LEGACY LEADERSHIP: Founded in 1987 by legendary engineers John Tu and David Sun to address a severe shortage of surface mount memory chips.
HQ: Fountain Valley
OC SIGNIFICANCE: Maker of computer memory products and solid-state drives. Tu and Sun designed a revolutionary new Single In-Line Memory Module (SIMM) using older components that were already available. Kingston has grown to become a world leader in memory, storage and technology solutions, achieving new milestones in the tech industry almost every year. Its product line includes flash memory products, solid state drives and other computer-related memory products, as well as its Kingston Fury gaming line. Its IronKey flash drive provides users with data security.
DEFINING MOMENT: Tu and Sun started Kingston after the financial crash of that year had wiped out their fortune from a prior business. Sold 80% of Kingston to Japanese telecom giant SoftBank Corp. for $1.5B in 1996 and generously shared proceeds with employees. The founders bought the company back in 1999 for $450M. Kingston received a boost during the pandemic when gamers, work-from-home employees and other users of its products were cooped up indoors.
BY THE NUMBERS: Revenue for 2025 estimated at $14B, though the company closely guards its financial figures, making a precise determination difficult. Company had an estimated nearly 2,900 employees as of May. Company ranked No. 3 on this year’s Business Journal list of largest OC-based private companies, after Allied Universal and Pacific Life. Tu and Sun were estimated to have a personal fortune of $11.3 billion each, ranking them for a tie at No. 6 on the Business Journal’s 2025 OC Wealthiest list. Both are deeply involved in local philanthropic efforts.
QUOTABLE: “We are not leveraged. All the buildings – we own. We buy everything with cash. So, it’s all the Chinese way. We don’t have debt. Even if there is a crisis, we can weather the storm better than other people.” —David Sun
FUN FACT: A tale they like to tell is that a fortune teller in Sun’s native Taiwan urged them to form the business together. Tu hails from China. Company will mark 40 years in business in 2027. Company named after The Kingston Trio, one of Tu’s favorite folk groups.
