During his teenage years, he worked closely with his father until graduating college and steadily rose through the ranks of the family business. In 1970, he took the helm of the
Araneta Group and his father's related businesses after the latter's retirement. Under his leadership, he further expanded the family business ranging from real estate to agriculture, investments and food and dining services. Some selected businesses gave rise to some of the country's many firsts within the retail, leisure, and entertainment industries, which included the Fiesta Carnival in 1971, the country's first indoor amusement park; the
Farmers Market in 1975, one of best and the largest wet markets in the country; the
Ali Mall in 1976, which became the first indoor enclosed mall in the country; and other commercial establishments throughout the 1980s. Due to the area's attractive location and its close proximity to entertainment venues, this enticed businesses that were primarily based in
Manila to expand their business to the Araneta Center, such as the SM Cubao, one of the first and the largest
SM Department Store in the country, and opened in October 1978; the
Rustan's Superstore, designed by
Carlos A. Santos-Viola; and the
National Book Store Superbranch, designed by Rogelio Garcia Villarosa, which opened in 1972, before being upgraded into a 9-storey building in 1982; Other real estate developments that Araneta developed include the
New Farmers Plaza Shopping Center, which serves as the rebranded version of Coliseum Farmers Market and Shopping Center following its 1985 renovation; the Marikina Shoe Expo; the Aurora Tower, which was completed in 1984; and the Araneta Center Bus Terminal, which opened in 1993 and became the country's first and oldest integrated bus terminal. The development also included the renovation of the
Araneta Coliseum in 1999. In the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Araneta faced a multitude of challenges that impacted the company's future prospects as the Araneta Center's glory began to fade in the face of many challenges, from the massive fire that hit the
Farmers Plaza to the company's financial problems, the numerous coups against the
Presidency of Corazon Aquino and the
1997 Asian financial crisis. Due to the company's financial struggles, the Araneta Group also temporarily halted property development projects in Cubao and in property investment projects in
Makati City until in 1997, as he saw the development of major rail lines, the
LRT Line 2 and the
MRT Line 3, located adjacent to the complex. After seeing the potential to revive the complex from its distress, due to the area's location and connectivity to vital areas around Metro Manila, Araneta vowed to finish his father's vision and saw the opportunity of transforming the Araneta Center into a
transit-oriented development with a
garden city concept and spearheaded the planning of the Araneta Center Redevelopment Plan in 1999–2000, and the program's implementation in 2002, with the construction of the
Gateway Mall and its completion in 2004. Since then, Araneta planned to expand the complex's retail shopping area from to of shopping area by adding of floor area, and also expanded his interests in real estate from malls and entertainment venues, to offices, condominiums and hotels. The redevelopment master plan also led the construction of the
Manhattan Garden City in 2006, which became the first transit-oriented residential development; the
Araneta Center Cyberpark in 2007, including the present-day Cyberpark Master Plan in 2014; the
Gateway Tower in 2010, the
Novotel Manila Araneta City in 2012, and the
New Gateway Mall and
Ibis Styles Araneta City in 2018. The master plan also included the second renovation of the
Araneta Coliseum and the Farmers Plaza in 2012, the revival project of the
New Frontier Theater in 2014, and the renovation of Ali Mall, SM Cubao, and Shopwise Supermarket, which were all completed in 2010. In 2019, Araneta rebranded the complex, from the Araneta Center to the Araneta City as "the city of firsts". As the redevelopment plan continues in full swing, Araneta has also planned to build more properties to the Araneta City, such as the
Gateway Mall 3, the Civic Plaza, the Icon tower, an
integrated resort with a heritage area, and a 4-tower mixed-use development within Ali Mall. Araneta aims to complete the Araneta City master plan within 2030, under his company's Vision 2030 plan, which aims to develop square meters of gross floor area within the mixed use development. ==Personal life==