Born into a poor household in the dark suburbs of Glasgow, he would later rise to become the undisputed tea magnate, rubbing shoulders with London’s elites and royalty. His passion was sports, and in sailing, his dream was to win the America’s Cup. After five failed attempts, he ended up adored by all, thanks to his gracious spirit in defeat. As a philanthropist, he launched the Lipton Cup, the oldest friendly football tournament in South America.
The Lipton Cup, also known as the Lipton Charity Cup, became in the Río de la Plata region a remarkable instrument for practicing charity, just as its name suggests. It was the perfect excuse devised by the English tea magnate, Thomas Lipton, to unite in a single initiative both good football—the great passion of the Río de la Plata—and the noble purpose of helping others.
Contested exclusively between Uruguay and Argentina, and under the condition that the teams be composed of native players from each country, the initiative was successfully carried out between 1905 and 1992. Along this journey, the tournament—always warmly welcomed by the public—was key in helping hundreds of institutions and programs dedicated to public welfare.
The cup, now held by the Argentine Football Association, was donated by Sir Thomas Lipton. The silver-plated trophy represents the earth supported by three athletes and is crowned by an angel holding a laurel wreath. This magnificently crafted cup became the catalyst that set solidarity in motion through sport in South America. An inspiring initiative, it raised significant sums of money during the 29 uninterrupted years the tournament was played in the Río de la Plata before finally coming to an end in 1992.
Trying Until Winning, in Sports and in Life
Eager to make his fortune, at 14 he left Scotland and landed in New York. In the big city, work was hard to come by, but luck led him to a job in a general store. There, his vocation for business was awakened, and by 1869—having mastered the effective and innovative American marketing techniques he had seen deployed, proven successful, and enriching his employers—he returned to Glasgow and left his former bosses behind. He opened shops in his hometown and later in London.
In 1878 came the turning point: he traveled to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, guided by his sharp instinct that a unique opportunity lay hidden there. That opportunity arose from the collapse of coffee plantations, devastated by a lethal fungus. Lipton purchased five ruined estates, had them cleared, and planted tea. Within a few years, the crops flourished and prospered, and Sir Lipton was harvesting and processing tea of exceptional quality, easily supplying his 300 shops across Great Britain. His most memorable advertising slogan at the time was “from the tea garden to the teapot,” a phrase that embodied the reality of the Lipton Empire at its peak and in expansion.
The royal family and the elites, faced with his overwhelming economic prosperity, began to view him favorably. Even more so when, in 1897, his generosity took shape in a donation of some £25,000 (nearly £3.5 million today), which was used to provide a banquet for 400,000 of the poor on the eve of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. At the same time, he forged a strong and genuine friendship with the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), united by their shared passion for yacht racing.
What Matters Is to Try
In 1898, following his dream of winning a title in yacht racing, he commissioned his own sailboat, which he christened Shamrock. A splendid vessel as light as a bird, it was designed by the expert shipbuilder William Fife III. But luck in sports was clearly not on his side. In 1899, he lost three consecutive competitions against the American yacht Columbia. Yet Lipton—already renowned as an excellent loser for his character, passion, and determination—kept on fighting, clinging to the hope that one day he might lift the coveted trophy and conquer a title.
In 1901, Edward VII knighted him in a solemn ceremony, and he became Sir Thomas Lipton. This honor, in a way, compensated for his failure as a successful yachtsman, something he deeply dreamed of achieving but accepted with composure. After each defeat, his serenity and cheerful resignation in the face of fate’s blow made him beloved by the public, who came to recognize and admire him for this remarkable attitude.
For Sir Thomas Lipton, the successful businessman, the truth was clear: what really mattered was enjoying the process and giving everything in the pursuit of victory, no matter the final outcome.
