A US tax court judge being asked to help split the fortune of one of the world’s richest men has asked for more information to help him decide whether the case even belongs in his courtroom.
At issue is how to divide plastic magnate Wang Yung-ching’s (王永慶) fortune, estimated at nearly US$7 billion, among at least nine children he fathered with women other than his wife — and whether US or Taiwanese courts will have ultimate jurisdiction over it.
Wang was given a state funeral in Taiwan after he died last year in New Jersey. He left no will, but is survived by a complex family tree of potential heirs who are now arguing over his money.
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Walter Koprowski ruled this week that Wang’s various companies, including Formosa Plastics (台塑), had to make certain financial records available to determine the scope of Wang’s holdings in the state.
Attorneys for Formosa had argued the information requests were too broad and should be denied. The judge disagreed with the company, but ordered the subpoenas be narrowed in scope to determine how much of Wang’s assets were directly tied to New Jersey around the time of his death.
Several of Wang’s nine children, most of whom live in the US, want control of the fortune.
His oldest son, 58-year-old Winston Wong (王文洋) — who uses a different English spelling of the same last name, a common practice — has been pushing for the case to remain in New Jersey, saying his father considered the state his home.
“I am pleased that Judge Koprowski recognizes the need for more information on the extent of my father’s personal and business holdings in New Jersey,” Wong said in a statement. “This is an important first step.”
Khaled John Klele, an attorney for Formosa and the other companies that have been subpoenaed, declined to comment.
None of Wang’s children are from his wife of more than 70 years, Wang Yueh-lan (王月蘭), who lives in Taiwan. She is considered his legal widow and stands to inherit half her husband’s fortune.
Wong says she has granted him power of attorney. Although he is not her son, he has petitioned to become her legal guardian and to represent her interests in the New Jersey courts.
Koprowski declined to rule on that petition, saying the court must first determine if the case even will be decided in New Jersey.
The judge has scheduled a meeting with lawyers for Friday in Newark.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
Apple Inc increased iPhone production in India by about 53 percent last year and now makes a quarter of its marquee devices there, reflecting the US company’s efforts to avoid tariffs on China. The company assembled about 55 million iPhones in India last year, up from 36 million a year earlier, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named because the numbers aren’t public. Apple makes about 220 million to 230 million iPhones a year globally, with India’s share of the total increasing rapidly. Apple has accelerated its expansion in the world’s most populous country in recent years, bolstered
HEADWINDS: The company said it expects its computer business, as well as consumer electronics and communications segments to see revenue declines due to seasonality Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it aims to grow its artificial intelligence (AI) server revenue more than 10-fold this year from last year, driven by orders from neocloud solutions clients and large cloud service providers. The electronics manufacturing service provider said AI server revenue growth would be driven primarily by the Nvidia Corp GB300 server platform. Server shipments are expected to increase each quarter this year, with the second half likely to outperform the first half, it said. The AI server market is expected to broaden this year as more inference applications emerge, which would drive demand for system-on-chip, application-specific integrated circuits
RSS