Ting Tsung "T.T." Chao (1921 – March 7, 2008) was a pioneer in international petrochemical and plastics industries in Asia and North America.

History

Chao was born in

Suzhou, China Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

. Chao graduated from Shanghai University with a degree in Industrial Management and began a career in the railroad industry. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Chao relocated to Taiwan and created the first polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant. The plant began production in 1957 and assisted in Taiwan's economic development. In 1964, Chao formed The Chao Group, a privately held petrochemical and plastics manufacturing conglomerate which worked with various multinational corporations including

Gulf Oil Corporation Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

Mobil Oil Corporation Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

Sumitomo Corporation is one of the largest worldwide '' sogo shosha'' general trading companies, and is a diversified corporation. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is a member company of the Sumitomo Group. It is listed on three Japanese stock exchanges ...

and others. Chao's joint venture with Mattel in 1966 produced the first Barbie dolls. Chao later formed

Westlake Chemical Corporation Westlake Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and fabricated building products, which are fundamental to various consumer and industrial markets. The company was founded by Ting Tsung Chao in 1986. ...

in 1986 in Texas, Titans Chemical Corporation in 1988, which was the first and largest petrochemical company in Malaysia, and Suzhou Huasu Plastics Co. Ltd in 1992. His son,

James Y. Chao Ting Tsung "T.T." Chao (1921 – March 7, 2008) was a pioneer in international petrochemical and plastics industries in Asia and North America. History Chao was born in Suzhou, China. Chao graduated from Shanghai University with a degree in Indu ...

, is currently chairman of Westlake Chemical. His second son,

Albert Chao Westlake Corporation is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and fabricated building products, which are fundamental to various consumer and industrial markets. The company was founded by Ting Tsung Chao in 1986. ...

, is president and CEO. In 2005, Chao received the

Petrochemical Heritage Award The Petrochemical Heritage Award was established in 1997, "to recognize individuals who made outstanding contributions to the petrochemical community." The award is intended to inspire achievement and to promote public understanding. The award w ...

. Chao was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2011.

Family

As of 2015, his family was ranked 39th in America's richest families with an estimated net worth of $7.2 billion. The family was ranked 4th richest family in Texas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chao, Ting Tsung 1921 births 2008 deaths Businesspeople from Suzhou Chinese emigrants to Taiwan