The Richest Men in Taiwan
by kalyani10
Terry Gou
With a net worth of $4.8 billion, Terry Gou is easily one of the richest men in Taiwan. Gou is the founder and head of Hon Hai Precision - also known by its trade name Foxconn – which is the largest such electronics manufacturing services company in the world, with factories in several countries, mostly in mainland China, and supplying to high profile clients across the world, the most famous being Apple. Although Foxconn profits last year rose 6%, shares tanked by a quarter between the end of March and mid-May this year on worries about the global economy. Other than this, Hon Hai has also been plagued by alleged poor labor practices at factories in China that supply Apple products. Hon Hai and its affiliates purchased 11% of struggling Sharp and nearly half of the company's liquid crystal display business this year, a move full of symbolism about the rise of Greater China in the electronics industry at a time of trouble in Japan. In December 2011 Hon Hai listed an affiliate in Taiwan that makes printed circuit boards, Zhen Ding Technology Holding; its shares have nearly doubled since it went public, raising Gou’s net worth and placing him firmly among Taiwan’s richest.
Barry Lam
Yet another billionaire to emerge from Taiwan’s hi-tech industry is Barry Lam whose personal fortunes is pegged at $4.2 billion as of May 2012. Lam is the founder and head of Quanta Computer which is one of the world's largest manufacturers of notebook computers and counts Hewlett-Packard among its best customers. Its shares have climbed by more than a third in the past year based on future prospects of new cloud-computing technologies that will entail higher sale of these products. The surge in share prices has pushed Lam's net worth up by $900 million. Quanta this year joined Facebook, HP, Baidu and others in a Facebook-led Open Compute Project that is geared towards promotion of cloud computing.
The 63 year old self-made billionaire is married and has three children; he lives in Taipei.
Luo Jye
With a net worth of $3.2 billion rubber baron Luo Jiye and his family figure among the richest men in Taiwan. Luo Jye founded Cheng Shin Rubber, which was in the past a manufacturer of bicycle tires that eventually grew into one of the world's largest supplier of automotive tires. Among its most reputed customers were auto giants, GM and Ford. Cheng Shin's shares have risen 10% in the past year, helping to boost the Luo family's wealth by $300 million. The company, whose tires are sold under the "Maxxis" trade name, competes with the likes of Goodyear and Michelin. Though at present, the business is run by Luo's son-in-law, Chen Yun Hwa, Luo continues to function as the chairman of the company.
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Lying in the western Pacific Ocean, Taiwan is an island of East Asia. Thought its political status is conflicted - since the People’s Republic of China claims Taiwan as its territory - the island is blessed with natural and economic advantages Taiwan’s mercurial success in the latter half of the last century made it one of the four Asian Tigers along with South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong. According to Forbes1, in 2008, the combined net worth of the island's 40 richest is $77 billion, more than their counterparts in South Korea or any Southeast Asian nation of comparable size. And even though in 2011, it was tough for Taiwan’s relatively open, export-led economy to escape the drag on global business coming from the recession in Europe, on the whole the island’s billionaires have managed quite well. Here are some of the richest men in Taiwan and a bit about their wealth.
Tsai Eng-Meng
With a net worth of $8 billion Tsai Eng-Meng is the new No. 1 on Forbes 2012 list of Taiwan's 40 Richest2. The source of Tsai’s fortune is his snack food business in Taiwan which began as the family's small trading outfit, I Lan Foods Industrial, but eventually grew into Want Want China Holdings, food and beverage giant that sells snacks, rice crackers, dairy products and juice in the mainland and boasts of $2.9 billion in revenue. Over the years Tsai has added investments in real estate, insurance as in Want Want Insurance and other financial services like Waterland Financial Holding. However he has come under fire from business rivals as well as in the western media for having excessive influence with the Chinese political leadership and being a supporter of unification.
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Wei Brothers
The food industry continues to be the source of Taiwan’s billionaires and this is evident from the fact that the Wei brothers with a combined fortune of $6.6 billion are next to feature on Forbes Taiwan 40 Richest List. The Wei brothers include four siblings, Wei Ing-Chou, Wei Ying-Chiao, Wei Yin-Chun and Wei Yin-Heng. They are the owners of Tingyi Holding which controls a bulk of the beverage market in the Chinese mainland. The holding company is listed in Hong Kong. This year the family won Chinese government approval for a plan under which PepsiCo will merge its China operation into Tingyi-Asahi Beverages, the family's bottling arm, and the Taiwan-controlled operation will distribute Pepsi soda on the mainland. If the deal comes through, the Tingyi Holding could be instrumental in increasing the Wei fortunes even higher.
Tsai Wan-Tsai
The third richest man in Taiwan as of May 2012 is finance mogul, Tsai Wan-tsai, who has been instrumental in the founding and growth of Cathay Financial Holdings. But with the future of the company coming under a cloud as Tsai’s nephews have squabble over the direction of Cathay Financial Holdings, the patriarch and his sons Daniel and Richard can take comfort in the fortune that they have built though solid growth at Fubon Financial Holding. Apart from this, Tsai has also benefited from his investments in real estate, broadcasting and telecommunications businesses. However Tsai’s fortunes went through a rough patch in 2011, what with Fubon's shares falling by some 25% on worries about slowing global economic growth which has eventually pulled the family's wealth down $800 million.
Terry Gou
With a net worth of $4.8 billion, Terry Gou is easily one of the richest men in Taiwan. Gou is the founder and head of Hon Hai Precision - also known by its trade name Foxconn – which is the largest such electronics manufacturing services company in the world, with factories in several countries, mostly in mainland China, and supplying to high profile clients across the world, the most famous being Apple. Although Foxconn profits last year rose 6%, shares tanked by a quarter between the end of March and mid-May this year on worries about the global economy. Other than this, Hon Hai has also been plagued by alleged poor labor practices at factories in China that supply Apple products. Hon Hai and its affiliates purchased 11% of struggling Sharp and nearly half of the company's liquid crystal display business this year, a move full of symbolism about the rise of Greater China in the electronics industry at a time of trouble in Japan. In December 2011 Hon Hai listed an affiliate in Taiwan that makes printed circuit boards, Zhen Ding Technology Holding; its shares have nearly doubled since it went public, raising Gou’s net worth and placing him firmly among Taiwan’s richest.
Barry Lam
Yet another billionaire to emerge from Taiwan’s hi-tech industry is Barry Lam whose personal fortunes is pegged at $4.2 billion as of May 2012. Lam is the founder and head of Quanta Computer which is one of the world's largest manufacturers of notebook computers and counts Hewlett-Packard among its best customers. Its shares have climbed by more than a third in the past year based on future prospects of new cloud-computing technologies that will entail higher sale of these products. The surge in share prices has pushed Lam's net worth up by $900 million. Quanta this year joined Facebook, HP, Baidu and others in a Facebook-led Open Compute Project that is geared towards promotion of cloud computing.
The 63 year old self-made billionaire is married and has three children; he lives in Taipei.
Luo Jye
With a net worth of $3.2 billion rubber baron Luo Jiye and his family figure among the richest men in Taiwan. Luo Jye founded Cheng Shin Rubber, which was in the past a manufacturer of bicycle tires that eventually grew into one of the world's largest supplier of automotive tires. Among its most reputed customers were auto giants, GM and Ford. Cheng Shin's shares have risen 10% in the past year, helping to boost the Luo family's wealth by $300 million. The company, whose tires are sold under the "Maxxis" trade name, competes with the likes of Goodyear and Michelin. Though at present, the business is run by Luo's son-in-law, Chen Yun Hwa, Luo continues to function as the chairman of the company.
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