TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Foxconn founder and former CEO Terry Gou (郭台銘) would easily be the world's richest democratically elected leader if he achieves his hope of winning the 2024 Taiwan presidential election.
As defined by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Gou’s fortune exceeds that of the current richest leader of a full democracy by billions of U.S. dollars. That title is currently held by U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has a fortune of over US$909 million (over NT$27 billion), while Gou’s fortune currently sits at a massive US$6.55 billion, per FTV.
Gou would also become the richest Taiwanese president to ever have held office if elected. Gou, who made his fortune by building one of the world’s largest technology companies, announced on April 5 he will run for president in the 2024 Taiwan election, if he is picked by the Kuomintang to do so.
Gou said that he hopes to run on a platform of “defusing” tensions with China and developing the economy through technology and innovation. In addition to ongoing cross-strait tensions, Taiwan faces a range of economic and social problems going in to the 2024 election, including widening wealth inequality and stagnant wages.
Taiwan’s leaders must declare their assets and cash holdings according to Taiwan law, and all information is available on a public database. The latest declarations show President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) holds just over US$2 million in bank deposits and stocks in personal wealth, and property holdings.
