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JT

John Tu

American billionaire

CaliforniaTechnology

AIProfile Summary

John Tu is an American billionaire in the technology industry, born in 1940 and based in California Wikidata. He has an estimated net worth of ~$13.8B Wikidata. The data provided does not include details on his company history or how he built his wealth.

Philanthropy

The data shows three foundations connected to Tu. Two reported $0 in grants paid and $0 in assets, while Es Tu Ley Foundation reported $48,774 in grants paid in tax year 2020 and $1 in total assets ProPublica 990. Across the listed foundations, total grants paid were $48,774 and total foundation assets were $1 ProPublica 990.

Political Activity

FEC records show 100 contributions totaling $6,004.95 FEC. The largest listed recipients were Honeywell International Political Action Committee, Eli Lilly and Company Political Action Committee, Nelnet Inc PAC, National Air Traffic Controllers Association PAC, and Norfolk Southern Corporation Good Government Fund FEC. The party breakdown lists $5,369.95 to PAC/Other and $635 as UNK, with no direct party split shown FEC.

In the News

No validated news articles were returned in the provided dataset NewsAPI.

AI-generated summary from fec, wikidata, propublica_990, gdelt 6/27/2026 (gpt-5.4-mini). All claims are derived from the source data shown below.

USU.S. Presence

otherU.S. economic presence

990Philanthropy

$1Foundation Assets
$49KGrants Paid
3Foundations
Gardere Tu FoundationBayside, NY
Private grantmaking foundation (IRS NTEE T20)
Assets: $0Revenue: $0Grants: $0
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Tu Organics FoundationsLas Vegas, NV
Education (IRS NTEE B82)
Assets: $0Revenue: $0Grants: $0
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Es Tu Ley FoundationTulsa, OK
Food, agriculture & nutrition (IRS NTEE K30)
Assets: $1Revenue: $49KGrants: $49KTax Year: 2020
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Source: ProPublica (990) annual filing · latest on record (retrieved 3/9/2026) (proPublica_990)

FECPolitical Contributions

$6KTotal Contributed
100Contributions

By Party

PAC/Other
$5K
UNK
$635

Top Recipients

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$1K
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$1K
NELNET INC PAC (NELNET PAC)$1K
NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION PAC$520
NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPORATION GOOD GOVERNMENT FUND$505
Source: FEC contribution filings · latest on record (retrieved 3/9/2026) (fec)

PBSScore Breakdown

C
30.7
Public Benefit Score

The PBS is a weighted average of 2 components. The formula is open and versioned — the weight percentages below show how much each component contributes to the final score.

Philanthropy65% weight
0%

Evidenced charitable giving — built on what they actually give each year, not parked assets. Dominated by generosity (annual giving relative to net worth — the share of your fortune you give), plus the absolute scale of that giving, plus a small nudge for signing the Giving Pledge (a commitment, not a realized action).

Data: ProPublica 990 charitable disbursements, net worth, The Giving Pledge registry

Transparency35% weight
88%

How much sourced, public accountability data exists — net worth, political contributions, SEC filings, foundation 990s, news coverage, and a verified profile. More public disclosure scores higher.

Data: FEC, SEC EDGAR, ProPublica 990s, GDELT / NewsAPI, Wikidata

Formula (v2): PBS = 65% x Philanthropy + 35% x Transparency

Scored on 6/23/2026 on a 0–100 scale. The score uses only the signals we have populated data for. Goal Impact, Controversy, and Community Approval are deferred until that data exists — Phase 1 goal adoption, controversy detection, and community votes respectively.

All data is sourced from public records. Each section links to its original source. View on Wikidata

John Tu — Public Benefit Score C (31) | Billionaire Army