The story of Anne Jakkaphong, the transgender woman presiding over Miss Universe

Anne Jakkaphong has been the owner of Miss Universe for about a year now. At the 2022 pageant, held in January 2023, she was received with open arms by both the organization and the public.

Ten month's later, however, right around the time of the new Miss Universe pageant, scandal is in the air. There's a possible bankruptcy hanging over the new leader's head. What do we know about this remarkable woman?

The Miss Universe pageant, not usually one of the most progressive institutes in the world, marked an amazing milestone. In October 2022, tycoon Anne Jakkaphong announced that she had bought the Miss Universe contest.

Photo: @annejkn.official / Instagram

It was a remarkable feat, both for the beauty pageant and the LGBTQI+ community, because Ms. Jakkaphong is a proud trans woman.

What do we know about the wealthy Thai tycoon? Let's have a look, in the following slides.

Photo: @annejkn.official / Instagram

Anne Jakkaphong is somewhat mysterious. She did give an interview to Elite Plus magazine in the fall of 2021, though, in which she described herself as a "Thai trans woman billionaire." And there, she told a few other things about herself.

Jakkaphong 'Anne' Jakrajutatip grew up in Thailand. She told Elite Plus that she was unhappy as a student, "as I was bullied by classmates for my gender orientation. So, I went to Australia where I earned my Bachelor's degree."

In 2000, after obtaining her degree in international relations from Bond University in Gold Coast, Queensland, she returned to Bangkok. In the meantime, she made her transition to a transgender woman.

When she returned to Bangkok, Jakkaphong came under a lot of family pressure. In fact, as she told Elite Plus, her mother did not accept her as a trans woman. She says she was forced to behave as a man again.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

At this time, she started helping with the management of the family business: a video rental store in Bangkok. From there, she developed a media company that adapted to the new world of online videos and streaming. She became the CEO of that company, JKN Global Group, in 2014.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

As reported by LinkedIn, JKN Global Group is one of Thailand's largest conglomerates of media distribution companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (MAI). It was among the first to introduce attractive Korean, Chinese, and Indian productions in Thailand.

Picture: JKN Global Group

Between 2014 and 2016, Jakkaphong underwent around ten surgeries to transition physically into a woman, the portal Conan Daily reports.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

In 2018, Jakkaphong established the Life Inspired For Transsexual (LIFT) Foundation, which aims to protect the rights of trans men and women in Thailand.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

Anne Jakkaphong is the third richest trans woman in the world. She has an estimated net worth of $210 million, according to the Bangkok Post.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

CNN and other media have reported on a remarkable recent acquisition of Anne Jakkaphong's company. They bought the Miss Universe Organization for $20 million. As the company itself announced, it will now be the financial backbone of the international beauty pageant.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

The BBC quoted the Thai billionaire as saying: "We seek not only to continue [Miss Universe's] legacy of providing a platform to passionate individuals from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and traditions but also to evolve the brand for the next generation."

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

For a few years now, trans women have little by little started to participate in Miss Universe pageants. So, apart from being a platform for women from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds - as a global contest - it has also begun to celebrate women in the broadest sense of the term.

In the image, Miss Nevada USA 2021 Kataluna Enriquez, the first transgender Miss USA contestant.

In fact, the first time a transgender woman participated in the finals of Miss Universe, in 2018, the competition was held in Jakkaphong's native country Thailand! The contestant was Ángela Ponce from Spain.

Anne told Insider that she had always dreamt to participate in a beauty pageant. "There are some I could still possibly contest... who knows what the future holds?"

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

The contest has not just opened up to transgender candidates, but it's also more open in terms of body positivity and beauty standards. What's more, there's even been talk of admitting married women with children in the near future.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

According to the South China Morning Post, the Thai billionaire has two children with her British boyfriend, whom she posed with on Instagram. The couple had their children via surrogacy.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

In the days after the news of JKN's takeover of Miss Universe, Anne Jakkaphong received many positive reactions. "I feel so overwhelmed," she wrote to her followers.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram

And overwhelmed she appears to really have been. In November 2023, shortly before the new Miss Universe pageant, it became known that the organization was in big financial trouble. BBC reported that JKN had to file for bankruptcy after failing to repay a $12m loan in September.

While Anne JKN, as some call the Thai tycoon, made history with the purchase of the world's biggest beauty pageant, we have to wait and see whether she will keep it afloat for long.

Picture: @annejkn.official / Instagram