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.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. A spokesperson for Indonesia disaster mitigation agency said there were no reports of damage so far. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province, said their evacuation was underway in coastal villages and there were no reported casualties so far. DZBB radio, broadcasting from the
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
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