100 Million Thanks

David Sun and John Tu were handed $1.5 billion when they sold 80% of their Kingston Technology Corp. this year. They could have kept it all (that is, after the tax collector got finished). But in a move that is especially appropriate for the season and wonderfully generous--fair yet all too rare--Sun and Tu will set aside $100 million for current and future bonuses for the workers who helped make the company they founded what it is.

Most of the more than 500 employees of the Fountain Valley-based company will receive one to three times their annual salaries. The average will be $75,000; some may get $300,000. The rewards for hard work were cheered when they were announced at the company party over the weekend; they also deserve cheers from outside the firm. Across the country, the past few years have brought numerous tales of workers upset at disparities between pay in the executive suite and on the shop floor. Employees worry about jobs going overseas and cutbacks in benefits. But good companies recognize that in the long run they prosper only if their workers do a good job. Money is not the only motivator, but it is an important one. More than half of Kingston’s $100 million will be set aside for future bonuses.

The bonuses are also a welcome reminder of the vitality that immigrants bring to this country: Sun and Tu are from Taiwan. It is nice to see them share the wealth rather than using their hundreds of millions of dollars merely to climb the list of America’s most wealthy.