Tsai Wan-lin (; 10 November 1924 – 27 September 2004) was a Taiwanese businessman who, at the peak of his wealth in 1996, was considered to be the fifth richest person in the world, with a family 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 ...

12.2 billion. At the time of his death in 2004, he was the richest man in Taiwan with a fortune of US$4.6 billion (

NT$ The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...

156.3 billion), ranked 94th worldwide. He founded the Lin Yuan Group, a large

banking A bank is a financial institution that accepts 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 markets. Because ...

and

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

group. He was born into a poor

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

's family in Chikunan Town, Chikunan District,

Shinchiku Prefecture was one of the administrative divisions of Taiwan during the Japanese era. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Taoyuan City, and Miaoli County. Population 1941 ( Showa 16) census *Total population: 838,011 **Jap ...

, Japanese-era Taiwan (modern-day

Zhunan Zhunan Township is an urban township in northern Miaoli County, Taiwan. Its city centre forms a continuous urban area with Toufen. Name Literally, ''Zhúnán'' () means "bamboo south" but in this context, ''zhú'' is short for "Hsinchu". Th ...

Miaoli County Miaoli County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''miáo lì xiàn''; Hakka PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-yen''; Hokkien POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-koān'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-koān'') is a county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is adjacent with Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the nort ...

). Tsai started out 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 ...

by selling vegetables and soybeans with his brothers as a child. With one of his brothers Tsai joined Taipei's Tenth Credit Cooperative in 1960. Two years later, they founded

Cathay Life Insurance Cathay Life Insurance () is a life insurance company in Taiwan founded in 1962. The firm offers life, health, and annuities. In 2017, Cathay ranked 411th on the Fortune Global 500. History The firm was founded in 1962 by Tsai Wan-lin and family ...

, which at the time of his death was the largest life insurance company in Taiwan. Tenth Credit Cooperative was eventually transferred to Tsai Wan-lin's nephew Tsai Chen-chou. The family split Cathay Life Insurance in 1979. Tsai Wan-lin founded the Lin Yuan Group with his share. Over the next 10 years, the Lin Yuan Group expanded to become the largest Taiwanese conglomerate.

Cathay Financial Holdings Cathay United Bank () is one of the largest commercial banks in Taiwan, with a capital value of TW$67 billion (approximately US$2.23 billion) and more than 165 branches located throughout Taiwan. It is part of Cathay Financial Holdings. History ...

, a division of the Lin Yuan Group, became Taiwan's largest financial holding company. Cathay Insurance was renamed Fubon Insurance in 1992. Tsai was first listed by Forbes as a billionaire in 1987. He was appointed a senior adviser to the

president of the Republic of China The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had aut ...

in 2000. He died of heart disease at the age of 81 in

Cathay General Hospital Cathay (; ) is a historical name for China that was used in Europe. During the early modern period, the term ''Cathay'' initially evolved as a term referring to what is now Northern China, completely separate and distinct from China, which ...

, which he founded in 1977. He had been hospitalized for six years. Tsai was married to Chou Pao-chin and had seven children.

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* 1924 births 2004 deaths People from Miaoli County Senior Advisors to President Chen Shui-bian Taiwanese billionaires 20th-century Taiwanese businesspeople Tsai family of Miaoli {{Taiwan-business-bio-stub

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