Jeffrey Koo Sr. (; 8 September 1933 – 6 December 2012) was a Taiwanese billionaire

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, who served as honorary chairman and governor of

Chinatrust CTBC Bank () is amongst the largest privately owned banks in Taiwan. History It was established in 1966 under the name China Securities and Investment Corporation. In 1971, its name was changed to Chinatrust Investment Company Limited. In 1992, i ...

Bank, and co founded

Koos Group The Koos Group (KGI; ) is a Taiwan-based pan-Asian business group involved in a vast range of industries, which include banking, manufacturing, petrochemicals, electronics, leasing, cement, financial services, hospitality, real estate, private equit ...

Family ancestry

The rise of the Koo family dates back to the late nineteenth century in

Lukang Lukang, formerly romanized as Lugang and also known by other names, is an urban township in northwestern Changhua County, Taiwan. The township is on the west coast of Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait. Lukang was an important sea port in the 18t ...

, which was the capital at the time. The first generation Koo ancestors held monopolistic investments in camphor, salt, sugar, and land.

Early years

Koo was born in 1933 in

Taichū Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Japanese Taiwan. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Taichung City, Changhua County and Nantou County. It is also the origin of the name of modern-day Taichung. The Taichū Prefecture was the scene ...

Japanese Taiwan The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The sho ...

. He graduated from Soochow University in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

in 1957 with a BA in accounting, moved to New York (lived in Brooklyn Heights) and graduated from

New York University Stern School of Business The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly referred to as NYU Stern, The Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. I ...

in 1962 with an MBA: his youngest son Andre Koo and eldest grandson Andre Koo Jr. also attended NYU Stern as the 3rd legacy alum.

Personal life

Around the mid 20th century, Koo co-founded with his uncle,

Koo Chen-fu Koo Chen-fu (, 6 January 1917 – 3 January 2005), also known as C.F. Koo, was a Taiwanese businessman and diplomat. He led the Koos Group of companies from 1940 until his death. As a chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Koo arrange ...

, the Koos Group which is a conglomerate/consortium of businesses including cement, insurance, financial services, leasing, hospitality, etc. Chinatrust Financial Holding – one of the largest, esteemed, and privately owned commercial banks in Asia Jeffrey Koo Sr. was also an Eisenhower Fellowship awardee and ambassador at-large representing Taiwan in cross-strait relations with China and attended major international forums such as the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation). Koo is survived upon his wife, daughter and three sons. The eldest being Jeffrey Koo Jr. and the youngest son being Andre Koo. Andre Koo's eldest son, Andre Koo Jr. is the heir to the family empire.

Family achievements

In 2019, Koo's youngest son Andre Koo is currently ranked as Taiwan's #28th wealthiest and #1349 world-wide at $1.7 billion. The Koo family was ranked #47th of #50 in 2016 Asia's Richest Families Net Worth at $3.7 billion. Sources say the Koo Family in 2018 ranked behind the $5 billion Forbes Asia Richest Families net worth cutoff at $4.6 billion; short of $400 million. In 2001, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' reported total assets of the Koos Group to be US$36 billion. Today, the total assets of the Koo Family is estimated to be over US$250 billion.

Career

Koo founded what is now

Chinatrust Commercial Bank CTBC Bank () is amongst the largest privately owned banks in Taiwan. History It was established in 1966 under the name China Securities and Investment Corporation. In 1971, its name was changed to Chinatrust Investment Company Limited. In 1992, i ...

in 1966. It was established under the identity of China Securities and Investment Corporation. In 1971, its name was changed to Chinatrust Investment Company Limited. In 1992, it was transformed into Chinatrust Commercial Bank. The bank has subsidiaries in the Philippines, the United States, Canada, and Indonesia, foreign branch offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Vietnam, and foreign representative offices in London, Bangkok, Hanoi, Beijing, Manila, and Los Angeles. CTBC Bank was awarded by international professional agencies as Best Bank in Taiwan in Asiamoney and The Asset magazines. In the area of corporate banking, CTBC Bank was recognized by Global Finance and Asiamoney as the Best Foreign Exchange Bank in Taiwan, while Global Finance, The Asset, The Asian Banker, The Corporate Treasurer, and Global Trade Review magazines named CTBC Bank Taiwan's Best Trade Finance Bank. CTBC Bank was awarded Best Retail Bank in Taiwan by The Asian Banker for the ninth time and was named Taiwan's Best Wealth Management Bank in Euromoney for the eleventh time. Koo was named Ambassador-at-large, representing Taiwan, mainly in

Cross-strait relations Cross-Strait relations (sometimes called Mainland–Taiwan relations, or Taiwan-China relations) are the relations between China (officially the People's Republic of China) and Taiwan (officially the Republic of China). The relationship ...

. In June 2008, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' ranked him as the sixth richest individual in Taiwan, with a net worth of

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

2.8 billion. Koo is also an alumnus of

Eisenhower Fellowships Eisenhower Fellowships is a private, non-profit organization created in 1953 by a group of prominent American citizens to honor President Dwight D. Eisenhower for his contribution to humanity as a soldier, statesman, and world leader. The organiza ...

and a member of the Board of Trustees and a member of the

APEC The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

Awards and honorary degrees

* Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star from the Japanese government, 2012. * Honorary PhD in Business from

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(1989) * Honorary Doctorate from

East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Shanghai, China. It was formed in 1951 by the merger of the Great China University (est. 1924) and Kwang Hua University (est. 1925) and origin ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, China (2012)

Death

Koo went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for treatment for

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and died at the

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

on 6 December 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koo, Jeffrey Sr. Hokkien businesspeople Taiwanese bankers Koo family of Lukang Taiwanese billionaires Soochow University (Taiwan) alumni New York University Stern School of Business alumni People from Changhua County 1933 births 2012 deaths Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd class Deaths from Parkinson's disease Neurological disease deaths in New York (state) Taiwanese people of Hoklo descent Eisenhower Fellows