Quanta boss Barry Lam ranked by Forbes as Taiwan's richest person

Taipei, April 5 (CNA) Barry Lam (林百里), chairman of Quanta Computer Inc., one of the world's largest contract manufacturers of notebook computers and other electronics gadgets, has been ranked as the richest person in Taiwan by the Forbes World's Billionaire List 2024.

Citing the latest billionaire list, Forbes said on Wednesday that the Shanghai-born Lam had a net worth of US$11.0 billion, making him the 190th richest person in the world.

Lam's Quanta Computer is a supplier to consumer electronics giant Apple Inc. and popular electric vehicle brand Tesla, Forbes said.

Forbes said it used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024 to calculate net worth and make the list.

Based on real-time data released by Forbes, Lam's net worth rose further to US$12.6 billion as of April 4. Market analysts said his wealth was largely boosted by a recent frenzy for artificial intelligence development as Quanta Computer saw its share price soaring due to its efforts in producing AI servers.

Since the beginning of this year, Quanta Computer shares have surged about 30.7 percent to close at NT$293.50 (US$9.17) on April 3 after skyrocketing more than 210 percent in 2023.

After Lam, self-made footwear tycoon Zhang Congyuan (張聰淵), who founded shoe manufacturer Huali Industrial in 2004 and now runs factories in China, took the second spot in Taiwan and No. 295 in the world on the Forbes list by owning US$8.6 billion in net worth.

Zhang's Huali Industrial is a supplier to a dozen international brands such as Nike, Puma, UGG and Vans, according to Forbes.

Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. came in third in Taiwan and 354th in the world on the Forbes list, which said his net worth hit US$7.5 billion.

Pierre Chen (陳泰銘), chairman of the world's third largest multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) maker Yageo Corp. ranked as the fourth richest in Taiwan and No. 498 in the world with US$5.9 billion in net worth on hand, ahead of Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), chairman of snack and beverage brand Want Want Group, who had US$5.8 billion in net worth, and ranked No. 5 in Taiwan and No. 511 in the world.

Bernard Arnault and family ranked as the richest person in the world on the Forbes list, with a net worth of US$233.0 billion. Arnault is the chairman and CEO of luxury brand LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, took the world's second spot with a net worth of US$195.0 billion, while Jeff Bezos, founder of e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc., grasped the third place with US$194.0 billion in net worth on hand.

Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook, rode the waves of AI enthusiasm, ranked as the world's fourth richest person sitting on US$177.00 billion in net worth before Larry Ellison, co-founder of software developer Oracle, who owned US$141.0 billion in net worth to claim No. 5 in the world.

Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), CEO of AI chip designer Nvidia Corp. also benefited from the rising popularity of AI applications, to secure 20th spot on the 2024 Forbes list with a net worth of US$77 billion.

Also tied to AI development, Lisa Su (蘇姿丰), CEO of IC designer Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) was included on the Forbes billionaire list for the first time, ranking No. 2,287 with US$1.3 billion.

In the 2024 billionaire list, Forbes said, a total of 2,781 were included, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021.

Forbes said despite the impact on the global economy resulting from war, political unrest and lingering inflation, these billionaires were richer than ever, with US$14.2 trillion in aggregate net worth, up US$2 trillion from 2023 and US$1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.

The United States boasted a record 813 billionaires with US$5.7 trillion in combined net worth, while China came in second, with 473 billionaires (including Hong Kong) with aggregate new worth hitting US$1.7 trillion, Forbes said.