Terry Gou

Terry Gou
Gou in 2019
Terry Gou
Born	18 10, 1950
Birthplace	Banqiao, Taiwan
Nationality	Taiwanese
Occupation	Businessman, politician
Known for	Founder of Foxconn
Education	Taipei University of Marine Technology (BS)
Spouse(s)	Template:Plainlist

Terry Gou (Template:Lang; born 18 October 1950) is a Taiwanese billionaire businessman and politician who founded Foxconn (formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.), the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics. From a small plastics company established in 1974 with approximately US$7,500 in capital, Gou built Foxconn into a sprawling international manufacturing empire that became Taiwan's largest private employer and exporter, with a workforce reaching 1.2 million people at its peak. The company's client list came to include some of the world's most prominent technology brands, most notably Apple Inc., for which Foxconn assembled the iPhone and other flagship products. Beyond his business career, Gou entered the political arena, running for the presidency of Taiwan in the 2019 Kuomintang (KMT) primary and again as an independent candidate ahead of the 2024 presidential election, before withdrawing from the race in November 2023. Characterized in international media as friendly to mainland Chinese business interests and compared to U.S. President Donald Trump for his businessman-turned-political-outsider image, Gou remains one of the most influential figures in the global electronics supply chain.

Early Life

Terry Gou was born on 18 October 1950 in Banqiao, a district in what is now New Taipei City, Taiwan. His parents were among the wave of mainlanders who relocated to Taiwan from China following the Chinese Civil War. Gou grew up in modest circumstances, and his early life was shaped by the economic conditions of post-war Taiwan, where industrialization was beginning to accelerate under export-oriented economic policies.

Details of Gou's childhood and family background prior to his entry into business are limited in publicly available English-language sources. What is documented is that Gou demonstrated entrepreneurial ambition from a young age, entering the manufacturing sector in his early twenties. His formative years in Banqiao placed him in the orbit of Taipei's growing industrial base, which would prove instrumental in his later career as a manufacturer.

Gou's early political affiliation was with the Kuomintang, which he joined around 1970, reflecting the dominant political culture of Taiwan at that time. He would maintain this party membership for approximately three decades before becoming politically independent around the year 2000.

Education

Gou attended the Taipei University of Marine Technology (now the Taipei University of Marine Technology), where he earned a bachelor's degree. The institution, focused on technical and vocational training, provided Gou with a practical educational foundation that complemented his subsequent career in manufacturing. Gou has not been widely associated with advanced academic degrees, and his rise in the business world has frequently been attributed in media profiles to hands-on experience and relentless work ethic rather than formal academic credentials.

Career

Founding and Growth of Foxconn (1974–2000)

In 1974, at the age of 24, Terry Gou founded Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. — later known globally as Foxconn — as a small manufacturer of plastic parts for television sets. The company was established with approximately US$7,500 in startup capital. Operating initially from a modest facility in Taipei, the firm focused on producing channel-changing knobs for televisions, a humble beginning for what would become the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, Gou steered the company toward the production of connectors and cable assemblies for the rapidly growing personal computer industry. This strategic pivot proved consequential, as the global demand for computer components surged through the 1980s and 1990s. Gou cultivated relationships with major international electronics brands, positioning Hon Hai as a reliable and cost-effective supplier.

A defining decision in Gou's career was the establishment of manufacturing operations in mainland China, beginning in the early 1990s. The move allowed Foxconn to leverage China's lower labor costs and vast workforce to offer competitive pricing to its clients. The company established massive factory complexes, most notably in Shenzhen and later in Zhengzhou, which became centers of large-scale electronics assembly. By the late 1990s, Foxconn had secured contracts with a growing roster of global technology companies, setting the stage for its explosive growth in the following decade.

Becoming the World's Largest Contract Manufacturer (2000–2019)

The 2000s marked Foxconn's transformation into the dominant force in global electronics contract manufacturing. The company's client list expanded to include Apple Inc., Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony, and Nintendo, among others. The relationship with Apple proved particularly significant; Foxconn became the primary assembler of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, products that drove enormous volumes through its Chinese factories.

In a 2002 interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Gou discussed his management philosophy and the company's competitive strategy, emphasizing speed, efficiency, and vertical integration as core principles. Under Gou's leadership, Foxconn pursued an aggressive strategy of vertical integration, expanding from component manufacturing into full system assembly, logistics, and after-sales services.

Gou's management style was described in media profiles as demanding and militaristic. He was known for long working hours and for expecting the same intensity from his employees. A 2010 Bloomberg Businessweek profile characterized him as a hands-on leader who maintained tight control over the company's operations despite its enormous scale.

The company's rapid growth was not without controversy. In 2010, a series of worker suicides at Foxconn's Shenzhen factory complex drew international scrutiny to labor conditions at the facility. The incidents prompted widespread media coverage and raised questions about the human costs of the electronics supply chain. In response, Foxconn raised wages, installed safety nets on factory buildings, and implemented other measures aimed at improving worker welfare. Gou himself visited the affected facilities and addressed the crisis publicly, though the events continued to shape public perception of the company for years afterward.

Gou was recognized by Time magazine as one of its influential figures, reflecting his outsize role in the global technology industry.

By the mid-2010s, Foxconn had grown into a company with annual revenues exceeding US$100 billion, making it not only Taiwan's largest private employer but also one of the largest companies in the world by revenue. The company employed approximately 1.2 million workers globally, the vast majority in mainland China, making it one of the largest private-sector employers on earth.

Relationship with Donald Trump and U.S. Investments

Following the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president in November 2016, Gou emerged as a prominent figure in discussions about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States. Speculation arose in Taiwanese media about Gou's potential role as an intermediary between Trump and Asian business interests.

A December 2016 analysis in Bloomberg examined the practical challenges of manufacturing iPhones in the United States, noting the complexities of relocating supply chains that Foxconn had built in Asia over decades. The comparison between Gou and Trump as businessman-politicians was noted in multiple international media outlets, with both figures characterized as wealthy outsiders seeking to leverage their business experience in the political arena.

In January 2017, a Taiwanese business delegation visited the United States, further fueling discussions about Foxconn's potential American investments. Foxconn subsequently announced plans for a large LCD panel manufacturing facility in Wisconsin, a project that received substantial state subsidies but later faced significant scaling back from its original plans.

Foxconn's Strategic Transformation

In the years following Gou's departure from day-to-day leadership, Foxconn undertook a significant strategic transformation. By 2025, the company had shifted its focus from being primarily a system assembler — best known for assembling iPhones — toward new growth areas including artificial intelligence infrastructure. At the company's 2025 Hon Hai Tech Day event held on 21 November 2025, Foxconn emphasized its strategic pivot, with Gou making an appearance at the event.

A Business Insider analysis published in August 2025 noted that iPhones were "no longer Foxconn's most important business," highlighting the company's evolving relationship with Apple and its increasing focus on AI server manufacturing. The report characterized this shift as representative of a broader industry transition "from mobile behind to enter the AI era."

Political Career

2019 Presidential Bid

Speculation about Gou's political ambitions began surfacing as early as 2016, ahead of discussions about the 2020 Taiwanese presidential election. In April 2019, Gou formally announced his candidacy for the presidency of Taiwan, seeking the nomination of the Kuomintang (KMT). He rejoined the party for the purpose of contesting the primary, having been politically independent since approximately 2000.

In a widely reported statement, Gou declared that the sea goddess Mazu had appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to run for president. The announcement drew significant domestic and international media attention and prompted discussions about the intersection of religion, business, and politics in Taiwanese society.

To pursue his presidential bid, Gou stepped back from his leadership role at Foxconn. In June 2019, he formally resigned as chairman of the company, a position he had held since the firm's founding 45 years earlier. His departure from Foxconn was viewed as a significant moment for both the company and the broader Taiwanese business community.

Gou's campaign platform emphasized his business experience and his ability to manage Taiwan's complex economic relationship with mainland China. He positioned himself as a pragmatic figure capable of navigating cross-strait tensions while promoting economic growth. However, Gou ultimately lost the KMT primary, finishing second. Following the primary loss, he departed the Kuomintang.

2024 Presidential Bid

In 2023, Gou rejoined the Kuomintang and announced his intention to run for president in the 2024 Taiwanese presidential election. When he failed to secure the party's nomination, he chose to run as an independent candidate. In September 2023, Gou resigned from Foxconn's board of directors to pursue his campaign, further distancing himself from the company he had founded.

However, Gou's independent campaign was short-lived. On 24 November 2023, he withdrew from the presidential race. His withdrawal came amid reports that his campaign had struggled to gain sufficient traction against the other major candidates. In April 2025, a member of the Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) received a suspended sentence after being found guilty of helping to buy signatures for Gou's presidential petition, casting a shadow over the campaign's signature-gathering efforts.

Cross-Strait Relations and Political Positions

Gou's political positions have been shaped by his decades of business dealings in mainland China. Once described as an "old friend" by Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, Gou has been characterized in media reports as favorable toward mainland business interests. In December 2022, Gou was credited in media reports with helping to lobby the Xi administration to ease the strict zero-COVID policies that had disrupted manufacturing operations, including those at Foxconn's own facilities in China.

On cross-strait issues, Gou has been critical of the Taiwan independence movement and has advocated for de-escalation of tensions between China and the United States. His positions on these matters drew both support from those favoring closer cross-strait economic ties and criticism from those who viewed his stance as overly accommodating to Beijing's interests.

As of 2025, reporting indicated that Gou was considering yet another run at the presidency, with Table.Briefings noting he was "back on the campaign trail" and taking "another shot at Taiwan's presidency."

Personal Life

Terry Gou married Serena Lin in 1974, the same year he founded Foxconn. The couple remained married until Lin's death in 2005. Gou subsequently married Delia Tseng in 2008.

Gou has children from his marriages. In December 2025, it was reported that two companies wholly owned by Gou's daughter had announced plans to dispose of all Hon Hai (Foxconn) shares in their possession, filing reports with the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The reasons for the share disposal were not publicly detailed, but the move attracted media attention given the Gou family's founding stake in the company.

Gou's invocation of the sea goddess Mazu during his 2019 presidential campaign drew attention to his religious beliefs. Mazu worship is widespread in Taiwan, particularly among communities with maritime traditions, and Gou's public devotion to the deity reflected a broader cultural practice in Taiwanese society.

Recognition

Gou's role in building Foxconn into the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer earned him recognition from multiple international publications. Time magazine included him among its notable figures, reflecting his influence on the global technology industry. Bloomberg Businessweek profiled him extensively, describing his central role in the supply chain that produces many of the world's most popular consumer electronics devices.

International media coverage of Gou has frequently emphasized his rags-to-riches trajectory — from a small plastics shop to the helm of a company with over a million employees. His comparisons to Donald Trump in the press stemmed not only from his wealth and business background but also from his outsider status in formal politics and his direct, often blunt public communication style.

Legacy

Terry Gou's impact on the global electronics industry is difficult to overstate. The company he founded transformed the way consumer electronics are manufactured, pioneering the contract manufacturing model at a scale previously unseen. Foxconn's ability to assemble complex devices such as the iPhone at volumes of hundreds of millions of units per year reshaped the economics of the technology industry, enabling companies like Apple to focus on design and marketing while outsourcing production.

The Foxconn model — characterized by massive factory campuses in mainland China, vertical integration of manufacturing processes, and relentless cost optimization — became the template for contract electronics manufacturing worldwide. Gou's decision to establish large-scale operations in China in the early 1990s was a bet on globalization and cross-strait economic integration that paid off enormously, even as it raised questions about labor practices, supply chain dependencies, and geopolitical risk.

Gou's political career, while not resulting in electoral success, highlighted the growing influence of business figures in Taiwanese politics and the complex dynamics of cross-strait relations. His campaigns brought attention to questions about the role of wealthy individuals in democratic processes and the tensions between Taiwan's economic dependence on mainland China and its political sovereignty.

As Foxconn transitions from its identity as primarily an iPhone assembler to an AI-era infrastructure provider, the strategic foundations that Gou laid over nearly five decades continue to shape the company's trajectory. His story — from a small plastics factory in 1974 to the center of the global technology supply chain — remains one of the defining narratives of Taiwan's post-war economic development.