Terry Gou (born 1950) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman and politician. He founded Foxconn, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics, and served as its chairman and chief executive officer. As of 2024, his net worth was reported at US$10.4 billion. Gou later entered politics, seeking the Kuomintang nomination for president in 2020 and running as an independent candidate in 2024 before withdrawing from that race.
Early life
Gou was born in Banqiao, near Taipei, to parents who had fled to Taiwan in 1949 from Shanxi Province during the Chinese Civil War. His father was a policeman who fought for the Kuomintang. After graduating from Taipei University of Marine Technology, Gou worked at several factories until he was 24. He then completed military service as an anti-aircraft artillery officer in the Republic of China Air Force, stationed on Kinmen, and was discharged in 1973.
Building Foxconn
Gou founded the company in Taiwan in 1974 as Hon Hai Precision Industry, starting with small funds and a handful of workers. It first made plastic parts for television sets, and a 1980 order from Atari for a console joystick marked a turning point. In 1988 Gou opened his first factory in Shenzhen, China, which remained his largest. In 1996 the company began building chassis for Compaq desktops, a breakthrough that led to work for other major technology firms.
Political activity
Gou rejoined the Kuomintang in 2019 and sought its presidential nomination, finishing second in the primary before leaving the party. He later ran as an independent candidate in the 2024 presidential election but ended his campaign in November 2023. Observers have described his views as friendly to Beijing, and he has been compared to Donald Trump owing to his business background and image as a political outsider.