Terry Gou Net Worth

Terry Gou has an estimated net worth of $14.6 billion, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires, Terry Gou profile (figures as of October 20, 2026). That is up from $6.3 billion in 2019.

Terry Gou is a Taiwanese businessman best known for founding Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn. He started the company in 1974 with $7,500. At first, it made plastic parts for television sets. A major break came in 1980, when he won an order from Atari for joystick production. In 1988, he opened a factory in Shenzhen. Foxconn later became the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics.

His wealth comes from the electronics business he built over decades. In 1996, Hon Hai began making chassis for Compaq desktops, which opened the door to work for other major customers including HP, IBM, and Apple. The company grew into a huge manufacturing group and, during peak season, employs 900,000 people. Gou stepped down as chairman in 2019 after 45 years in charge, but he remains a director at the firm.

How Terry Gou built his fortune

Gou made his money in technology by building Hon Hai Precision Industry into a giant electronics supplier. The company is better known as Foxconn and holds over 40% market share in electronics contract manufacturing. Its customer list includes Apple. Foxconn expanded by handling more of the production process itself and by growing its factory base, including a major site in Shenzhen that became the center of its manufacturing scale.

Several turning points helped enlarge the business. In 1996, Hon Hai's work on Compaq desktop chassis led to projects for HP, IBM, and Apple. In 2016, the company bought Sharp and Nokia's mobile phone brand. Gou is also the main owner of HMD Global, founded in 2016 to sell Nokia branded phones. In 2021, he became the biggest shareholder in biotech company Eirgenix, adding another business stake outside core manufacturing.

Forbes net worth timeline

Forbes has tracked Gou's fortune through several swings. It put his net worth at $6.3 billion in 2019, then $5.5 billion in 2020. The estimate rose to $7 billion in 2021, dipped slightly to $6.9 billion in 2022, and moved up again to $7.2 billion in 2023. In 2024, Forbes estimated $7.5 billion before a much bigger jump to $10.9 billion in 2025.

The latest rise was even larger. Forbes valued Gou at $15.3 billion on its 2026 World's Billionaires List, and its real-time tracker showed $14.6 billion as of October 20, 2026. His wealth is tied to electronics, especially the company he founded and still serves as a director. Foxconn's scale, its leading market position, and big customer relationships help explain why Forbes keeps him among Taiwan's richest self-made business figures.