Two memory magnates gain $14 billion as AI fuels memory boom

Two entrepreneurs, David Sun and John Tu, have seen their fortunes surge as AI-driven demand has tightened the market for memory chips. The cofounders and equal owners of Kingston Technology have each gained about 44% in net worth — nearly $14 billion — so far this year.

Sun serves as the company's operating chief; Tu is president and CEO. Only Elon Musk, Michal Strnad, and Carlos Slim have added more wealth this year, and the Kingston founders have even outpaced the Walton heirs. Each is now worth roughly $45 billion, placing them at 45th and 46th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and ahead of figures such as MacKenzie Scott, Masayoshi Son, and Miriam Adelson.

Sun and Tu met in Los Angeles after emigrating to the US in the 1970s; both studied electrical engineering. They launched a memory business, Camintonn, in 1982 and sold it four years later for $6 million.

United States, Los Angeles

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