T
aiwan made
history in
January by
electing its first fe-
male president, Tsai
Ing-wen. When it
comes to the highest
rungs of business
and wealth, women
are much harder to
find. Only one, Cher
Wang, made it into
the ranks of Taiwan’s
richest, but just
barely. She and her husband, Wenchi
Chen, with whom she cofounded mo-
bile phone maker HTC, rank dead last.
She has appeared on the list every year
since 2008. While she’s been a familiar
face, she’s a bit of a novelty. Only one
other woman, Nita Ing of Continental
Engineering, has ever made the list,
back in 2009. The dearth of women is
related to Taiwan’s traditional male-
centric culture. Inheritances typically
didn’t go to women equally, and mar-
ried daughters were seen as primarily
responsible for their husband’s clan.
Yet according to Chih-Ming
Hung, an economist at the Chung-
Hua Institution for Economic
Research in Taipei whose studies
include family businesses, the impor-
tance of culture is decreasing and the
role of women growing. That is borne
out in our list. Just below today’s
tycoons is a younger generation ofwomen waiting in
the wings. Perhaps
most prominent is
Pei-Chun (Patty)
Tsai, the daughter
of Tsai Chi Jui (No.
19). A graduate of
the Wharton School
at the University of
Pennsylvania, she
took over as CEO
of footwear giant
Pou Chen in 2012.
Her sister Tsai Min-
chieh is also on Pou Chen’s board.
Other women to watch include
Eugene Wu’s (No. 49) daughters
Cynthia and Olivia, who are ex-
ecutives at their family’s financial
companies, Shin Kong Finan-
cial Holding and Shin Kong Life,
respectively. Earlier this year Chin
Chien Ya, 27, became executive
director and board member of GM
supplier Minth, the same month
her father, Chin Jong Hwa (No.
20) stepped down as chairman. A
graduate of Boston College and
Harvard, she worked at a startup in
Taiwan before joining Minth last
August. Then there are Cher Wang’s
half-sisters. Susan is an executive
director at Formosa Plastics Corp.
and Formosa Chemicals, and her
sister Sandy is an executive direc-
tor at Nan Ya Plastics and Formosa
Chemicals. —R.F.THE RARER SEX
Taiwan Wealth’s Gender Gap
- Allen Horng
$1.88 BILLION T
SOURCE: ELECTRONICS
AGE: 57. MARRIED, 4 CHILDREN
Horng, whose Catcher Technology makes iPhone
casings, is one of at least 5 Taiwan rich listers to
see their fortunes fall due in part to weak sales at
U.S. behemoth Apple. Catcher also faced hostile
questions at its annual shareholders’ meeting in
2016 for a single-digit price/earnings ratio. Horng
shares fortune with wife and family. - Chen Yung-Tai
$1.8 BILLION S
SOURCE: REAL ESTATE
AGE: 80. MARRIED, 6 CHILDREN
Tied with Chin Jong Hwa (No. 20) as year’s top
dollar gainer, up $350 million. Chen was born into
a well-off family but worked as a small trader and
street merchant after his father died in his youth.
He began selling office clocks in 1965. Today his
Aurora Group sells electronics in more than 1,500
locations in Taiwan and across mainland China.
1.+. ƫ (/+ƫ+3/ƫ.! (ƫ!/0 0 !ƫ%ƫ$ #$ %Ě/ƫ 1&% 61%ƫ
financial district facing the historic Huangpu River
and the Bund.
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known for Buddhist sculptures and jade - Scott Lin
$1.6 BILLION T
SOURCE: ELECTRONICS
MARRIED, 2 CHILDREN
Shares of Largan Precision, which he cofounded
in 1987 and is now run by his sons, Adam and
En-Chou, slipped in the past year due in part to
weaker-than-expected demand from one of its
key customers, Apple, for which it makes iPhone
camera lenses. Largan, which has 4 factories
in Taiwan and 2 in China, also makes lenses for
notebooks, webcams, TVs and other products. - Chang family
$1.59 BILLION T
SOURCE: TRANSPORTATION
The death of Evergreen Marine founder Chang
Yung Fa in January has set off a struggle to
control one of the world’s largest shipping and
transportation empires (see box, p. 74).
Patty TsaiSINCE OUR FIRST EXPANSION ABROAD IN 1940,
WE HAVE BECOME THE INTERNATIONAL REFERENCE
IN PRIVATE BANKING.