Bui Simon

SOURCE OF WEALTH: NA

FUNDING AREAS: Thai Youth

OVERVIEW: Bui Simon conducts philanthropy through Angels Wings Foundation, which is dedicated to providing vital assistance to underserved Thai children and empowering them through education.

BACKGROUND: Born in Thailand in 1968, Bui Simon was named Miss Thailand and later Miss Universe. Raised in the Los Angeles area, she graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu. In 2002, she married billionaire real estate mogul Herbert Simon.

ISSUES:

THAI YOUTH: Bui Simon’s Angels Wings Foundation is dedicated to providing vital assistance to underserved Thai children and empowering them through education. The foundation works both in Thailand and the United States, increasingly focusing on the Los Angeles area of late. The one-time Angels Wings Foundation’s Thai Scholarships support students attending community colleges and four-year colleges or universities. Angels Wings Foundation also recently built two buildings in the Thai public school system, including a library. The foundation’s Rural Teaching Scholarship aims to train educational mentors who are committed to serving in rural areas, and a pilot program is launching in Phuket, a region devastated by last decade’s Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The foundation also sprung to action when the tsunami hit and Simon herself tapped her connections to quickly raise money in the United States. Within 90 days they were able to build over 100 homes, and within the first 10 days, helped fishermen retrieve their boats so they could continue to work.

LOOKING FORWARD: Expect Bui Simon to remain strongly dedicated to this personal cause. Away from this work, she also engages in family philanthropy with an eye towards the family’s local community’s of Los Angeles and Indianapolis.

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