Meet the Trans, Thai Media Mogul Who Wants to Reinvent the Miss Universe Pageant

In Thailand, Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip is a household name. Much of the rest of the world, however, is only now getting to know the transgender media mogul.

The 44-year-old Jakrajutatip, also known as Anne JKN, made headlines last year for her $20 million purchase of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO). For American media outlets, the angle was irresistible: a transgender tycoon had bought a pageant company once co-owned by former U.S. president Donald Trump, who advanced anti-LGBTQ+ policies while in office and whose rhetoric around COVID-19 was linked to a rise in anti-Asian sentiment. But Jakrajutatip didn’t buy MUO for the optics; indeed, she has aspirations to turn it into an inclusive and progressive operation, serving the demographics that tune in to watch pageants in the first place.

“I would love to see Miss Universe become one of the largest online magazines for women and LGBTQ [people] in terms of how to live the best life, how to dress, how to walk, talk, cook, exercise, travel, money, love, how to look after your children,”Jakrajutatip tells Them via Zoom from a conference room inside her Bangkok offices, decorated with glossy photos of some of her most glamorous looks. “We are sometimes clueless on how to live life and we want to live the best life so we have to be the girlfriend for all women around the world.”

Jakrajutatip, reportedly the third richest trans person in the world, is far from “clueless” herself, having racked up an estimated net worth of $210 million by transforming her parents’ video rental store into a content distribution giant, airing foreign films, programs, and documentaries in Thailand. She now owns multiple Thai TV channels, oversees numerous beverage and beauty product lines, and hosts the likes of Thailand’s Shark Tank and Project Runway. In 2018, she also founded the nonprofit Life Inspired for Transsexuals Foundation, which supports transgender people by tackling stigma and advocating for the ability to legally change their gender.

Before Jakrajutatip came into her fortune, however, it would have been hard for her to imagine the luxurious life her glossy Instagram feed depicts today. Growing up in a Chinese family in Bangkok, Jakrajutatip says she endured harassment and bullying as she grappled with her identity.

“I did not know my identity… I knew for sure that I’m not gay, I’m not bi,” she recalls. Around the age of 13, she took a high school public speaking class that would give Jakrajutatip an opportunity to film a shopping video. That gave her the taste for television that proved to be life-changing.

“I wanted to have the weapon that is the microphone to express my attitude [and] exhibit that leadership to everyone. No more bullies. You cannot do anything harmful to me because I’m clever and smart and I can be successful,” she recalls thinking.

“I needed to become successful in order to convince [people] that we are not wrong.”

With newfound confidence and a growing intolerance of the judgment she felt she faced for feeling different, Jakrajutatip left Thailand to attend university in Sydney. It was there, while working at a petrol station to cover her tuition fees, that she realized she was transgender. It would be over a decade, however, before she’d feel comfortable transitioning. Although Thailand is considered a more liberal country compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors, laws still prohibit same-sex marriage and the country’s large trans population is still barred from changing their gender on legal documents. That continuing culture of discrimination kept Jakrajutatip in the closet. When she returned to Thailand at the age of 21 with an international relations degree in tow, she felt she had to achieve more before she could fully embrace her true identity.

“I could not come across as being a trans woman at that time or become totally a woman because I needed to prove myself,” she shares. “I needed to become successful in order to convince [people] that we are not wrong.”

From her family’s home video shop, she began working with overseas companies, such as the BBC, to import their documentaries to be aired locally. As this model expanded to other content types from around the world, including Bollywood soaps, the entrepreneur founded JKN Global Group in 2014. From there, the company evolved, creating its own content as well as cosmetics, drinks, and food supplements. The profits enabled Jakrajutatip to purchase a convenience store, café, and service station. Eventually, the success meant Jakrajutatip felt comfortable presenting as herself, but her appetite for success did not go away. Most Popular

“Locally in Thailand, I inspire so many people, particularly [those in the] LGBTQ community and women… I thought what is next for me? What is the next level? How can I allocate myself and maximize my full potential?” she says.

It was around this time that Jakrajutatip went to see a Miss Universe pageant where Angela Ponce, Miss Universe Spain 2018, made history as the first trans woman to participate. “I stood up and applauded for her. I cried and she also cried on the stage,” Jakrajutatip recalls. “When I turned back, everyone just stood up after me and applauded her big time. That moment, I thought, ‘This is it. This is a pageant I can turn into a platform and it must be a women’s empowerment platform.’”

But there were more life changes in store before she got into the pageant business. In 2020, JKN Global Group was listed on the stock market, with Jakrajutatip as its chief executive and largest shareholder. Shortly afterward, she allowed herself to undergo the gender confirmation surgery she’d been longing for. Within six months of that procedure, she was a mother, having saved her sperm and found an egg donor. Her second child arrived within the year, Jakrajutatip shares. Since then, the proud mother of two has continued her hustle, intent on growing an empire she can leave as a legacy. Snapping up MUO at the end of 2022 was part of that vision.Most Popular

To negotiate the sale, JKN Global simply approached the then-owner — sports, events and talent management company IMG — about purchasing the pageant organization. The company, she says, gave the impression they didn’t like the event and were just holding onto it “until Donald may… take it back.” He never did, but Jakrajutatip was waiting in the wings with a simple elevator pitch: “If you think about it, it’s for women and for LGBTQ [people], so who else should you sell [to] apart from trans women? You don’t have to consider where I come from, I have a global stage anyway… I’m strong enough, qualified enough to make Miss Universe the perfect platform.”

Shortly after the announcement of JKN Global Group’s purchase, Jakrajutatip took the stage at the 71st Miss Universe Beauty Pageant in New Orleans in January and called “time’s up” on male ownership of the female empowerment competition. “Welcome to the new era,” she said. “From now on it’s going to be run by women, owned by a trans woman, for all women around the world.”

Kicking off that new era, the 2023 Miss Universe pageant marks the first time women who are married, divorced, or have children will be able to enter the pageant. Looking ahead, Jakrajutatip plans to make other significant changes to Miss Universe with the aim of transforming the historic institution into a more lucrative business – think commercial products like Icelandic water, skin care and fashion – as well as an online hub for empowering and inclusive content.

Even as her business expands, Jakrajutatip remains hands-on, sharing that she often sleeps in her Bangkok-based TV studio when she’s not traveling. MUO’s headquarters remain in the U.S., as does its longstanding executive team, and the organization is currently preparing for the 72nd Miss Universe pageant, to be held in El Salvador later this year.

As MUO has changed hands, some critics said that the pageant itself is irredeemable — that it will remain sexist, misogynistic, and irrelevant no matter who owns it. Others have called pageants as a whole regressive, old-fashioned, and guilty of putting women in an archaic box.

That’s why Jakrajutatip is intent on updating the event in the hope that it will eventually garner the same enthusiasm and viewership as Formula 1 Racing or the Super Bowl. “People never get bored because they have the evolution in the production, representation, everything combined so you have to make it more relevant. Therefore… we all have to elevate the show, the platform, the content [to] make it sexier [and] younger.”

On a practical level, Jakrajutatip says contestants are already encouraged to represent their culture in a cape to be worn during the swimsuit competition. “The way that we present on stage, we don’t objectify them by showing their sexiness, by having them exploited sexually by the audience, but in fact, if you really have a close look into the purpose… They’re proud to be themselves, they’re proud to show their healthiness, and also proud to show their culture under the cape.”

Jakrajutatip knows that for many young hopefuls, pageants can be the stepping stones that those first distributed documentaries were for her. The Miss Universe stage is a literal platform that can lead to wealth and success — something Jakrajutatip felt she needed before she could step into her true identity. She believes that for marginalized groups like trans people, the globally recognized pageant can be a mechanism for eliminating stigma and sparking change.

“Trans women can do it and we’re going to transform the world by having everyone look at us. We can make it successful,” she says. “I am… ready to do my service for LGBTQ people. This is the purpose of my life and I will pursue it for the rest of my life.”

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