Terry Gou
Founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Foxconn / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Terry Gou (Chinese: 郭台銘; pinyin: Guō Táimíng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Koeh Tâi-bêng; born 18 October 1950) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman and politician. Gou is the founder and former chairman and chief executive officer of Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics.[1] Founded in 1974, Foxconn grew to become an international business empire, becoming the largest private employer and exporter in mainland China with a workforce of 1.2 million.[2] As of 2022, Gou had a net worth of US$6.8 billion.[3]
Terry Gou | |
---|---|
郭台銘 | |
Born | (1950-10-18) 18 October 1950 (age 73) |
Alma mater | China Maritime College |
Years active | 1974–present |
Known for | Founder of Foxconn |
Political party | Kuomintang (1970–2000; 2019) Independent (2000–2019; 2019–) |
Spouses | Serena Lin
(m. 1974; died 2005)Delia Tseng (m. 2008) |
Children | 13 |
Beginning in 2016, speculation surrounding Gou's political ambitions arose ahead of the 2020 presidential election.[4][5][6][7] In 2019, Gou resigned from Foxconn and joined the Kuomintang (KMT) to run for president, declaring he was instructed by the sea goddess Mazu in a dream to contest the election.[8] Gou ultimately lost the election, coming in second in the Kuomintang primary.[9] After leaving the party following the 2019 primary, Gou rejoined in 2023 and announced his intention to run for president in the 2024 presidential election,[10] but after running as an independent candidate, he ended his campaign in late November 2023.[11]
Once described as an "old friend" by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Gou has been characterized as friendly to Mainland business interests during his political and business career.[12][13] In December 2022, Gou was credited with helping to successfully lobby the Xi Jinping Administration to ease zero-COVID rules implemented during the pandemic.[14] On foreign policy, Gou has criticized the Taiwan independence movement and has called for a deescalation of Sino–American tensions.[15] Owing to his business background and image as a political outsider, Gou has been compared in international media to former U.S. President Donald Trump.[16][17][18]