[Music in background throughout]
[On screen text]
Voices from the AAPI community
Where do our saving – and spending – habits come from?
Please see important information at the end of this program. Recorded on 09/21/2022.
LYNDA SUN LEE: My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan.
[On screen text]
Lynda Sun Lee
Retired pharmaceutical company executive
Initially my father came into the U.S. with something like two hundred and fifty dollars.
[Archival footage of statue of liberty]
[Archival photos of Lynda’s parents in Taiwan]
Scraped together enough money; borrowed some money from acquaintances.
[Archival photo of Lynda’s father in his tie shop in NYC]
[Archival photo of Linda’s mother in tie shop]
And then he purchased his first business, his first store in Manhattan which is selling neckties.
[Stock photo of Times Square]
[Stock video of Times Square]
So, at the height he had five retail stores all on Broadway or very close to Broadway.
For almost all his life, no matter how much wealth he had accumulated;
[Archival photo of Lynda’s father in Times Square]
He basically just followed his own instinct, saving as much as possible, investing in stocks and real estate. So, I think the real estate is a very, you know, Asian or Chinese concept which is that, you know;
[Archival photo of Lynda’s family]
[Archival photo of Lynda’s father in front of his tie shop in Times Square]
A hard asset is something that you could always have and hold onto and it would only appreciate.
[On screen text]
How have your heritage
and family shaped your
approach to money?
I learned about saving and not spending from my parents.
[Photo at Lynda’s daughter’s wedding]
Nose to the grindstone, spend as little as possible. The other key concept, being in terms of family and caring for the family; it’s not so much in terms of financial, because my mother who survived my father, she's financially independent and secure. But in terms of just, you know, making sure that her needs are met.
[Photo of Lynda’s family at Brooklyn Bridge]
She lives very close to me, so I'm always checking up on her, making sure that she has what she needs. I think that that emphasis or value is something that is very strong in my culture.
But I got to a certain point where I think I realize, you know, I'm beginning to accumulate some wealth and so I needed to have some kind of a plan.
[On screen text]
How did the value of self-reliance
help you in your financial life?
Then in 2004, my marriage was on rocky ground then and I saw down the road that we were probably going to be going our separate ways and I needed to take control of my finances. I was the sole, you know, income earner for the family.
[Photo of Lynda’s daughter and mother]
And I had a young daughter. I think the concept of self-reliance, the emphasis on achievement and success are very, very strong values that I retain.
[Photo of Lynda’s family]
And I think I’ve also passed along to my daughter. Her character is different from mine fundamentally and she is much more savvy and educated.
[Photo of Lynda with her mom and daughter]
And she is self-sufficient, self-reliant.
[On screen text]
To explore more
insights on wealth in
the AAPI community,
read the full report at
ml.com/diversity
[Image of AAPI report]
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