Although there is still some resentment towards him in the Cambodian community, whose hard-earned cash he gambled away, he is also revered by many. The Ngoys drove a motor home around California, opening shops in Los Angeles, Modesto, Fresno, San Jose, the Bay Area city of Brisbane, Sacramento and San Diego. Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin hired Ngoy as a janitor. And she said she knew a lot of people in her parents generation who are lifelong Republicans and thats why they hate the Democratic party. A 2005 profile in the Los Angeles Times described him as "broke, homeless, and dependent on the goodwill of his few remaining friends." Today, he makes a living selling real estate in Cambodia. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. All three were taken to the police station but they were too scared to mention the cash in the boot. Eventually, her parents discovered Ngoy and threw him out. She thought it might have been a tall tale, "But when I was in Cambodia, [Ted] lifted his shirt and I saw the puncture wounds," Gu adds. "It's a devil, it's a monster. The families who followed Ngoys lead learned to run businesses and picked up English. Eventually Cambodians owned so many doughnut shops in California that they dominated the market, pushing Winchell's into second place. "[1], Ted Ngoy was born in the Cambodian village of Sisophon near the country's border with Thailand. Never give up. He also figured that as a prominent politician, he would be forced to control his gambling habit. He borrowed money from relatives who had leased his doughnut shops. I never loved you.' Ngoy joined the army. "That's why I want to tell the world, 'Do not gamble.' At a news conference, he dissolved his party and accused the government of corruption. And he saw an opportunity. He was raised by his mother, who was from Shantou, Guangdong, and who only spoke Chinese. goes to your local theater. Doughnuts offered an escape from years of welfare dependency. He became Ted. In the end, filming the documentary was a healing experience for Ted. The past I cannot change, but I learned the heavy way. At 35, Ngoy had already climbed out of poverty and into privilege once. Ted Ngoy is a Cambodian American entrepreneur and former owner of a chain of donut shops in California, earning him the nickname the "Donut King." While working a second job at a gas station, Ngoy took notice of a busy local donut shop and inquired of its operators about learning the business. Gab Chabrn reflects on growing up in L.A. in a Latino home that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and the traditions they formed instead. It provided a path for refugees to settle and was a profitable business model. Still homeless, he moved to the coastal town of Kep, on the Gulf of Thailand. "I became a very, very bad man and borrowed money here and there," he says. It led many voters to assume, incorrectly, that he was against Cambodia's royal family, and he didn't win a seat. After a little research, Gu discovered that a huge number of California's independent donut shops, maybe 80-90%, are owned by Cambodian Americans, mostly thanks to Ngoy. Her parents wanted nothing to do with him. Sent to the city to study, Ngoy met the beautiful Suganthini Khoeun who was the daughter of a government. The Ngoys decided to keep uniformity amongst their shops, naming subsequent acquisitions Christy's. In less than two years, while working on other jobs and projects, Gu directed and shot the 94-minute documentary. Ted Ngoy By 1985, 10 years after arriving in the US as refugees, Ted and Christy were millionaires, owning around 60 doughnut shops. He slept under the bed and hid when the maids came to clean. Here's Why It's Especially Dangerous To Hike SoCal Mountains Right Now, How 4 Words Upended A University's Journalism Program, And Stirred A Reckoning Over Race, What A Popular Yoga Teacher's Descent Into Conspiracy Theories Says About The 'Wellness To QAnon Pipeline', Ancient Lung Disease Strikes Countertop Cutters In LA. How to get the best eggs in town without leaving your yard. He joined Gamblers Anonymous but was back at the tables in no time. When he couldn't pay them back because he had gambled the money away, Ted signed away his ownership stake in those stores. An owner could keep costs low by employing his family. But he was more than well-off; he was respected. Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? When you get to the table, youre so emotional, evil in your body, he said. And that's what he did. Upon his return to Orange County, Ngoy began gambling harder than ever stating "Monks cannot help me, Buddha cannot help me. Ngoy fled with his wife, three young children, two cousins and a nephew to the United States in 1975. The couple had flash cars, bought a million-dollar mansion with a pool and an elevator, and went on holidays abroad. But while she was gone Ted had an affair. With Chuong Pek Lee, Susan Lim, Ted Ngoy, Daewon Song. Once, he was a poor boy who carried away one of Cambodias wealthiest daughters. [1], When his wife visited California for the birthday of their grandchild in 1999, Ngoy began an affair with a young woman; Christy divorced him soon after and has not since returned to Cambodia. He helped them apply for permits. So he named his own political party the Free Development Republican Party. All that money paid for expensive clothes, luxury cars, fancy trips and an opulent home in Mission Viejo. Is there anything that you left on the cutting room floor that you still think about?There are a lot of things that I still think about on the cutting room floor. The other discovery for me was what I called Donut Generation 2.0, the kids who go to take over the parents mom and pop shops. The doughnut king landed at LAX with $50 in his pocket. Chuong Lee Tao passed down DKs Donuts in Santa Monica to her daughter Mayly Tao, who updated the shop with a vast menu and a worldwide social media following. The Ngoys helped hundreds of refugees find housing and apply for Social Security cards. youths avoid juvenile hall comes to an end, As it approaches its first decade, the Frida Cinema abides, Shake Shack gets ready to shake things up in Orange County, Santa Anas Electric City Butcher moves online, Brews&Bites beachside beer festival comes to the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, 13 couples say I do on Valentines Day weekend at the Anaheim Marketplace, Broadway Divas serve off-Broadway realness at Segerstrom, Dine your heart out this Valentines Day with special menus throughout Orange County, 43rd annual Orange County Black History Parade & Unity Fair a source of pride in Anaheim. It was a strategy that ended up working for them. She would drive there with her youngest son and go from hotel to hotel looking for him. Ngoy and his family enjoyed the fruits of their labor and at one point moved into a 7,000-square-foot mansion in Mission Viejo. Ted encouraged others to do the same. Las Vegas was the new thing, he said, besides making money and making doughnuts,. On hearing the music float across the quiet city, Suganthini's mother remarked that whoever was playing must be in love. Ngoy ended his political career abruptly in 2002, breaking with two powerful allies, the commerce minister and the head of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. called The United States alone is home to more than 25,000 donut shops and they produce more than 10 billion donuts each year. After Ted revealed his presence to Christy, he hid under her bed until he was eventually discovered and her family allowed them be together. Was there any tension or awkwardness when he visited California again?He came to visit California, I think, with a little bit of trepidation. Christy has remarried and lives in the US, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook on the BBC World Service, Download the podcast for more extraordinary stories, The Donut King, is available in the US now in theatres and online and will be coming to the UK in 2021, Listen to Ted Ngoy on Outlook: How the Donut King lost his crown. [5] The next day, he flew back to Los Angeles leaving behind his new wife and their two children. California Sunday When the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia in 1975, they knew they couldn't go home. He had lost the respect of his family and community. Devastated that he had broken their pact, she filed for divorce. When he was working in the donut shop, he went to his sponsor and said he was having a hard time. Still penniless, after nearly four years of exile, Ted flew back to Cambodia. [8] However, the film's directorAlice Gupersuaded him to and, ultimately, he regarded his return as a 'healing experience,' and his ex-wife and children have forgiven him. He believed he could show others the path to wealth and opportunity. He also sponsored more than 100 Cambodian refugee families and established a path of financial opportunity for them in America. "This friendly voice picks up the phone, a young voice in that perfectly American accented English. Seasonal Halloween donuts at DK's Donuts in Santa Monica. No political life, no religious life, just work, work, he said. Like Ngoy, most of the people who leased his stores were Chinese Cambodian. "Cambodian people owe them a lot.". Gu says Christy's family then threatened to kill Ted but his mother made a deal with them. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Key grant funding to help O.C. I dont know who I am right now, he said. [2], In 1967, Ngoy was sent by his mother to study in the capital, Phnom Penh, where he met and married Suganthini Khoeun, the daughter of a high-ranking government official. With the help of his brother-in-law, he was promoted to major and appointed military attache at the countrys embassy in Thailand. He is wealthy again. Once, he enjoyed the warmth of family and the respect of his community. That really broke the ice for us. The whole community banded together and they all agreed to sell him out of donuts every morning by 9 a.m. Late at night, Ngoy would put Suganthini on his back and climb down the roof, then down the coconut tree. ", But in the end, he says, he beat it. Once, he was a millionaire who met three U.S. presidents. All the boys at his school were in love with her, and as a poor half-Chinese boy from a village near the Thai border he had no chance. In 1985, Ngoy and his wife became American citizens assuming the American names of Ted and Christy, respectively, and were enjoying a lavish lifestyle including a million dollar home at Lake Mission Viejo, a vacation home in Big Bear, expensive cars, and vacations to Europe. 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