Big plans: For the Miss Universe pageant this year, Anne hopes to crown a role model and someone who can contribute back to the world. — The Straits Times/ANN
It is hard to miss millionaire Anne Jakapong Jakrajutatip, the new owner of the Miss Universe pageant.
Glamorous shots of her line the walls of the reception area of JKN Global Group just outside Bangkok, where she is both chief executive and majority shareholder.
They are plastered all over the soap, shampoo, mouthwash and health supplements produced by her companies, which are marketed on a television network also owned by the group.
The company’s calendars carry pictures of the 43-year-old celebrity tycoon and her son and daughter, who were born through a surrogacy arrangement made about three years ago, before she underwent sex reassignment surgery.
Andrew was her previous name. After her sex change, she called herself Anne, but retained the male Thai name “Jakapong” in defiance of a society that continues to discriminate against transgender people.
JKN is listed on the Thai bourse with a market capitalisation of 3.55 billion baht (RM422mil). On Oct 26, the company announced the purchase of the Miss Universe Organisation for US$20mil (RM94.9mil). It used to be owned by IMG Worldwide, as well as former US president Donald Trump before 2015.
Anne has big plans for the 70-year-old pageant, which she calls “the most prestigious beauty Olympics in the world”.
“This year in particular, I am looking forward to having a winner who has what we call transformational leadership,” she says.
“I want a role model; a woman that people can look up to, to gain the strength, courage and passion to be what they want to become one day.”
But she also wants to hear about how contestants overcome obstacles in their lives.
“If you have a great body, but you don’t have anything to contribute back to the world, why should we crown you?”
Born the only son in an ethnic Chinese family in Thailand, Anne knew from a young age that she was a woman. She was bullied in school and sexually harassed by her teacher when she was 13.
At the age of 16, she persuaded her parents to let her study in Australia, where she worked part-time at a petrol station and survived on peanut butter sandwiches to save money for school fees.
She eventually graduated with a degree in international relations from Bond University.
She returned to Thailand to run her family’s video rental shop.
Over the years, her business of distributing foreign dramas, documentaries and films flourished.
Anne has 6.9 million followers on Instagram and 12 million followers on Facebook.
The Life Inspired For Transsexuals Foundation, which she helped establish, is giving scholarships to 10 transgender people a year.
But wealth and fame have not been able to buy her legal recognition as a woman.
“Right now, I live life with purpose,” she says.
“And my purpose is to lead, to teach, to inspire people to overcome obstacles in their lives.”
Asked how she would explain the world to her children, she says: “They are so lucky that they see diversity. And they have a very strong mother, who owns the universe.” — The Straits Times/ANN
