BEIJING – Thai transgender tycoon Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip buys Miss Universe. For twenty million dollars, the former TV star, head of the giant JKN Global Group which produces some of the biggest television programs in the country, and today one of the richest women in the world, bought the famous beauty pageant. First woman in 70 years of competition history. A competition that aims to become more and more inclusive.
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Known for starring in the Thai versions of the popular reality show Project Runway and Shark Tank, historic transgender rights activist “Anne Jkn” – as she is known to the public – says she is ready “to continue the legacy of the competition. in providing a platform to people from different contexts, cultures and traditions, but also in making the Miss Universe brand evolve ”. From next year, the organizers have declared that the competition (born 70 years ago and broadcast live on TV in over 160 countries around the world) will be open, for the first time, to married women and children. The contest lifted the ban on transgender people as early as a decade ago, in 2012, after a Canadian competitor threatened legal action against the organization.
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Miss Universe has changed ownership several times over the years. Former US President Donald Trump co-owned it from 1996 to 2015, when he then sold it to the event company IMG. The same IMG that now passes the hand to the JKN of the Thai billionaire.
Who is Anne Jkn
Studies in Australia – in International Relations at Bond University – Anne Jkn, 43, is the third richest transgender person in the world, with a net worth of $ 210 million. She has twelve million followers on social media, she has two children, Andrew and Angelica, born through artificial insemination in the United States. “I was not happy to study in Thailand, because I was bullied by classmates for my gender orientation. So I went to Australia where I earned my bachelor’s degree. Upon my return to Bangkok, I decided to join the ‘family video rental company, ”he explained in an interview a few months ago. He founded the Life Inspired For Transsexuals Foundation (LIFT), which campaigned to change the laws that allow transgender men and women to use gender and title on the legal documents of their sex after surgery.
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