The Amazing Story of Morris Chang

[Daniel Nenni]

The long, winding journey from passed over executive to founder of the most strategically important company in the world​

The Amazing Story of Morris Chang

The long, winding journey from passed over executive to founder of the most strategically important company in the world

sahilbloom.substack.com

 

[hist78]

There are some factual errors, such as:

1. The article stated that Morris Chang found out there wasn't any semi R&D before he went to Taiwan and started the TSMC. In fact the first job (1985) Morris worked on after arriving Taiwan was to become the President of ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute). By then ITRI already had a semiconductor research division and started a pilot research fab in 1975 with RCA's technology. That's 12 years before TSMC's founding.

2. Morris Chang retired from TSMC in 2018. Mark Liu has been TSMC's Chairman since then. Morris is not the TSMC's Chairman as described by the article.

 

[Daniel Nenni]

Yes, I noticed that. I liked the pictures though. Is Morris really worth > $3B?

 

[hist78]

Yes, I noticed that. I liked the pictures though. Is Morris really worth > $3B?

According to Forbes magazine, Morris Chang's fortune did reach $3 billion recently. It may be due to the TSMC's rising stock price.

Morris Chang

Morris Chang is #16 on Forbes' 2025 Taiwan's 50 Richest list. Read more about Morris Chang, their experience, their asset summary, and more here.

www.forbes.com

If we think it further, TSMC's $581 billion market cap put TSMC as the 10th largest public traded company in the world. Additionally the trillion dollar market values of the fabless industry are associated with TSMC's business and Morris' pure play foundry idea.

I have to ask, why Morris Chang ONLY worths so little? If we look around today's stock market and many executive compensation practice, it's unusual.

It may be an overlooked factor that why a small startup Morris started 33 years ago, against all odds, can become what TSMC is today.

 

[koaypond]

According to Forbes magazine, Morris Chang's fortune did reach $3 billion recently. It may be due to the TSMC's rising stock price.

Morris Chang

Morris Chang is #16 on Forbes' 2025 Taiwan's 50 Richest list. Read more about Morris Chang, their experience, their asset summary, and more here.

www.forbes.com

If we think it further, TSMC's $581 billion market cap put TSMC as the 10th largest public traded company in the world. Additionally the trillion dollar market values of the fabless industry are associated with TSMC's business and Morris' pure play foundry idea.

I have to ask, why Morris Chang ONLY worths so little? If we look around today's stock market and many executive compensation practice, it's unusual.

It may be an overlooked factor that why a small startup Morris started 33 years ago, against all odds, can become what TSMC is today.

Conjecture re: Morris' worth. When he was being courted by the Taiwanese government, there was actually quite a sustained discussion regarding his compensation. One issue related to his options with TI and whether the government was willing to let him delay his arrival to let those options vest (if I remember correctly, he did wait a little bit). Second was the salary itself, which was exorbitant for the time, especially for a then-relatively poor country. Given TSMC and UMC were both outgrowths of a heavily government-backed effort, Morris' stake would naturally be much lower than contemporary private examples. It may also be important to remember that he was "retiring" to the Taiwan position, perhaps he adopted less of a long-term view regarding wealth accumulation when he made the decision.