[2] Gaw was born in San Francisco County, California while his father was a master's degree student in engineering at Stanford University.
[2][4] Gaw is the founder and Managing Principal of Downtown Properties.
[6] In 1995, Downtown Properties, Gaw's company, bought the 335-room Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California, out of bankruptcy.
[2][6] In 2006, Gaw bought a rundown 71-year-old Art Deco seven-storey shopping mall on Nanjing Road, Shanghai for US$105 million, and intended to spend $25 million on restoration.
[3] Gaw is married, with two children, and lives in Hong Kong.