Cathay was founded by Hong Tu Tsai’s father, the legendary Wan-Lin Tsai, who started out as a soy sauce manufacturer, and in 1962 established Cathay Life Insurance, which became the nation’s largest life insurer. Cathay Financial Holdings is now Taiwan’s largest financial institution, and its chairman, Hong Tu Tsai, and his brothers are currently ranked the second wealthiest billionaires in Taiwan.

Tsai also amassed a fortune through real estate, with Cathay owning over 200 buildings nationwide, contributing billions of dollars in rent every year. Since the patriarch’s death in 2004, Hong Tu Tsai has been further expanding the conglomerate into banking and securities and hotel real estate; Cathay is also making forays into Southeast Asia.