Charles K Kao Net Worth: How Rich Was Charles K Kao Actually?

Charles K Kao, who is also known as the father of fire optics was a Chinese electrical engineer and physicist. He is the pioneer who developed and used fiber optics in telecommunications. Charles also created various methods to transmit digital data through a combination of glass fibers and lasers, which turned out as the groundwork for the evolution of the internet. Charles K Kao net worth at the time of his death is estimated to be around $500 thousand.

Early life

Charles Kuen Kao was born on the 4th of November, 1933 in Shanghai, China. His father, Kao Chung-Hsiang was a lawyer. Charles has a brother, with whom, he studied Chinese Classics under a tutor. Later he studied at the Shanghai World School in the Shanghai French Concession.

Charles along with his family members moved to Taiwan in 1948. He completed his secondary education thereby studying at St. Joseph’s College. Later, he joined the Woolwich Polytechnic which is now known as the University of Greenwich. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University. Then, he attended the University of London, from where he received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1965.

Charles K Kao Net Worth & Career

Charles was working at the Standard Telecommunication Laboratories (STL) in Harlow while he was pursuing his Ph.D. from the University of London. It was then when he got his first groundbreaking work as a researcher and engineer. Charles and his co-workers pioneered the work of creating fiber optics as a medium of telecommunications in the 1960s at STL.

Charles was made head of the electro-optics research group at STL in 1964. In December 1964, he took the place of his supervisor, Karbowiak, after which, he decided to go with a new plan and made an overall change in research direction along with his colleague, George Hockham. Charles and the team considered optical physics and he presented the first results to IEE in January 1966.

Kao’s idea was earlier not believed by the most, where he suggested replacing the copper wires with glass firer for the long-distance information transfer. Later on, he gained some support after he traveled to Japan. He also discussed with engineers, scientists, and businessmen the techniques to improve glass fiber manufacture.

Kao earlier strongly preferred the single-mode for long-distance optical communication, which was followed and applied later exclusively over the place. Later on, he worked along with the Chinese University of Hong Kong and founded the Department of Electronics. He was the Chair Professor of Electronics and the reader at CUHK.

Charles also served as vice-chancellor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for nearly a decade from 1987 to 1996. He worked as a chairman of the Energy Advisory Committee (EAC) for years until July 15, 2000. The same year, he became a member of the Council of Advisors on the Innovation and Technology of Hong Kong on April 20, 2000. He also founded and worked as CEO and Chairman of ITX Services Limited.

Personal Life

Charles K Kao was married to Gwen May-Wan. He met his wife in London after he completed his graduation. They also worked together as engineers at the same workplace, Standard Telephones, and Cables. The pair turned into a married couple in 1959. Together they had two kids, a son, and a daughter.

Charles was honored by the Google Doodle on his 88th birthday on November 4 for his development of fiber optics. In 2004, he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Despite that, he was able to recognize his family. The Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Charles left the world on September 23, 2018, at the age of 84.

Charles K Kao Net Worth

Charles K Kao had a net worth of $500 thousand before he passed away on September 23, 2018. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics on October 6, 2009. Charles and his wife, Gwen founded the Charles K. Kao Foundation in 2010 to raise public awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and provide support for the patients.

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