Araneta was born on February 26, 1907, at
Bago, Negros Occidental, as the fourth of ten siblings. He finished primary and high school at the
De La Salle University in
Manila and graduated from the
University of the Philippines Manila in 1930 with a
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA). He also helped fund the yearbook "Philippinesian" and "The Literary Apprentice" magazine. After graduating, he entered many business ventures, ranging from sugar planting, mining, retail and real estate development, newspaper and magazine publishing, logging, investments, stocks, and sports promotions. He was also involved in other ventures such as in oil processing, perfumery, film production, and jute sack processing companies. With his business initially involvement in sugar plantations, Araneta changed Filipino cultural awareness in the 1930s, when he purchased two American television stations and begun broadcasting local content for the first time. During the
Second World War, he secretly supported the independence movement from the
Empire of Japan and became involved in funding the war efforts. After the war, and the independence of the Philippines, Araneta began to diversify his holdings and contributed to the recovery of the country. He purchased three
mills on the island of
Negros and began to heavily invest in commercial real estate. At the time, Araneta was acting as the main funding source for Roxas'
Liberal Party. He also served as a major adviser to Presidents
Sergio Osmeña,
Elpidio Quirino,
Ramón Magsaysay and
Carlos P. García. His elder daughter Judith "Judy" Araneta would later marry the President's son
Gerry Roxas. One of Araneta's most well known projects is the development of the area known as the
Araneta Center in
Quezon City, east of Manila, with the
Araneta Coliseum at its heart. He purchased the land in 1952, which at the time contained a series of radio towers, with the idea that there would be a series of landmark buildings in the area. He had identified the area as being at the crossroads of
Cubao, where city people would pass daily but was underdeveloped. He began the construction of the Coliseum in 1957, and was completed in 1959 as then the largest indoor stadium in the world. It opened on 16 March 1960, hosting the boxing card featuring the main event bout between
Gabriel Elorde and
Harold Gomes. He also served as a mentor to many well-known people in the country, ranging from writers, diplomats and politicians, including
Carlos P. Rómulo, Mauro Méndez,
Salvador P. López,
Emmanuel Peláez, Vicente Albano Pacis,
Arturo Tolentino, Modesto Farolan, and
Hermenegildo Atienza, among others. ==Exile==