Cher Wang (王雪紅), chairwoman of smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電), has replaced Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) as Taiwan’s richest person on Forbes magazine’s billionaire list this year.
Forbes ranked Wang and her husband, Chen Wen-chi (陳文琦), president and chief executive of chip provider VIA Technologies Inc (威盛電子), as Taiwan’s wealthiest couple, with a net worth of US$6.8 billion. The couple, rated the nation’s 11th-richest last year, ranked 143rd worldwide on Forbes’ billionaire list released on Wednesday.
Fubon Group (富邦集團) founder Tsai Wan-tsai (蔡萬才) and family ranked No. 2 in Taiwan, with a combined fortune of US$6.3 billion. The Tsai family ranked 156th on the global list.
Gou, who topped the Taiwan list last year, fell to third place this year, with a net worth of US$5.7 billion and a world ranking of 179th.
Want Want Group (旺旺集團) chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) was fourth in Taiwan, with a fortune of US$5.2 billion and a global ranking of 196th.
Rounding out the top 10 list were Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團) vice chairman Wang Yung-tsai (王永在) in fifth place; Quanta Group (廣達集團) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) in sixth; Lin Yu-lin (林堉璘), founder of the Hong Tai Group (宏泰集團), in seventh; Rong San Lin (林榮三), property and media tycoon and founder of the Liberty Times and its sister paper the Taipei Times at eighth; Cheng Shin Rubber Co (正新輪胎) founder Luo Jye (羅結) and family following in ninth; and Tsai Chen-yu (蔡鎮宇), former vice chairman of Cathay Financial Holdings Co (國泰金控), in 10th place.
Worldwide, Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim Helu remained the world’s richest person with a net worth of US$74 billion thanks to his telecoms empire. Already the top dog last year, he increased his fortune by US$20.5 billion.
In a now familiar second place was Microsoft founder Bill Gates with US$56 billion. The relatively lower ranking reflected his enormous philanthropic give-aways over the year, Forbes said.
Next up was US investment guru Warren Buffett and Frenchman Bernard Arnault from the luxury goods group LVMH with US$50 billion and US$41 billion respectively.
Worldwide, the number of billionaires hit a record 1,210, up from 1,011 last year, Forbes said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
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