Brothers Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and Richard Tsai (蔡明興), who run Fubon Group (富邦集團), took the top spot in Forbes magazine’s list of Taiwan’s 50 richest people this year, despite an 8 percent fall in their net worth.
The two brothers were among 22 of the top 50 billionaires in Taiwan who saw their net worth shrink, but they still rose two spots from last year to reclaim the No. 1 position after a five-year gap, the magazine said.
The wealth of the Tsai brothers shrank to US$8.8 billion as Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) took a hit from COVID-19 insurance claims, which pushed down the company’s earnings and share price last year, Forbes said.
Photo: Lisa Wang, Taipei Times
In addition to their financial empire, the Tsai family owns telecom Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) and e-commerce platform momo.com Inc (富邦媒體).
After the Tsai brothers, the four Wei brothers — Wei Ing-chou (魏應州), Wei Ying-chiao (魏應交), Wei Ying-chun (魏應充) and Wei Ying-heng (魏應行) — who control food and beverage conglomerate Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團), took second place with a net worth of US$8.3 billion, Forbes said.
Ting Hsin owns Master Kong, one of the largest instant noodle suppliers in China which reported record-high sales of US$11.4 billion last year, the magazine said.
Taking the No. 3 spot was Lin Shu-hong (林書鴻), cofounder of the petrochemical conglomerate Chang Chun Group (長春集團), who benefited from rising chemical prices and saw his wealth grow to US$7.9 billion.
Also affected by hefty COVID-19 insurance claims, the brothers Tsai Hong-tu (蔡宏圖) and Tsai Cheng-ta (蔡政達) of Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) fell to No. 4 this year from No. 2 a year earlier with a net worth of US$7.7 billion, Forbes said.
Falling from the top spot last year, low-key and self-made footwear tycoon Zhang Congyuan (張聰淵) took fifth spot in the latest list as his wealth contracted in US dollar terms by US$4.5 billion to US$7.6 billion.
Zhang’s wealth shrank as shares of his Guangdong-based Huali Industrial Group (華利實業集團), which is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, dropped due to decreased orders amid COVID-19 pandemic-induced disruptions.
Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of the world’s largest contract electronics maker, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), came in sixth after his wealth rose to US$7.4 billion this year from US$6.8 billion.
Gou’s wealth largely comes from iPhone assembler Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn (富士康) globally, whose sales rose 11 percent from a year earlier to US$217 billion last year.
The Chang brothers — Jason Chang (張虔生) and Richard Chang (張洪本), who are chairman and vice chairman of chip packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) respectively, took seventh place with a net worth of US$6.3 billion, ahead of chairman of snack and beverage brand Want Want Group’s (旺旺集團) Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), with US$6.1 billion in net worth.
Tsai was followed by Barry Lam (林百里), chairman of contract notebook computer maker Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), with US$5.6 billion, and chairman of electronics component maker Yageo Corp (國巨) Pierre Chen (陳泰銘), with US$5.5 billion.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS