Terry Gou

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Terry Gou, a Taiwanese business mogul who established Foxconn, is a business titan. Due to their remarkable similarities, he is commonly referred to as the ‘Donald Trump of Taiwan’ Both he and the current US president have tremendous riches, influential business empires, several marriages, and young wives. Gou is the founder and chairman of Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer Hon Hai (later renamed Foxconn). Foxconn, which began as a manufacturer of plastic parts for televisions in 1974, is now the largest contract electronics manufacturer in the world, with Apple, IBM, Compaq, Ninetendo, Wii U, Nokia, Playstation 3, and XboxOne among its clients. Foxconn maintains assembly operations on the Chinese mainland to manufacture Apple’s flagship devices, including the iPhone and iPad. In addition, it is the largest employer in China, employing about 1.2 million individuals directly or indirectly as exporters of its products. Terry Gou’s life is inspirational due to the fact that, without a business godfather, he demonstrated to the world the importance of hard work and dedication for success in life. Gou is the third richest person in Taiwan, with a net worth of $10.6 billion, and the most popular, surpassing even the current president. His personality’s influence across the Taiwan Strait has made him the most prominent figure in Taiwan’s business world.

Table of Contents

Youth and Early Life

Terry Gou was born in Banqiao, Taipei County, Taiwan on October 8, 1950. His father was a police officer by profession. His parents lived in the Shanxi Province of mainland China until 1949 when they migrated to Taiwan.

He was the couple’s first-born son. Both of his younger brothers, Tai-Chiang Gou and Tony Gou were also successful businessmen. Gou’s official education began in elementary school and continued through college.

Terry Gou’s Career

Terry Gou began working in the rubber industry following his graduation from college. In his early years, he also worked at a grinding wheel and a medicinal plant. He worked various jobs till his 24th birthday.
Gou launched his own company, Hon Hai, in 1974. He began producing plastic television parts in a rented shed in the Taipei suburb of Tucheng with $7,500 and ten older laborers.

1980 marked the beginning of Gou’s professional success when Atari commissioned him to manufacture console joysticks. It not only gave his business a fresh outlook but also assisted him in reaching economic success.

Gou embarked on an 11-month tour to the United States in search of customers in order to advance his career. Despite being uninvited, he called other businesses and was able to secure extra orders due to his aggressive sales abilities.

In 1988, Gou established his first factory on the Chinese mainland in Shenzhen. The factory continues to be the largest of the numerous that he owns. When he began vertically integrating the manufacturing process, the company’s growth exploded. Gou’s manufacturing complex became a centralized location for all of his facilities, including residences, a hospital, a restaurant, a poultry farm, and a cemetery.

In 1996, Gou’s company, Hon Hai, began manufacturing desktop Compaq chassis. For Gou, it proved to be a tremendously profitable endeavor. Very quickly, Gou began constructing chassis for other prominent clients, including HP and IBM. When Gou signed a contract with Apple Inc., his company entered a period of extraordinary development and profitability.

Soon after adopting the trade name Foxconn, Hon Hai became an industry titan in consumer electronics manufacturing. It rose dramatically to become the largest contract electronics maker in the world, with a customer consisting of leading brands.

Foxconn acquired a 10 percent share in the Japanese electronics business Sharp Corporation for $806 million in 2012 and purchased up to 50 percent of the LCDs manufactured at Sharp’s Sakai, Japan facility. Four years later, Foxcomm purchased the company, marking the first foreign acquisition of a major Japanese electronics firm. In 2016, Foxconn also purchased Nokia mobile phones.

The string of suicides perpetrated by Foxconn employees has given Gou’s business a negative reputation, despite its status as a worldwide manufacturing behemoth. At least fourteen workers committed themselves in 2010 owing to hazardous working conditions at Foxconn manufacturing.

His Major Opera

Terry Gou’s career reached new heights after his company began manufacturing desktop computer chassis for Compaq in 1996. This was Foxconn’s greatest breakthrough, as the business went on to become the largest contract electronics maker in the world.

According to company estimates, Foxconn made $136.12 billion in revenue in 2015, making it the fourth-largest information technology corporation by revenue. Forbes said that Gou’s net worth increased drastically from $5.6 billion in 2016 to $10.6 billion in 2017. Additionally, Foxconn is the largest private employer in China and one of the largest employers globally.

Her Personal Life

Serena Lin was the first wife of Terry Gou. The couple welcomed a boy and a daughter into the world. While Gou’s son is employed in the film and real estate industries, his daughter, who worked in the finance sector, assumed leadership of her mother’s charity upon her 2005 passing.

Tony Gou, the younger brother of Gou, died of leukemia in 2007. On July 26, he married his second wife, choreographer Delia Tseng, the following year. Tseng and Gou are parents of three kids.

They have collectively resolved to donate 90 percent of Gou’s riches.
Gou has been active in numerous acts of charity. He has supported nonprofit and charity groups.

Estimated Net Worth

Terry Gou is a Taiwanese business magnate who is worth $6.7 billion. Terry Gou founded the international electronics contract manufacturer Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn, in 1974.

He currently serves as the company’s chairman and CEO. Since then, the firm has become the largest electronics contract maker in the world based on revenue.