Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) founder and chairman Barry Lam (林百里) has been named the richest person in Taiwan, thanks to the company’s role in the global supply chain of artificial intelligence (AI), US magazine Forbes said.
Shares of Quanta soared 37.15 percent this year to NT$293.50 on Wednesday, before the local bourse closed for the rest of the week for the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
Lam, 74, who steers a company that provides data centers, cloud systems and other electronics, has a net worth of US$12.6 billion and ranks 190th in the world. Quanta Computer is also a supplier to Tesla Inc and Apple Inc.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
Globally, Bernard Arnault, who oversees the LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, retained the title of the world’s richest person, followed by Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla Inc chief executive Elon Musk.
“The fortunes of the world’s billionaires continue to swell in 2024 as global stock markets shrug off war, political unrest and lingering inflation,” Forbes said.
They are richer than ever, worth US$14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by US$2 trillion from last year and US$1.1 trillion above the previous record set in 2021, it said.
Nvidia Corp cofounder Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) rose to become the 20th richest person as the net worth of world’s dominant supplier of AI hardware and software expanded nearly threefold last year.
Meta Platforms Inc chief executive Mark Zuckerberg ranked as the fourth-most wealthy person following a spike in the company’s net worth last year, Forbes said.
There are now more billionaires than ever, 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record also set in 2021, it said.
After Lam, footwear tycoon Zhang Cong-yuan (張聰淵), founder of shoe manufacturer Huali Industrial Group (華利實業集團), took the second spot in Taiwan and was ranked 295th in the world with a net worth of US$8.6 billion.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) had a net worth of US$7.5B billion, placing third in Taiwan and 354th globally, it said.
Two-thirds of the list’s members are worth more than a year earlier and only one-fourth are poorer, Forbes said.
Much of the gains come from the top 20, who added a combined US$700 billion in wealth since last year, it said.
The US now boasts a record-high of 813 billionaires worth a combined US$5.7 trillion, Forbes said, adding that China (including Hong Kong) remained second with 473 billionaires worth US$1.7 trillion, despite weak consumer spending and a real-estate bust that helped wipe out some US$300 billion in wealth.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
CHANGING JAPAN: Nvidia-powered AI services over cellular networks ‘will result in an artificial intelligence grid that runs across Japan,’ Nvidia’s Jensen Huang said Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. That computer would be based on Nvidia’s DGX B200 product, which combines computer processors with so-called AI accelerator chips. A follow-up effort will feature Grace Blackwell, a more advanced version, the company said. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a
RSS