'Makunat talaga ako': How Richard Gomez saved his first million at 20

MANILA, Philippines — Actor Richard Gomez is not ashamed to admit that it was his money-pinching habit that helped him save his first million at 20. 

Gomez sat down with talent manager/radio host Ogie Diaz appearing on the latter's YouTube show and recalled how he was known as "kunat" by his showbiz friends. 

"Ano ba ang tawag nila sa akin? 'Si Goma ang kunat niyan 'di ba?' Sina Joey (Marquez) ang tawag nila sa akin kunat eh. Talagang makunat po ako e," actor-turned-politician shared. 

Richard starred with Joey and Ogie in the popular '90s sitcom "Palibhasa Lalake." 

"Makunat" is used to describe a surface or object that is hard. It is also used to describe a person who pinches on money or who rarely treats others. 

Richard said that when he was starting out in showbiz, he made it a point to follow his manager, the late Douglas Quijano's advice to save money. 

"Noong time na nag-artista ako, '80s pa lang, lahat ng sweldo na kinukuha ko, 'yung kalahati nun, tinatago ko talaga sa bangko yun... Tapos 'yung 50% nun, pambayad ng kotse, costume, 'yung matitira, pambisyo ko na 'yun. Bili ako motorsiklo. So, nakaipon ako. Naging milyonaryo ako at the age of 20. Sa showbiz lahat 'yun," Richard shared. 

The actor-politician said that from early on, he already recognized that real estate is one of the best investments one could ever make. 

His first big investment proved to be useful and helpful for him and even his married life. 

Richard bought a house when he was single and when he married Lucy Torres in 1998, he made one investment that helped him save even more money. 

He bought a house in Forbes Park Makati but decided to rent it out. For 10 years, he used the house rental to pay for its mortgage. After 10 years, he decided not to renew the lease contract and moved in.  

"We stayed in Greenhills. Ipon pa rin nang ipon. Hanggang 2000, nakabili ako ng bahay sa Forbes Park. Medyo mahal. 'Kaya ko ba ito?' If we don't buy it now, we'll not be able to buy it anymore. Pikit mata. Kaya natin 'to basta ang monthly natin may mortgage. So nung 2001, we bought that," Richard said.  

They only decided to move in after Lucy had won a congressional seat. They moved in to their Forbes home which was nearer the airport and made it convenient for them to fly in and out of Manila to Ormoc, Leyte. 

Richard also shared he landed his first showbiz contract with Mother Lily Monteverde at P25,000 in 1984. 

He did not want to be an actor but only wanted to remain a model. One day, his manager asked him how much money he had in his wallet and he showed him his P20 bill. Quijano told him he would earn triple if he only went into acting. 

Richard was asked to read the script for "Scorpio Nights" but he declined because he thought he could not do it. He was then given the script of "Inday Bote" with Maricel Soriano because Gabby Concepcion did not want the part. He ended with it and signed his first acting contract.  

"Ang laking deperensya nung P20 at saka 'yung P25,000. Ang sarap mag-artista... Mga artista ngayon, maswerte sila kasi ang lakas ng social media. There are many ways of earning money. 'Yung pagkita nila ng pera, number 1 talaga ipunin talaga nila 'yun," Richard advised.  — Video from Ogie Diaz YouTube channel