John Tu co-founded two computer-memory businesses with David Sun, rebuilt after a near wipeout in the 1987 market crash, and helped turn Kingston Technology into a global memory and storage manufacturer. [1][2][3]
An earlier startup created experience but not a permanent financial cushion
Forbes says Tu and David Sun started Camintonn, an early computer-memory company, in 1982 and later sold it to AST Research. The sale gave each founder meaningful capital, but it came from their own first venture rather than from inherited wealth. [1]
Forbes reports that Tu and Sun then lost most of those proceeds in the October 1987 stock-market crash and still owed brokerage fees. That reversal sharply reduced the financial advantage created by their first successful exit. [1][3]
Kingston says Tu and Sun founded the company in 1987 when a shortage of surface-mount memory chips created an opening for a newly designed memory module. The business began as a garage startup aimed at a specific technical problem. [2]
Kingston became the durable source of the fortune
Kingston's company history records rapid expansion from memory modules into a global memory and storage manufacturer. By 1995 the company had exceeded $1.3 billion in annual sales, showing how quickly the founders scaled the business. [2]
Forbes says Tu and Sun sold an 80% stake in Kingston to SoftBank in 1996 and bought it back two years later. The reviewed record ties Tu's fortune to repeated entrepreneurship, retained ownership and long-term operation of Kingston rather than inherited assets. [1]
Sources for background
Sources reviewed Sep 22, 2026.
- How Taiwanese Immigrant John Tu Built A $6.5 Billion Fortune From Computer Memory · Forbes · Dec 13, 2020
- The history of Kingston Technology · Kingston Technology
- Family Immigration Led To John Tu's Billion Dollar Company · Forbes · Dec 19, 2017
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