#9 (tied). Andrew & Peggy Cherng
Founders of Panda Express
Net worth: $2 billion
World ranking: #736
U.S. ranking: #239
Age: n/a
Source of Wealth: Panda Restaurant Group, self-made
Background: Andrew Cherng was born in Jiangsu, China and immigrated to the United States via Taiwan in 1966.
Andrew and Peggy Cherng are co-CEOs of Panda Express, a chain of casual Chinese foodrestaurants. In 1966 Andrew came to the U.S. from China with little money. He and his father, trained as a master chef in Japan, opened a sit-down Chinese restaurant, Panda Inn, in 1973. Ten years later he launched the first Panda Express, a fast casual restaurant in the second-largest mall in Los Angeles County.
#8. Min Kao
Chairman and CEO, Garmin Corporation
Net worth: $2.1 billion
World ranking: #704
U.S. ranking: #218
Age: 64
Source of Wealth: Navigation equipment, self-made
Background: A native of Taiwan, Kao earned his master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
In December 2012 Min Kao stepped down as chief executive of GPS maker Garmin, becoming executive chairman. He and fellow billionaire Gary Burrell founded the company in 1989 to produce navigational tools for pilots and sailors. Coalition forces during the Gulf War were among the company’s first customers. Garmin faces increasing competition from cell phone manufacturers offering built-in GPS technology.
#7. Victor Fung & family
Net worth: $2.5 billion
World ranking: #589
U.S. ranking: #142
Age: 67
Source of Wealth: Trading company, self-made
Background: He hails from Hong Kong but earned an engineering degree from MIT and a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard, becoming a U.S. citizen along the way.
In May of 2012 Victor Fung handed the chairman’s role in trading firm Li & Fung to his brother William after 23 years at the helm. Founded by their grandfather, the brothers built the company into the leading supplier of clothes and accessories to retailers like Wal-Mart. But a recent profit warning and concerns over the long-term future of the company’s business model drove the stock down in the past…
#5 (tied). John Tu
President, Kingston Technology Corporation
Net worth: $2.6 billion
World ranking: #554
U.S. ranking: #170
Age: 72
Source of Wealth: Computer hardware, self-made
Background: Tu was born in Chongqing, China and grew up in Taiwan. He studied electrical engineering at Technische Hochschule Darmstadt in Germany, then moved to California.
John Tu and his business partner David have been in the computer memory industry for more than 30 years. They founded Kingston Technology, their second company, in 1987, and sold it to venture capital firm Softbank for $1.5 billion in 1996. They eventually bought that stake back three years later for $450 million. Today, Kingston is world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products and employs…
#5 (tied). David Sun
COO, Kingston Technology Corporation
Net worth: $2.6 billion
World ranking: #554
U.S. ranking: #170
Age: 61
Source of Wealth: Computer hardware, self-made
Background: Immigrated from Taiwan.
David Sun and his business partner John Tu have been in the computer memory industry for more than 30 years. They founded Kingston Technology, their second company, in 1987, and sold it to venture capital firm Softbank for $1.5 billion in 1996. They eventually bought that stake back three years later for $450 million. Today, Kingston is world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products and…
