do operate under one overriding premise: That MP will win all his forthcoming fights against opponents who seem to be getting bigger and relatively better each time. Of course, the wild card on the table is the excellent tutelage that MP’s trainer Freddie Roach extends to his prize pupil, allowing MP to become faster and deadlier with each new fight. Assuming that MP sticks to his program and limits himself to just two to three more big fights, it is safe to assume that he will pull in more than the (estimated) current gross take that MP has made from the last two bouts, about $20 Million each fight. This amount may vary depending on what MP can pull in from the increasing number of endorsement contracts that he is being attracted to. If we assume earnings thus far of about $60 M, the remaining two to three bouts should bring in at least the same amount, with the resulting gross of about $120 Million. Take away taxes, Promoters’/ Managers’ and Trainer’s fees, MP probably nets about 35% from each fight, he would probably have net earnings of around $42 Million or almost P2 Billion to invest and/or spend and give away. If MP were to leverage his fame properly, endorsement contracts in forthcoming years could ensure steady income beyond his earning days in the ring. Unless I heard wrong, MP said that he plans to place his net earnings from the next fights into his foundation. Thus, the net available to the champ would be considerably less than that estimate of P2 Billion we made earlier. Nonetheless, the amounts here are quite staggering by local standards. It is probably time for the champ to seek the services of a financial advisor who could help him determine what to do with his earnings. Otherwise, he would leave himself open to the less than scrupulous members of his traveling “barangay”, some of whom simply live off the fat of the land, while others are probably lurking and waiting for a chance to get their hands on some of that glitzy cash! Witness the actuations of his erstwhile driver who made off with almost $250,000 by emptying a savings account, and getting forgiven by a soft-hearted MP, to the chagrin of his wife Jinkee. MP is said to have set aside considerable amounts for each of his children. Well and good, but what of the never-ending needs of those who line up outside his residence each day hoping for a dole out or a sympathetic ear. Having come from hard-scrabble days himself, MP is not inclined to turn his back on people with nothing but the clothes on their backs. That is why the foundation is a good idea, especially if MP is able to leverage what he puts into the NGO by tapping
other individual, corporate or institutional donors to augment the foundation’s funds. Now comes the hard question: What if MP pushes through with his desire to run for local office? First of all, he will more likely spend more than the average candidate, simply because people will know he has funds and will gravitate to him in the hope of substantial dole outs. The astute candidate knows that his own funds will not be sufficient to get him elected, and will, therefore, mobilize friends who will answer for the greater bulk of his electoral expenses. In the likely scenario that he will run unopposed for congressman, his expenses will go down on a relative scale, but he will have to spend to keep his future constituents happy. If he decides to go for broke and run for president after a couple of terms as congressman, he would then have to tap deeper into his friends’ pockets to be able to mount a credible campaign. Assuming he wins, he will then be faced with the dilemma and the problem of governing. In this case, I wish him and the country a lot of luck. But can MP do any worse or any better than the people we have elected to the top office thus far? We have had astute lawyers and lawmakers; a housewife, a soldier, an actor, etc. That our country seems mired and stagnant could be attributed to systemic problems rather than the quality of the leadership we have had thus far. I have a strong feeling, however, that the system can be beaten if good and credible leadership defines the office of the president. This is what MP and the many others seeking high office must answer.