Chief Executive, Kingston Technology Corp.

Kingston Technology Corp. has been a leader in the valuable data-storage market for decades and today employs more than 3,200 people and holds a market share above 70% in the DRAM memory market. Tu co-founded Kingston in 1987 with current chief operating officer David Sun. They sold 80% of Kingston to Japan’s SoftBank for $1.5 billion in 1996, then bought the company back for $450 million in 1999. Under Tu, Kingston sold its gaming division, HyperX, to HP Inc. in 2021 for $425 million. Tu studied engineering in Germany before immigrating to the U.S. in 1971. With a net worth of about $6.7 billion, he consistently ranks on the Business Journal’s list of Wealthiest Angelenos.

YEARS ON THE LA500: 8