Quick Facts
Biography
John Tu (Chinese: 杜紀川; pinyin: Dù Jìchuān; Wade–Giles: Tu Chi-ch'uan; born 1940) is a Chinese-born American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of Kingston Technology.
Early life
John Tu was born in Chongqing, China and grew up in Taiwan. He studied electrical engineering at Technische Hochschule Darmstadt in Germany, then moved to California.
Career
In 1982, he co-founded Camintonn with David Sun. in 1986, they sold it for $6 million and founded Kingston Technology. In 1996, they sold 80 percent of the company to Softbank for $1.5 billion, before buying it back in 1999 for $450 million.
Philanthropy
He has supported Erin Gruwell's Freedom Writers and the Freedom Writers Foundation. In 2011, he donated $1.2 million to give every first year medical student at UC Irvine an iPad.
Personal life
He is married with two children and plays drums with his band, JT and California Dreamin'.