Terry Gou
Encyclopedia
Terry Tai-Ming Gou, sometimes written as Terry Guo, (born October 8, 1950) is a Taiwan
ese tycoon who leads Hon Hai Precision
, a company that manufactures electronics on contract for other companies. It is now the largest such electronics manufacturing services
company in the world, with factories in several countries, mostly in Mainland China
, where it employs 800,000 people and is its largest exporter.
sets. In 1988 he opened his first factory in Mainland China
, in Shenzhen
, where his largest factory remains today. He now owns 30% of the public company and was ranked 179th on Forbes magazine's 2011 list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of US$
5.7 billion.
before they fled to Taiwan in 1949, where Gou was born. Gou has two younger brothers, Tai-Chiang Gou and Tai-Cheng Gou; both of them later become successful businessmen as well. Gou and his first wife, Serena Lin , have a son (born 1976) who works in the film industry and a daughter (born 1978) who worked in the financial sector. Gou founded an educational charity organization with Lin in 2000 and intends to eventually give away one third of his wealth to charity. After her mother passed away, she quit her job and operated the charity organization.
In 2005, Serena Lin died of breast cancer at the age of 55. Gou's younger brother, Tai-Cheng Guo, died in 2007 of leukemia in Beijing. Gou married his second wife, choreographer Delia Tseng on July 26, 2008. Tseng and Gou have two children, a daughter (born April 30, 2009) and a son (born November 19, 2010).
In 2007 court documents were revealed showing that he had been blackmailed by a woman who, in 1992, secretly shot a video of them having sexual intercourse during an affair.
In 2002 he bought a Roztěž castle near Kutná Hora
in the Czech Republic
for $30 million.
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...
ese tycoon who leads Hon Hai Precision
Foxconn
The Foxconn Technology Group is a multinational business group anchored by the Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. , a Taiwan-registered corporation headquartered in Tucheng, Taiwan...
, a company that manufactures electronics on contract for other companies. It is now the largest such electronics manufacturing services
Electronics manufacturing services
Electronic manufacturing services is a term used for companies that design, test, manufacture, distribute, and provide return/repair services for electronic components and assemblies for original equipment manufacturers...
company in the world, with factories in several countries, mostly in Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, where it employs 800,000 people and is its largest exporter.
Professional life
Gou founded Hon Hai in Taiwan in 1974 with ten workers to make plastic parts for televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sets. In 1988 he opened his first factory in Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, in Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
, where his largest factory remains today. He now owns 30% of the public company and was ranked 179th on Forbes magazine's 2011 list of the world's richest people, with a net worth of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5.7 billion.
Personal life
Gou's parents lived in mainland China's Shanxi ProvinceShanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
before they fled to Taiwan in 1949, where Gou was born. Gou has two younger brothers, Tai-Chiang Gou and Tai-Cheng Gou; both of them later become successful businessmen as well. Gou and his first wife, Serena Lin , have a son (born 1976) who works in the film industry and a daughter (born 1978) who worked in the financial sector. Gou founded an educational charity organization with Lin in 2000 and intends to eventually give away one third of his wealth to charity. After her mother passed away, she quit her job and operated the charity organization.
In 2005, Serena Lin died of breast cancer at the age of 55. Gou's younger brother, Tai-Cheng Guo, died in 2007 of leukemia in Beijing. Gou married his second wife, choreographer Delia Tseng on July 26, 2008. Tseng and Gou have two children, a daughter (born April 30, 2009) and a son (born November 19, 2010).
In 2007 court documents were revealed showing that he had been blackmailed by a woman who, in 1992, secretly shot a video of them having sexual intercourse during an affair.
In 2002 he bought a Roztěž castle near Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora
Kutná Hora is a city in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic in the Central Bohemian Region.-History:The town began in 1142 with the settlement of the first Cistercian Monastery in Bohemia, Kloster Sedlitz, brought from the Imperial immediate Cistercian Waldsassen Abbey...
in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
for $30 million.
External links
- Hon Hai Precision
- Yonglin.org.tw, his charity organization
- The Man Who Makes Your iPhone, interview in BusinessWeek 2010-09-09