Terry Gou

Terry Gou (born October 18, 1950) is a Taiwanese billionaire entrepreneur best known as the founder of Foxconn — formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer. Growing up in modest circumstances in Banqiao (now New Taipei City), his family fled mainland China in 1949 and lived in a single room for years. At age 23, he launched Foxconn in 1974 with a humble US $7,500 loan from his mother and ten employees, making plastic components for televisions. From these beginnings, he built a global industrial empire employing over 1.2 million people, supplying products like iPhones, PlayStations, and laptops Reuters+15+15AllGreatQuotes+15.

Over the decades, Gou expanded Foxconn aggressively—touring the U.S. to win clients like Atari, IBM, and Apple—and pioneered vertically integrated manufacturing campuses in Shenzhen and elsewhere. He stepped down as CEO in 2019 to pursue political ambitions, joining and later leaving Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) to run for president in both the 2020 and 2024 elections, before ultimately dropping out in November 2023 Reuters+4+4TIME+4. Despite controversies over labor practices, Gou remains influential, occasionally described as Taiwan’s “business outsider‑turned‑politician” and compared internationally to figures like Donald Trump for his bold style +10+10TIME+10.

Among his notable quotes, Gou has shared insights on leadership, work ethic, and responsibility:

“Businesses should be focused on business, and social responsibility should be government responsibility.”

“I always tell employees: ‘The group’s benefit is more important than your personal benefit.’”

“I never think I am successful. If I am successful, then I should be retired. If I am not retired, then that means I should still be working hard…” inspiringquotes.us+6BrainyQuote+6AllGreatQuotes+6
These statements reflect his philosophy that success demands relentless effort and collective focus, even as critics debate the human cost behind Foxconn’s rapid industrial rise.