Tatler editors from around asia shine a light on the philanthropists in their region who are donating huge sums of money, establishing vital charities or devising whole new ways of giving back— and sometimes all three
Terry Gou
WHY Him? Often cited as the richest man in Taiwan, Foxconn tycoon Gou is as famous for his philanthropy as for his astronomical riches. Over the years he has established multiple philanthropic organisations—among them the Yonglin Education Foundation, Yonglin Health Foundation, Yonglin Charity Foundation and Foxconn Education Foundation—and made several huge donations, including a US$450m gift to National Taiwan University Hospital to build a new cancer ward. in 2013, he pledged to donate 90 per cent of his wealth to charity.
Celia C. Hong
WHY HER? Hong is chairwoman of Hong’s Foundation, which funds educational programmes around Taiwan, particularly initiatives focused on encouraging reading. THaT’S NOT aLL in 2018 the foundation launched Tung Chung art award, and announced artist Hsu Chia-Wei as the first winner. The annual prize money of NT$1m (about US$32,000) is donated by Hong.
Yung-Tai Chen
WHY Him? Chen started his career selling office clocks, then expanded into furniture and electronics, which his publicly traded aurora Group now sells at more than 1,500 locations around Taiwan and mainland China. in 2015 Chen decided to throw his support behind small- and medium-sized charities working around Taiwan by launching the Goodwill award (the Chuanshan award), which honours eight organisations every year with a NT$12m (about US$388,000) prize each.
Sophie Chang
WHY HER? Leading one charity would be enough for most people, but not Chang. at the time of writing Chang leads four organisations, juggling jobs as chairperson of the Taiwan Semiconductor manufacturing Company (TSmC) Charity Foundation, chairperson of Weiyi Social Welfare Charity Foundation, director of Dunan Foundation and director of the modern Women’s Foundation. Chang is currently leading the TSmC’s fundraising efforts for families affected by the 2018 Hualien earthquake; so far it has raised more than NT$58m (about US$1.9m).
Samuel Yin
WHY Him? Yin, chairman of the Ruentex Group, has been involved in various philanthropic projects since the 1980s. in 2012 he established his biggest project yet, the Tang Prize, an annual award that honours outstanding contributions in sustainable development, biopharmaceutical sciences, sinology and the rule of law. Each laureate receives a cash prize of NT$40m (about US$1.3m) and a research grant of NT$10m.
See also: 6 Chinese Philanthropists That Are Changing The World