Taiwan
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Taiwan's 40 Richest
Russell Flannery, 03.31.10, 06:00 PM EDT
Almost all of the island's entrepreneurs got richer, but the top spot belongs to Terry Gou, whose company makes products for Apple and Nintendo.
Taiwan's trade-dependent economy, one of the hardest hit in Asia by the world recession, is recovering with the rest of the region. The pickup is giving a big boost to the fortunes of the island's most successful entrepreneurs. Taiwan's richest are worth a combined $70 billion, up from $55 billion last June, when we published our 2009 ranking. That's still less than a record of $77 billion in 2008.
The island's top tech entrepreneurs, many now creeping up in years, are leading the way. Terry Gou, who runs the world's largest electronics contractor, Hon Hai Precision Industry, is No. 1 this year with wealth of $5.9 billion. An 80% rise in the share price of chip designer Mediatek boosted the wealth of chairman Tsai Ming-kai to No. 13 and lifted his vice chairman, Cho Jyh-Jer (No. 37), into the ranks of the island's 40 Richest this year for the first time.
Among other techies, Peter Shu (No. 27), who leads memory-supplier Transcend Information, enjoyed an increase in his wealth to $925 million, up from $575 million. Jason Chang, chairman of semiconductor packaging company Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, has seen a jump in his fortune to $1.7 billion from $1.1 billion a year ago, earning him the No. 12 spot. At No. 6, Quanta Computer Chairman Barry Lam's wealth rose to $3 billion from $2.15 billion in last year's list on expectation of improvement in the company's notebook computer manufacturing business.
Bruce Cheng, whose Delta Electronics makes power components for top electronics firms, is one of three individuals to return to the ranks (No. 39) after a one-year absence. Ho Show Chung, whose holdings include the biggest suppliers of screens for electronic books, is another one to make it back, though just barely, at No. 40.
Those whose fortunes are more tied to Taiwan's domestic economy--such as bid property owner Lin Yu-lin (No. 7)--have gotten richer, too. Property prices have moved up amid hopes that a prospective trade pact with the mainland, known as the Economic Cooperation Framework agreement, will help revive demand for property and consumer spending. Chao Teng-Hsiung, chairman of Farglory and one of the island's largest property developers, has wealth of $1.4 billion this year (No. 15), remaining in the ranks of the world's billionaires.
Yet those who sell into the fast-growing mainland market did even better than those only focused on Taiwan. Wei Ing-Chou of Tingyi (No. 5) and Tsai Eng-Meng (No. 4) of Want Want, both in the food and beverage business, each added $1.3 billion to their fortunes. Luo Jye (No. 9), whose tire maker Cheng Shin Rubber runs a large plant in Fujian province just across the Taiwan Strait from Taiwan, had wealth of $2.3 billion this year, up from $1.5 billion last year.
Besides Cho, another newcomer this year is Chin Jong Hwa (No. 36), whose Minth supplies parts to car markets in the mainland. Wang Yung-tsai (No. 10), the brother of the late Y.C. Wang, debuts, too. Last year's No. 1, the Tsai family of Cathay Financial Holding, slipped to No. 2, even though the family's wealth rose to $5.8 billion, up from $5.1 billion.
Several tycoons just missed the cut, including the Hsu family of Hsu Fu Chi, which sells sweets in China, and Chen Hsien Min, cofounder of retailer Daphne.
Special Report
Taiwan's Richest
03.31.10, 06:00 PM EDT
Page 1 of 1
RankNameNet Worth ($mil)Age
1 Terry Gou5,900 59
2 Tsai brothers5,800 NA
3 Tsai Wan-tsai5,300 80
4 Tsai Eng-Meng4,900 53
5 Wei Ing-Chou4,500 57
6 Barry Lam3,000 61
7 Lin Yu-lin2,700 74
8 Lin Rong San2,400 71
9 Luo Jye2,300 84
10 Wang Yung-tsai2,200 NA
11 Cher Wang & Wenchi Chen2,100 52
12 Jason Chang1,700 66
13 Tsai Ming-kai1,600 NA
14 Eugene Wu1,500 64
15 Chao Teng-Hsiung1,400 66
16 Tsai Chi Jui1,300 69
17 Douglas Hsu1,250 67
18 Chang Yung-fa1,200 83
19 Samuel Yin1,150 NA
20 Shi Wen Long1,100 82
21 Leslie Koo980 56
22 Kenneth Yen950 45
23 Suhon Lin940 82
23 Long-Shing Liao940 57
23 Tseng Shin-yi940 82
26 Jeffrey Koo Sr.930 76
27 Peter Shu925 56
28 Chen Chao Chuan910 81
29 Wu Chung-Yi900 54
30 Tsung Cheng Dao895 NA
31 Lin Ming-cheng890 67
32 Chen Yung-Tai860 74
33 Rudy Ma820 NA
34 Lin Ming-Hsiung790 61
35 Lin Yu-chia770 NA
36 Chin Jong Hwa740 51
37 Cho Jyh-Jer710 54
38 Hou Bo-ming700 54
39 Bruce Cheng690 74
40 Ho Show Chung
--With reporting by Maggie Chen, Danni Cao, Mao Yanjie and Chloe Chen
777 days ago
Taipei: Lucky night at Longshan Temple
Immigrants from China's Fujian province built Longshan Temple in 1738 during the Qing Dynasty.- A visit to Taipei's Longshan Temple on a lucky night provides a cultural window
- The faithful of several religious traditions gather to pray
- The chaos of the modern city outside fades away inside the walls of the temple
Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) -- The sweet fragrance of a thousand sticks of burning incense curls into reverent smoke clouds on this lucky night of the new moon.
We are inside Taipei's oldest temple, Mengjia Longshan Temple, deeply immersed in the history and traditions of this chaotic, modern city in Taiwan. On the first and 15th night of each lunar month, Buddhists, Taoists and worshipers of the ancient goddess of the sea, Matsu, gather here to pray, bring food and flowers and share the wonders of their faiths. It has been the same here twice a month, almost every month, for 274 years.
Immigrants from China's Fujian province built this ornate temple in 1738 during the Qing Dynasty. It has been damaged by earthquakes, storms and war but restored numerous times. It is exquisite.
As with many East Asian temples, it has three decorated gates, one inside the next. In the first courtyard is a waterfall, a point of ablution that recalls the water wells outside mosques, the baptismal waters of Christianity and even more ancient, the washing spring at the base of Greece's great Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Carved, richly painted dragons guard the entrances. Inside the main chamber is an explosion of brilliant color.
Tonight, there are the people -- hundreds of them, from every section and class of this society. They hold incense between their clasped hands or with their hands open flat and pressed against one another in front of their chest or against their forehead, facing toward an altar or a richly decorated table, bowing and praying.
When they are finished, they place the incense into huge gold pots, many decorated with religious figurines. Some set bright candles alight on massive candelabra. The ceilings are rich with gold. On the walls hang signs with ancient poetry. Long tables are filled with food, which those who have brought it later eat to imbibe the blessings the food has absorbed. Everywhere there are flowers, thousands of flowers.
Just outside are the teeming streets of Taipei -- the bustle of the Longshan Temple metro station, the chaotic tastes of the Huahsi night market, the strange sights of Snake Alley, and the overwhelming crowds and commercialism of the Ximending shopping district. Beyond the horizon, the mainland's missiles -- said to number in the hundreds -- poised to arrive in just seven minutes.
But inside Mengjia Longshan Temple, all that curls away. For the hundreds of believers who gather here, for these few minutes, on this night of luck and wonder, there is just the Path, reverent peace and a connection with history that stays with the visitor long after the next morning dawns.
Location: No. 211 Guangzhou Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City
Hours: 6:00 a.m.-10:20 p.m.
Admission: Free
Getting there: Driving the circuitous streets of inner-city Taipei is not for the faint-hearted, and parking can be challenge. Instead, take the MTR (subway) to Longshan Temple Station. The temple is across the street. Alternately, take the MTR to Wanhua Station. The temple is about four blocks north.
© 2012 