Kenny Park, also known as Park Eun-kwan, is a South Korean businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Simone Accessory, a handbag and accessories manufacturer. Forbes estimated his personal fortune in 2020 to be around $610 million.[3]
Kenny Park | |
|---|---|
| Born | Park Eun-kwan 1954 or 1955 (age 69–70)[1] |
| Nationality | South Korean |
| Alma mater | Yonsei University |
| Occupation | businessman |
| Known for | founder and CEO of Simone Accessory |
| Children | 2 |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 박은관 |
| Hanja | 朴殷寬[2] |
| Revised Romanization | Bak Eungwan |
| McCune–Reischauer | Pak Ŭngwan |
Early life
editIn 1978, Park earned a degree in German and literature from Yonsei University.[4]
Career
editPark started making handbags for Donna Karan in 1987, and Simone Accessory now makes bags for other brands including Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Coach New York, Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, Ralph Lauren, DVF, Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Proenza Schouler, Versus Versace, and AllSaints.[4] Simone manufactures 30 million handbags and leather goods annually.[4] He inaugurated the Simone Handbag Museum in 2012[5] and announced the launch of his own handbag brand, 0914, the following year.[6]
In 2015, Blackstone Group acquired a 30% stake in Simone for $300 million.[4] In 2016, his company Simone purchased the US manufacturer GST AutoLeather Inc., the world's largest leather car seat maker.[7]
Park owns 62% of the company.[4] In March 2018, Park became a billionaire.[8][4] That same year, he made a $5-million donation to Concordia College's Language Villages to build an authentic Korean village in Minnesota.[9]
Simone also operates multiple financial management and advisory companies including Simone Investment, a private equity firm and other real estate development funds.
Personal life
editPark is married, with two children, and lives in Seoul.
References
edit- ^ "Forbes profile: Kenny Park". Forbes. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ 앞서가는 사람: 핸드백수출 시몬느 朴殷寬 사장「傳統美」로 輸出험로 개척 [People moving forward: Park Eun-kwan, president of handbag exporter Simone, a pioneer of the dangerous road of 'traditional beauty' exports]. Kyunghyang Shinmun. 7 October 1990. p. 9. Retrieved 17 September 2018 – via Naver News Library.
- ^ "Kenny Park". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ a b c d e f Chung, Grace (6 June 2018). "South Korea's Richest 2018: A New Billionaire And Luxury Handbag Supplier To The Stars". Forbes. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Chong, Yuri (2012-06-12). "If Purses Are Your Bag..." T Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "Luxury handbag maker Simone moving into retail". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "Simone joins hands with MBK Partners to acquire GST AutoLeather - 매일경제 영문뉴스 펄스(Pulse)". Pulse (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-12-06.
- ^ "South Korea's Handbag King Becomes a Billionaire". Bloomberg. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Hyatt, Kim (2018-04-03). "Korean handbag king donates $5M to Concordia Language Villages". Twin Cities. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
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