Charles Wang facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Wang
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| 王嘉廉 | |||||||||
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| Born | August 19, 1944 Shanghai, China
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| Died | October 21, 2018 (aged 74) Cove Neck, New York, U.S.
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| Known for | Co-founder, CA Technologies | ||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Ingrid `S. Wang (div) Nancy Li |
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| Children | 3 | ||||||||
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| Chinese | 王嘉廉 | ||||||||
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Charles B. Wang (pronounced "Wong") was a Chinese-American businessman and a very generous person who helped many charities. He was born on August 19, 1944, and passed away on October 21, 2018.
He was the co-founder and CEO of a big computer software company called Computer Associates International, Inc., which later became CA Technologies. Charles Wang also owned the NHL team, the New York Islanders, and their minor league team.
In 1976, when he was 31, Wang started Computer Associates using money from credit cards. He helped the company grow into one of the biggest independent software companies in the country. He also wrote two books, Techno Vision and Techno Vision II, to help business leaders understand technology better.
Wang retired from Computer Associates in 2002. He was very active in helping others through his charity work. He supported groups like Smile Train, the World Childhood Foundation, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In 2022, the new UBS Arena, where the New York Islanders play, put up a special plaque to remember Charles Wang and all his hard work for the team.
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Early life
Charles B. Wang was born in Shanghai, China. His parents were Kenneth and Mary Wang. He had two brothers, Anthony and Francis. His father was a judge in China.
When Charles was eight years old, his family moved to Queens, New York, in the United States. This was during the end of the Chinese Civil War. He went to Brooklyn Technical High School in Brooklyn. After high school, he earned a science degree from Queens College, New York. He started his computer career at Columbia University's Riverside Research Institute.
Business
Computer Associates
Charles Wang and his business partner, Russell Artzt, started Computer Associates in 1976. They worked hard to make it one of the largest companies that create software for businesses. Just one year later, Computer Associates was the first company to offer software that worked on many different computer systems. This showed their focus on making products that could connect and work together easily.
By 1989, Computer Associates was one of only two software companies to earn over $1 billion in sales. Wang's time as CEO was known for fast growth. He often hired people from within the company for management roles. He also believed in a family-like way of running the business and helped many women get important jobs.
In 1998, Nancy Li, who was Charles Wang's second wife, became the company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Wang believed that his focus on loyalty to his team, like family, sometimes made investors worry about the company's stock price.
In 2000, there were some concerns about how Computer Associates reported its money. This led to Charles Wang stepping down as CEO in 2000 and later as chairman of the board in 2002.
New York Islanders
Charles Wang became a part-owner of the New York Islanders hockey team in 2000. He became the main owner from 2001 to 2016. He also bought another sports team, the Iowa Barnstormers, and moved them to Long Island, renaming them the New York Dragons.
Wang was known for making some unique decisions as an owner. Former Islanders general manager Mike Milbury said that Wang "desperately wanted to keep the team on the Island." Wang was willing to spend money to make the Islanders a winning team at first. However, the team's spending on players went down when they didn't make the playoffs for several seasons.
Wang tried hard to build a new arena in Nassau County because their old home, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, was one of the oldest active arenas. He had a big plan called The Lighthouse Project. This project would have changed the area around the Coliseum with a hotel, homes, and a large sports complex. The complex would have had ice rinks, a basketball court, and a health club that the Islanders could use for practice and that would also be open to the public.
However, local officials thought the project was too big. Wang then tried to get public money to build a new arena, but the idea was voted down in 2011. Wang said that if he had known how hard it would be, he might not have bought the team. He tried very hard to keep the team on Long Island.
Finally, on October 24, 2012, Wang announced that the Islanders would move to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in 2015. He said it was either Brooklyn or moving the team out of town completely. Even with the move, the team kept the name New York Islanders because they were still geographically on Long Island. Later, they moved to a new arena called UBS Arena in Elmont, New York in 2021.
In 2014, Wang agreed to sell a part of the team to a group of investors, including Jon Ledecky and Scott D. Malkin.
Philanthropy
Charles Wang was a very active person who loved to help others. In 1999, he started the Charles B. Wang Foundation. This foundation aimed to give money to many charities that focused on making life better for children and people who needed help.
He worked with groups like Smile Train, which helps children with cleft lip and palates in over 80 countries. Wang gave Smile Train an initial gift of $30 million to cover all their running costs. He also supported the World Childhood Foundation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Wang gave over $50 million to Stony Brook University to build the Charles B. Wang Center. At the time, this was the largest gift ever given to a State University of New York school. He also helped fund the expansion of the Chinatown Health Clinic, which was renamed the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center.
As the owner of the Islanders, Wang also expanded their community programs through the Islanders Children's Foundation, which started in 2003. This foundation helps with children's health, education, and youth hockey programs. In 2006, the team created Project Hope, which focuses on growing ice hockey in China.
In 2000, Charles Wang and his brothers, Anthony and Francis, donated a new law school to Soochow University in China. They did this to honor their father, Kenneth Wang, and to celebrate the university's 100th anniversary. The school officially opened in 2003.
Awards and honors
On May 3, 2009, Charles Wang was honored by the Los Angeles Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. He was recognized for his contributions as a Chinese American in sports.
Personal life and death
Charles Wang lived in a large home in Cove Neck, New York, on the Gold Coast of Long Island. His home was near Sagamore Hill, which was the home of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Charles Wang passed away from lung cancer at his home in Cove Neck on October 21, 2018. He was 74 years old.
He is remembered by his mother, his two brothers (Anthony and Francis), his wife (Nancy Li), and his three children (Kimberly Dey, Jasmine, and Cameron). He also had three grandchildren.
See also
- Chinese people in New York City
- Taiwanese people in New York City
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