Wang Yung-ching (; 18 January 1917 – 15 October 2008), also called YC Wang, was an entrepreneur who founded a large business empire in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. In 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 r ...

'' ranked him as the 178th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of US$5.5 billion. Despite lacking any formal schooling beyond elementary school, he was ranked 2nd in the ''

'' list of Taiwan's Richest in 2008.

Early life and career

Wang was born in Chyokutan jō, Shinden ku, Shinden shichō, Taihoku Chō (modern-day Chitan Village,

Xindian District Xindian District () is an inner city district in the southern part of New Taipei City, Taiwan. Name Xindian's name originated during the Qing Dynasty close to 300 years ago. According to legend, a person named Lin and others came from Quanzh ...

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

) in then-Japan-ruled-Taiwan. In 1995 signed a contract with

Marco Terragni Marco Terragni (26 April 1930 – 29 June, 2006) was an Italian entrepreneur and inventor. In 1953, he founded Covema one of the biggest conglomerate in the world plastic sector along with Dino Terragni and Felice Zosi. Biography Marco Terrag ...

(chairman of Italproducts) to create Inteplast, the biggest company in the world for the production of

Cartonplast Cartonplast is a trademark that was first given by Covema spa ( Italy) in the early seventies to a specific model of extrusion line manufactured and sold world wide by the aforesaid. In subsequent years such name was used as well to identify th ...

. Wang served as the chairman of the board of Formosa Plastics Corporation, one of the largest plastic manufacturers in the world, until June 2006, when he stepped down at the age of 89. He remained chairman of the boards of Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, Formosa Chemistry & Fibre Corporation, and Cyma Plywood & Lumber Co. Ltd, but indicated his intention to gradually resign from these positions to retire. He was chairman of Ming-chi Institute of Technology, and

Chang Gung Medical Foundation The Chang Gung Medical Foundation (CGMH; ), also known as Chang Gung is a medical and hospital network located in Taiwan. It was founded in 1973 by Wang Yung-ching to commemorate his father Wang Chang-gung (). The hospital network has a total of ...

. After his death, Wang's position at Chang Gung was filled by his younger brother Wang Yung-tsai, then third wife Lee Pao-chu. He had been a vocal supporter of the Three Links between

and

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...

. Wang's first marriage was to Wang (née Guo) Yueh-lan, with whom he had no children. His second marriage to Yang Chiao produced Wang's first child, making a total of five. Wang later married a third time in 1935 to Lee Pao-chu. Wang and Lee had another five children; Wang fathered a total of ten. His eldest son from his second marriage with Yang Chiao,

Winston Wang Winston Wen-Yang Wong OBE (; born 2 April 1951 in Taipei County (now New Taipei City), Taiwan) is the eldest son of Wang Yung-ching, chair of the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), by his second wife. Wong is now a widower with a son and a daughter afte ...

, founded

Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...

with

Jiang Mianheng Jiang Mianheng (; born 1 April 1951) is a Chinese physicist and business executive. He has served as Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the first President of ShanghaiTech University. His father was Jiang Zemin, General Secr ...

, the son of former

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

General Secretary

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as p ...

in 2000. A daughter from his second marriage,

Charlene Wang Charlene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Charlene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Charlene or Charleen * Charlene (singer), American singer Charlene D'Angelo (born 1950) Music ...

founded Taiwan-based

First International Computer First International Computer, Inc. (FIC; ) is a Taiwanese original equipment manufacturer and system integrator for automotive electronics and smart building controls. FIC provides design consultancy and supply chain management services for autom ...

, Inc. Another daughter,

Cher Wang Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

, founded

High Tech Computer HTC Corporation ( zh, t=宏達國際電子股份有限公司, s=宏达国际电子股份有限公司, p=Hóngdá Guójì Diànzǐ Gǔfèn Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī, first=t) or High Tech Computer Corporation, (literally ''Hongda International Electron ...

(HTC) and

VIA Technologies VIA Technologies Inc. (), is a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, mainly motherboard chipsets, CPUs, and memory. It was the world's largest independent manufacturer of motherboard chipsets. As a fabless semiconductor company, VIA ...

. Among the Wang siblings, Cher has come closest to rivaling her father's wealth. In 2011,

estimated Cher Wang's personal fortune at $8.8 billion, making her the wealthiest individual in Taiwan at the time. YC Wang died in his sleep on October 15, 2008 at his home in

Short Hills, New Jersey Short Hills is an unincorporated community located within Millburn Township, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a popular commuter town for residents who work in New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the CDP's pop ...

. He was 91 years old. The family struggles which followed his death led to the discovery that he had engaged in extensive

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the tax ...

and had stashed billions offshore.

Early life and career

See also

References

Further reading