Terry Gou

Terry Gou (

pinyin: Guō Táimíng; born October 18, 1950) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman and politician who founded Foxconn (formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.), the world's largest contract manufacturer of consumer electronics. Under Gou's leadership, Foxconn grew from a small Taiwanese plastics company into an industrial colossus that manufactures products for the world's leading technology companies, including Apple Inc., Sony, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nintendo. With a workforce that has exceeded 1.2 million people at its peak, Foxconn became the largest private employer in Taiwan and one of the largest private employers in the world.

As of 2024, Gou's net worth is estimated at $10.4 billion, making him one of the wealthiest individuals in Taiwan. His influence extends beyond business into Taiwanese politics, where he has twice sought the presidency - first as a Kuomintang (KMT) candidate in 2019 and later as an independent in 2023-2024. His political campaigns have been characterized by his claim that the sea goddess Mazu instructed him in a dream to run for office, his criticism of the Taiwan independence movement, and his support for improved relations with mainland China under the 1992 Consensus.

Gou's business success and political activities have made him a controversial figure. While celebrated for building one of the world's most important manufacturing companies, he has also faced criticism for working conditions at Foxconn factories, particularly following a series of worker suicides in 2010, and for his comments comparing workers to "animals." His warm relationship with Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping and his business-friendly approach to cross-strait relations have earned both praise from economic pragmatists and criticism from supporters of Taiwanese sovereignty.

Early life

Family background

Terry Gou was born on October 18, 1950, in Banqiao Township (now Banqiao District) in what was then Taipei County (now New Taipei City). His parents had lived in Shanxi Province on mainland China before the Chinese Civil War and fled to Taiwan in 1949, when the Kuomintang (Nationalist) forces retreated in the face of Communist victory.

His father had been a policeman who fought on behalf of the Kuomintang during the civil war. This family history of service to the Nationalist cause and flight from Communist rule shaped Gou's political identity and his complex relationship with cross-strait issues.

As the second child in his family, Gou grew up with an older sister and two younger brothers. His brothers, Gou Tai-chiang and Tony Gou, would also become successful businesspeople, with Tony becoming particularly prominent before his death from leukemia in 2007.

Education and early work

Gou received formal education from elementary school through post-college levels, though he did not attend elite universities. After completing his education, he worked in a rubber factory operating a grinding wheel and later worked at a medicine plant until the age of 24.

This early experience in manufacturing gave Gou firsthand knowledge of industrial processes and the challenges facing workers - experience that would inform his later career as a manufacturing magnate, even as critics would later accuse him of insufficiently valuing worker welfare.

Military service

Gou fulfilled his mandatory national service obligations by joining the Republic of China Air Force as an anti-aircraft artillery officer. He was stationed on Kinmen (Quemoy), the Taiwanese island located just off the coast of mainland China, at a time when a potential People's Liberation Army invasion was a realistic fear.

The experience of military service defending Taiwan against potential Communist invasion reinforced Gou's Kuomintang family background and gave him direct experience with the military tensions that define cross-strait relations. He was discharged from the Air Force in 1973.

Founding and building Foxconn

Humble beginnings

In 1974, Terry Gou founded his company, originally named Hon Hai Precision Industry (鴻海科技集團), with $7,500 in startup capital (equivalent to approximately $44,000 in 2021 U.S. Dollars) and a workforce of ten elderly employees. The company operated from a rented shed in Tucheng, a suburb of Taipei, making plastic parts for television sets.

The company's origins were extraordinarily modest - a far cry from the global manufacturing empire it would become. Gou's early years were characterized by hands-on work, aggressive salesmanship, and a relentless drive to expand.

Breakthrough with Atari

A pivotal moment came in 1980 when Gou received an order from Atari to manufacture joysticks for their video game consoles. This contract demonstrated the company's ability to produce quality components for American technology companies and opened doors to larger opportunities.

The Atari contract was a template for what would become Foxconn's core business model: manufacturing components and products for global technology brands at competitive prices while maintaining quality standards.

U.S. Expansion campaign

In the 1980s, Gou embarked on an ambitious 11-month trip across the United States in search of customers. His approach was aggressive - he arrived uninvited at the headquarters of many companies, often facing security being called on him before he could make his pitch.

Despite these obstacles, Gou's persistence paid off. He won orders from major American companies and established Foxconn as a reliable manufacturing partner for the emerging personal computer industry.

Expansion to mainland China

In 1988, Gou made a strategic decision that would prove transformative: he opened his first factory in Shenzhen, China. The Shenzhen Special Economic Zone offered advantages that were irresistible for a manufacturer: abundant low-cost labor, supportive government policies, and proximity to Hong Kong's shipping infrastructure.

The Shenzhen facility would grow into Foxconn's largest manufacturing complex. Gou scaled up production by integrating vertically - building not just factories but entire campuses that included housing, dining facilities, medical care, and even chicken farming to supply the worker cafeterias. At its peak, the Shenzhen complex employed hundreds of thousands of workers.

Becoming Apple's manufacturer

In 1996, Hon Hai started building chassis for Compaq desktops - a breakthrough moment that elevated the company from component supplier to systems assembler. This success led to contracts with other major technology companies including HP, IBM, and most consequentially, Apple.

The relationship with Apple, which Foxconn began manufacturing products for in the early 2000s, would transform both companies. Foxconn became the primary assembler of iPhones, iPads, and other Apple products, while Apple's growth made Foxconn one of the largest manufacturers in the world.

Growth into a global colossus

By the 2010s, Foxconn had grown into an industrial giant with:

• Revenue exceeding $170 billion annually
• More than 1.2 million employees at its peak
• Manufacturing facilities across China, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, and other countries
• Contracts with virtually every major consumer electronics company

The company became Taiwan's largest private employer and largest exporter. Gou had built what some observers called "the factory to the world" - an essential link in the global supply chain for smartphones, computers, gaming consoles, and countless other electronic devices.

Other business ventures

HMD Global and Nokia

Gou is the main owner of HMD Global, a company founded in 2016 to sell Nokia-branded mobile phones. HMD purchases research and development, manufacturing, and distribution services from FIH Mobile, which is part of the Hon Hai (Foxconn) group.

The Nokia phone business represented an attempt to diversify beyond pure contract manufacturing into branded consumer products.

Biotechnology

In April 2021, Gou became the biggest shareholder in biotech company Eirgenix, demonstrating a diversification into the biotechnology sector. This investment came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when interest in healthcare and pharmaceutical companies surged globally.

Call for Apple to leave China

In 2019, amid rising trade tensions between the United States and China, Gou argued that Apple should move its manufacturing out of mainland China to Taiwan. The comments, made as Gou was stepping down from his role as Foxconn chairman, reflected growing concerns about the concentration of global electronics manufacturing in China.

Controversies

Worker suicides

The most serious controversy to affect Foxconn during Gou's leadership was a series of worker suicides at the company's Chinese facilities, particularly in 2010. At least 14 workers died by suicide at Foxconn facilities that year, drawing international attention to working conditions at the factories that produced iPhones and other popular consumer electronics.

Critics pointed to long working hours, intense pressure, and the alienating experience of life in massive factory dormitories. Foxconn responded by installing safety nets around buildings, raising wages, and hiring counselors, though critics argued these measures were insufficient.

The suicides sparked a broader debate about the human costs of cheap consumer electronics and the responsibilities of both contract manufacturers like Foxconn and the brands they produce for.

"Animal" management comment

In 2012, a significant controversy arose when Gou jokingly compared Foxconn's workforce to animals during a company event at the Taipei Zoo. According to Xinhua News Agency, Gou stated that "human beings are also animals" and that "to manage one million animals gives me a headache."

Foxconn defended the remarks, stating that Gou's comments were "directed at all humans and not at any specific group" and were made in the context of discussing lessons that could be learned from zoo management. However, the remarks reinforced critics' concerns about how Foxconn's leadership viewed its workers.

Anti-Korean slur

In June 2012, Gou stated that he had "great esteem for Japanese [businessmen], especially those who are able to disagree with you in person and not stab you in the back, unlike the Gaoli bangzi." The term "gaoli bangzi" is a racial slur for Korean people.

The comment drew criticism for its use of ethnic slurs and its implicit comparison between Japanese and Korean business practices.

Political career

Early political involvement

Gou first joined the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1970 but allowed his membership to lapse after 2000. In the 2012 Taiwan presidential election, he endorsed incumbent president Ma Ying-jeou, calling Ma an "experienced, outstanding helmsman."

Political views

Gou is an opponent of the Taiwan independence movement. He has criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for what he characterizes as "exalting Taiwan independence and hating and opposing China."

Gou's position is that Taiwan independence "is not an issue" - that it is a non-starter that will never happen and should not be pursued. Instead, he supports the 1992 Consensus under the one China framework, which acknowledges that both Taiwan and mainland China are part of one China while allowing ambiguity about what that means.

In 2019, Gou expressed opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan, arguing that the Legislative Yuan had not respected the results of a 2018 referendum in which a majority voted against legalization.

2020 presidential campaign

Beginning in 2016, speculation arose that Gou was considering a presidential bid. He rejoined the Kuomintang in April 2019 and on April 17, 2019, announced his intention to run in the KMT primary for the 2020 Taiwan presidential election.

In a statement that attracted significant attention, Gou declared that the sea goddess Mazu had instructed him in a dream to run for president. This invocation of religious inspiration was unusual in Taiwanese politics and generated both fascination and skepticism.

Gou finished second in the KMT primary with 27.7% of the vote, losing to Han Kuo-yu. On September 12, 2019, he announced his withdrawal from the KMT. Four days later, he confirmed he would not run as an independent in the 2020 election.

2024 presidential campaign

In April 2023, Gou announced he would again run for president in the 2024 Taiwan presidential election. This time, he pursued an independent candidacy after being unable to secure the KMT nomination.

On August 28, 2023, Gou formally declared his independent presidential bid. On September 2, Foxconn announced that Gou had resigned from its board of directors for personal reasons - severing formal ties with the company to focus on his campaign.

On September 14, 2023, Gou announced actress and writer Lai Pei-hsia (Tammy Lai) as his running mate.

Gou officially qualified for the presidential election on November 14, 2023, when the signatures he had collected to run as an independent were validated by Taiwan's Central Election Commission. However, just ten days later, on November 24, 2023, Gou announced he was dropping out of the race, and his name would not appear on the ballot.

Relationship with China

Gou has been characterized as friendly to mainland Chinese business interests throughout his career. In December 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that a letter from Gou helped convince the Xi Jinping administration to ease Zero-COVID restrictions that had been hampering Foxconn's operations.

Xi Jinping has described Gou as an "old friend" - a term that in Chinese political context suggests a warm and trusted relationship. This closeness to Beijing has been both an asset (facilitating business operations in China) and a political liability (raising questions about Gou's commitment to Taiwan's interests).

On foreign policy, Gou has called for de-escalation of Sino-American tensions, a position consistent with his business interests in maintaining smooth trade relationships but controversial among those who see the U.S. As essential to Taiwan's security.

Personal life

First marriage

Gou married his first wife, Serena Lin (林淑如), and the couple had two children: a son who works in the film and real estate industries, and a daughter who worked in the financial sector.

Gou founded an educational charity with Serena in 2000, intending eventually to give away one third of his wealth. After Serena died of breast cancer in 2005 at age 55, their daughter assumed leadership of the charity.

Extramarital affair and blackmail

In the 1990s, Gou had an extramarital affair with Chen Chung-mei, whom Gou later described as a "bar girl." Chen hired a private investigator, Hsu Ching-wei, who videotaped her and Gou having sex with the intention of blackmailing Gou for money.

When Gou first met with Chen to pay the money, he had police arrest both Chen and Hsu and sued them for extortion. Gou stated he knew the affair would be "exposed one way or another" and chose to confront the blackmail attempt directly. In 2007, Hsu again accused Gou of having had the affair in the 1990s.

Second marriage

In 2007, Gou publicly pursued movie star Carina Lau, confirming to the media that their relationship had "just started" and that he was "serious" about her. Lau responded that Tony Leung, her long-time partner, was aware of the courtship. The relationship ended after Lau reportedly told Gou, "I'm not worthy of you."

On July 26, 2008, Gou married his second wife, choreographer Delia Tseng (born 1974). The couple has three children. Together, they have committed to giving away 90% of Gou's wealth.

Properties

In 2002, Gou purchased Roztěž castle near Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic for $30 million.

Family tragedies

Gou's younger brother, Tony Gou, died from leukemia in 2007. His first wife, Serena Lin, had died of breast cancer two years earlier in 2005. These personal losses came during a period of intense professional success, as Foxconn was expanding rapidly to meet demand from Apple and other customers.

Personal image

During his 2019 presidential candidacy, Gou was compared in international media to Donald Trump - a billionaire businessman and political outsider seeking the presidency. Gou reportedly wears a beaded bracelet procured at a temple dedicated to Genghis Khan, whom he has cited as a personal hero, on his right wrist.

Net worth

Gou's net worth has fluctuated with Foxconn's fortunes and broader market conditions:

• 2016: $5.6 billion
• August 2017: $10.6 billion (per Forbes)
• 2022: $6.8 billion (sixth wealthiest in Taiwan)
• 2024: $10.4 billion

The variations in his net worth reflect changes in Foxconn's stock price as well as the value of his other investments and business interests.

Legacy

Terry Gou's legacy is varied and contested:

In manufacturing: Gou built one of the most important companies in global manufacturing, essential to the production of smartphones, computers, and other electronics that define modern life. Foxconn's capabilities and scale have no close parallel.

In Taiwan: Gou represents both Taiwan's manufacturing success story and the complex economic ties between Taiwan and mainland China that complicate the island's political situation.

In labor relations: The worker suicides and controversial comments about employees have made Gou a symbol for critics of how globalization's benefits are distributed - with consumers enjoying cheap electronics while workers face harsh conditions.

In politics: Gou's presidential campaigns introduced a new type of candidate into Taiwanese politics - the mega-wealthy businessman seeking to apply business principles to government - though his campaigns have not yet achieved their ultimate goal.

See also

• Foxconn
• Hon Hai Precision Industry
• Apple Inc.
• Taiwan
• Cross-Strait relations
• Contract manufacturing

External links

• Hon Hai Precision Industry
• Yonglin.org.tw (charity organization)