Min Kao


Min H. Kao is an Taiwanese-American electrical engineer, billionaire businessman, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of Garmin, with Gary Burrell. As of February 2020, his personal wealth was estimated at $4.1 billion.

Early life

Min H. Kao was born in 1949 in a small town in Taiwan called Zhushan in Nantou. He graduated from the National Taiwan University in Taiwan and earned a doctorate in electrical engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1977.

Career

Kao undertook research for NASA and the United States Army. He was subsequently a systems analyst for Teledyne Systems, an algorithm designer for Magnavox Advanced Products, and an engineering group leader for King Radio Corporation. He also worked for AlliedSignal.
In 1989, with Gary Burrell, Kao co-founded Garmin, a company best known for manufacturing devices that use the Global Positioning System.

Philanthropy

In 2005, Kao gave $17.5 million to the College of Engineering of the University of Tennessee, $12.5 million of which was designated for the construction of a new facility. In May 2007, groundbreaking ceremonies were conducted for the new Min Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building. The building was dedicated in March 2012.
In 2014, Kao donated $1 million to the University of Kansas College of Engineering for the building of electrical and computer engineering design labs. In 2015, Kao donated $1 million to the Kansas State University College of Engineering for building four labs.

Personal life

Kao is married to Fan Kao. They have a son, Ken Kao, who is a film producer, and a daughter, Jen Kao, who is a fashion designer. They reside in Leawood, Kansas. In 2011, he purchased an apartment in 15 Central Park West, Manhattan, New York City. He is selling his Kansas City area residence for $5 million as he spends the majority of his time in Manhattan.