Chang-Woo Han & family
- Han is chairman and CEO of Maruhan, Japan’s largest pachinko parlor operator.
- Maruhan also runs bowling alleys, golf driving ranges and movie theaters.
- Han has big plans for Dream Island, a $2 billion entertainment hub to be built on reclaimed land on South Korea’s Yeongjong Island.
- Construction of Dream Island was scheduled to start in 2012 but had not begun as of March 2017.
About Han Chang-Woo
Korean-Japanese businessman Han Chang-Woo is the CEO of Maruhan and he has an estimated net worth of $4 billion as of January 2016, according to Forbes. Born on February 15, 1931 in Sacheon, South Korea, he secretly entered Japan in October 1945. When he obtained a special permanent resident status, he attended Hosei University and earned a degree in economics in 1952. He took over a pachinko operation run by his brother-in-law in Kyoto shortly after gradution.
Han Chang-Woo gained his estimated net worth of $4.2 billion when he founded Maruhan Co., Ltd., a company which owns pachinko parlors, bowling alleys, golf driving ranges and movie theatres. Today, it is considered Japan’s largest pachinko operator. One of its biggest subsidiaries is the Maruhan Japan Bank which has been expanding in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos. Along with its other subsidiaries, the corporation operates and maintains a large number of entertainment facilities in Japan and other countries. This made Woo the eighth richest person in Japan and the 589th in the list of World Billionaires.
It was announced that lately that Maruhan will be an official bid partner for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid. A Korean emigrant who became a Japanese national in 2002, Chang-Woo announced in 2011 that he is ready to give up almost all of his wealth in order to solidify the relations between Korea and Japan.
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