TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday (Aug. 14) ruled that Starlux Chair Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) is the sole inheritor of the founder of the Evergreen Group's fortune.

Evergreen Group's founder and former Chair Chang Yung-fa (張榮發) made a sealed will in 2014, designating his only son from his second wife, Chang Kuo-wei, as the sole inheritor of his assets worth billions. However, the contents of the will led to dissatisfaction from the third son of the first wife, Chang Kuo-cheng (張國政), who filed a lawsuit to invalidate the will.

After Chang Yung-fa passed away in 2016, his will stated that his fourth son child, Chang Kuo-wei, would inherit all his savings, stocks, and real estate worth NT$14 billion (US$433 million) and would succeed him as chair. This sparked a dispute over the inheritance and management of the firm involving four brothers. 

Chang Yung-fa's eldest son Chang Kuo-hua (張國華) teamed up with his two brothers to use their combined stake in Evergreen Group's airline EVA Air to hold an extraordinary board meeting in 2016 to oust Chang Kuo-wei as the chair of EVA Air. In response, Chang Kuo-wei subsequently founded and headed Starlux Airlines.

The first court ruling favored Chang Kuo-wei. Chang Kuo-cheng appealed, but the Taiwan High Court dismissed the appeal. After further appeals, the Supreme Court dismissed the case on Wednesday, ending the inheritance dispute, per SET News. 

In response to the ruling, the Evergreen Group said that since the matter involves the major shareholders' family affairs, the company cannot comment. A spokesperson for StarLux Airlines also mentioned that this is a private matter for Chang Kuo-wei and that they cannot provide any comment.