# Thai Lee
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{{Short description|Korean American billionaire businesswoman}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Thai Lee
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1958}}
| birth_place = [Bangkok](/source/Bangkok), Thailand
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
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| education =
| alma_mater = [Amherst College](/source/Amherst_College) (BA)
[Harvard Business School](/source/Harvard_Business_School) (MBA)
| occupation =
| title =
| term = 1989–present
| predecessor =
| successor =
| known_for = CEO and co-founder, [SHI International](/source/SHI_International)
| boards =
| spouse = [Leo Koguan](/source/Leo_Koguan) (m. 1989–2002)
| parents = Daniel Kie-Hong Lee
| children = 2
| relatives = Margaret Lee (older sister)
| website =
}}
'''Thai Lee''' (born 1958) is a Thai-born Korean-American [billionaire](/source/billionaire) businesswoman, the co-owner, CEO and president of [SHI International](/source/SHI_International), reported by ''[Forbes](/source/Forbes)'' to be the largest woman-owned business in the US in 2012.[{{cite web|last1=Ewalt|first1=David M.|title=The Modest Tycoon Behind America's Biggest Woman-Owned Business|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2015/05/27/thai-lee-shi-international/|work=Forbes|accessdate=1 June 2015}}] In May 2025, she was worth US$5.8 billion.[{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/thai-lee/|title=Thai Lee|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-03-26}}] She is a member of the board of directors of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea.[{{Cite web |title=Thai Lee '80 {{!}} 2014 Honorees {{!}} Amherst College |url=https://www.amherst.edu/news/events/commencement/awards/2014-honorees/thai-lee-80 |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=www.amherst.edu}}]
==Early years==
Thai Lee was born in 1958 in [Bangkok](/source/Bangkok), Thailand, but spent most of her childhood in South Korea.[{{Cite web |title=Women who Achieve: Thai Lee |url=https://ppimhs.org/newspost/women-who-achieve-thai-lee/ |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute |language=en-US}}] Her family moved frequently due to her father's job as a Korean economist promoting South Korea's postwar development plan.[{{Cite web |title=Daniel Kie-Hong Lee {{!}} Friends of the Library Oral Histories {{!}} Amherst College |url=https://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/holdings/friends-of-the-library-oral-histories/kie-hong-daniel-lee |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=www.amherst.edu}}] Lee went on to earn an MBA from [Harvard Business School](/source/Harvard_Business_School) in 1985.[{{cite web|last1=Young|first1=Susan|title=Thai Lee, MBA|date=January 2013 |url=https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=2782|publisher=Harvard Business School|accessdate=1 June 2015}}] She was the first Korean woman to graduate from the business school.[{{cite web|title=Thai Lee '80|url=https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/specialevents/commencement/awards/2014-honorees/thai-lee-80|publisher=Amherst College|accessdate=1 June 2015}}] Lee served as the first female president of the Amherst College Alumni Society from 2004 to 2005.[{{Cite web |title=Corporation & Trustees {{!}} President & College Leadership {{!}} Amherst College |url=https://www.amherst.edu/about/president-college-leadership/trustees |access-date=2025-12-03 |website=www.amherst.edu}}]
* Harvard Business School, 2013 Alumni Achievement Award[{{Cite news |last=Ewalt |first=David M. |title=The Modest Tycoon Behind America's Biggest Woman-Owned Business |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2015/05/27/thai-lee-shi-international/ |access-date=2025-12-03 |work=Forbes |language=en}}] They divorced in 2002.