John Tu finished his education in Germany, earning an electrical engineering degree in 1970 from Technische Hochschule Darmstadt. Tu came to the United States in 1972. He and David Sun founded Camintonn Corporation, which manufactured computer parts. They sold it to AST Computer in 1986 for $6 million. They lost that money in the stock market crash of 1987. Sun and Tu then developed a new company Kingston Technology Company by making memory module. The Fountain Valley, Calif.-based Kingston Technology Company is the leader in the memory storage, networking and PC enhancement products industries.
In 1996 they sold 80% of Kingston for $1.5 billion and gave $100 million to their employees as a bonus; they bought back the 80% three years later for $450 million. In February 2003, Kingston reported revenues of $1.8 billion.
Famous quotes:
?We were in the right place at the right time with the right product,? Tu said in a 2000 AsianWeek interview. ?Life always has a bright side and a dark side.? Tu said. ?So even when you become successful, there is always a price to pay. Life will always balance out, though, if you do the right thing.?
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