On 21 October 2026 the Forbes real-time list had 64 billionaires from Taiwan, with a combined net worth of $289 billion. That is 1.4% of the world total and puts Taiwan #12 of 77 countries on the list. On 19 January 2020 it was 39 billionaires and $92 billion (0.9% of the world).
The video shows the richest people one by one. This article looks at what the tiles cannot show: the whole list, where the money comes from, how the country total moved, and what the average billionaire looks like.
How concentrated is the wealth?
The richest person, Pierre Chen, holds $16 billion, or 5.5% of the national total. The top three together hold 16% and the top ten 43%. On the world list Pierre Chen is ranked #175.
The average billionaire from Taiwan had $2.3B in January 2020 and has $4.5B now, 1.9 times as much.
The number of people on the list grew from 39 to 64, so the increase in the total reflects both higher valuations and more people being listed.
Where the money comes from
Counting each person under the main industry Forbes gives, technology is the largest source of wealth in Taiwan: $99 billion, or 34% of the total. It is followed by finance and investments (25%), manufacturing (22%).
No single sector dominates: the top three industries are close to each other.
How the total moved
The combined net worth of billionaires from Taiwan started at $92 billion in 2020, fell to $72 billion on 24 March 2020 and reached its highest point of $311 billion on 19 June 2026, when the list had 69 billionaires from Taiwan.
By 31 August 2026 (the last day of the country series) it was $303 billion, close to the peak.
The number of billionaires from Taiwan on the list ranged from 35 to 70 during this period. A person can enter or leave the list because the cut-off moves with the market, not only because their own wealth changes.
Biggest movers among the people in the video
Comparing 1 February 2020 with 21 October 2026, the largest relative gains were Bruce Cheng ($1.2B to $12B, +892%), Tsai Ming-kai ($1.3B to $12B, +841%) and Morris Chang ($1.5B to $9.9B, +570%).
The weakest development was Tsai Eng-meng ($6.8B to $5.3B, -21%).
In absolute terms, Pierre Chen added the most: $13B.
Who the billionaires are
Of the 64 billionaires from Taiwan, 3 are women (4.7%). Forbes gives an age for too few of them to say anything about the average.
How to read the numbers
- Figures are Forbes estimates in current US dollars, taken from the real-time list. The source project states that it makes no claim to accuracy or completeness.
- A person is assigned to a country by citizenship, not by where they live. A family entry (marked “& family”) refers to the family fortune.
- Daily values are noisy because they follow stock prices, so the video steps through the data in half-month intervals and the chart above shows weekly values.
- The country series ends on 31 August 2026; the list used for the 21 October 2026 numbers is the latest one available.
Sources
Forbes real-time billionaires, compiled by komed3 (rtb-api on GitHub, MIT licence).
