Biography

John Tu was born in Chongquing, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and grew up in Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. He studied electrical engineering at Technische Hochschule Darmstadt in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, then moved to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

In 1982, he co-founded Camintonn with David Sun. in 1986, they sold it for $6 million and founded Kingston Technology

Kingston Technology

Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is an American privately held, multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, sells and supports flash memory products and other computer-related memory products. Headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, USA, Kingston Technology...

. In 1996, they sold 80 percent of the company to Softbank

SoftBank

is a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....

 for $1.5 billion, before buying it back in 1999 for $450 million.

He has supported Erin Gruwell

Erin Gruwell

Erin Gruwell is an American teacher known for her unorthodox teaching method, which led to the publication of The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them...

's Freedom Writers and the Freedom Writers Foundation

Freedom Writers Foundation

The Freedom Writers Foundation is a non-profit organization created to "inspire young, underprivileged students to pick up pens instead of guns." It was founded by Erin Gruwell, and John Tu is a benefactor....

. In 2011, he donated $1.2 million to give every first year medical student at UC Irvine an iPad

IPad

The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...

. He plays drums with his band, JT and California Dreamin'. As of September 2011, he is the 400th richest person in the world, and the 130th richest in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He is worth US$ 2.8. He is married with two children, and he lives in Rolling Hills, California

Rolling Hills, California

Rolling Hills is a city in the Palos Verdes Hills, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,860, down from 1,871 at the 2000 census...

.