Trung Dung
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Philanthropist
Programmer
Former engineer at Open Market
Trung Dung | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1967 (age 58–59) |
| Education | University of Massachusetts Boston (B.S. in Mathematics & Computer Science) |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur Philanthropist Programmer Former engineer at Open Market |
| Title | Board member, Vietnam Education Foundation |
Trung Dung (born 1967) is an American entrepreneur and technology billionaire[1] known for pioneering an e-business technology and for his life story that began in wartime Vietnam. He has been profiled in Forbes, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle and other publications,[2] as well as in Dan Rather’s The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation,[3] Howard Thomas and Havovi Joshi’s Asia's Social Entrepreneurs: Do Well, Do Good...Do Sustainably,[4] and Dave Nelson’s The Incredible Payback: Innovative Sourcing Solutions That Deliver Extraordinary Results.[5] He has been recognized with numerous awards honoring his place as a Vietnamese-born businessman and philanthropist and his business successes.[6]
Dung was born in South Vietnam. After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, his father, a former politician and an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, was sent to a re-education camp run by the Communist Party of Vietnam. All of the family property was confiscated, and Dung, his mother, grandmother, and two sisters were forced to find new ways to survive. His mother entered the underground economy, buying items and reselling them at a profit. Dung followed her example, catching and selling fish at night and running fruit stands as early as fifth grade.[7]
In his teens, Dung knew he wanted a university education, something that would not be possible in his home country. His family began saving to help him escape Vietnam. It took several attempts, including being shot at and spending a month in jail, but with his mother’s help and connections, Dung finally left Vietnam by boat in 1984. After about a year in an Indonesian refugee camp, he and his older sister (who had also arrived at the camp via boat) left for the United States. Although his intended destination was Louisiana, he instead landed in Boston.[8]
When Dung arrived in Boston, he knew some English but was told he would need several years of schooling to earn a high school diploma. Given his age and ambitions, he took the GED test, which he passed by a slim margin based on his math and science abilities. He enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Boston, where he studied mathematics and computer science while also working as a janitor and dishwasher. He graduated at the top of his class after three years in 1988.[9]
Dung was then offered a spot in the PhD program at Boston University. When his family immigrated to the US in 1990 (his father having been released from prison), he left the program before completing his thesis to take a job to help support them.[10]