Gold House Celebrates the Most Impactful Asian Pacific and Multicultural Leaders at the Fourth Annual Gold Gala
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / May 13, 2025 / Gold House, the home of collective power where global leaders unite to change culture, hosted its fourth annual Gold Gala at the historic Music Center in downtown Los Angeles. Convening over 600 of the most influential Asian Pacific and multicultural leaders across industries, the Gold Gala celebrated special honors for indelible cultural change, as well as the 2025 A100 List of the 100 most impactful Asian Pacific leaders over the past year.
Program highlights included:
Ang Lee, Academy Award-winning director, received the Gold Legend Honor to multiple standing ovations, presented by filmmaker James Sweeney, filmmaker and screenwriters Nisha Ganatra and Andrew Ahn, and Academy Award-winning producer Samantha Quan, recognizing his extraordinary achievements in cinema and his role in elevating Asian Pacific stories to global acclaim.Three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion was honored with the One House Honor, with members of Multi-platinum Music Group, Far East Movement (James Roh and Kevin Nishimura) presenting, for her unwavering support of Asian Pacific culture and creatives through music collaborations, fashion looks, TV/film projects, and anime advocacy.Tsunekazu Ishihara, CEO of the Pokémon Company, alongside Pikachu, was awarded the Gold Legend Honor, presented by Comedian and Actor, Naomi Watanabe, for shaping a multi-generational cultural phenomenon that transcends borders.Min Jin Lee, New York Times best-selling author of Pachinko, accepted the Gold Legend Honor, presented by Award-winning Actress and Producer, Sandra Oh, and Award-winning Filmmaker, Lee Isaac Chung, celebrating her literary achievements and impact on global storytelling.To commemorate the 25th anniversary of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Zhang Ziyi accepted the Gold Generation Award on behalf of the cast and director, which was presented by Academy President Janet Yang, Chairman and CEO of East West Bank, Dominic Ng, and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Amy Homma.The cast and directors of Moana 2, including Auli'i Cravalho, Dana Ledoux Miller, and Dave Derrick Jr., were celebrated with the Gold Ensemble Honor, presented by actress Brenda Song, actress and star of The Wedding Banquet, Kelly Marie Tran, and actress from the upcoming Sony film, Karate Kid: Legends, Ming-Na Wen, for their groundbreaking representation of Pasifika stories.Laufey received the Billboard Gold Music Honor from CEO of Billboard, Mike Van, and Award-winning Filmmaker, Kogonada, recognizing her profound artistic impact in contemporary music and anticipation of her forthcoming album. She performed a stunning acoustic set of her newest single from her forthcoming album, Silver Linings.Anderson .Paak was awarded the Gold Mogul Honor, with rapper and actor Jonnie "Dumbfoundead" Park presenting for his multi-hyphenated success spanning music, film, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy. Also known as DJ Pee .Wee, .Paak DJ'd the Billboard Founders Party with a live trumpet and started the celebrity Karaoke Room with Tayme Thapthimthong.Jon M. Chu, Gold House co-founder and #GoldOpen movement pioneer, received the A1 in Entertainment and Media for his historic accomplishments directing Wicked and its anticipated sequel, Wicked: For Good, presented by Academy President Janet Yang, two decade-long friend and collaborator actor-dancer Harry Shum Jr., and filmmaker mentee and actor-musician, Hayley Kiyoko.Aravind Srinivas was recognized with the A1 in Business and Technology, awarded by CEO of Business Insider, Barbara Peng, Managing Partner at Kleiner Perkins, Mamoon Hamid, and General Partner of Gold House Ventures, Eric Feng, for Perplexity's groundbreaking leadership in democratizing access to the world's information.Sabyasachi Mukherjee received the honor for A1 in Fashion, Lifestyle, and Fine Arts for his visionary creativity and commitment to preserving traditional craftsmanship from Prabal Gurung.Team USA athletes and gold medalists Suni Lee, Lee Kiefer, Chuck Aoki, and Torri Huske were celebrated with the A1 in Sports and Gaming, presented by Five-time Olympian and Co-Founder of Saysh and Always Alpha, Allyson Felix, and Olympic Gymnast, Jordan Chiles, honoring their historic achievements at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.The LA Wildfire Heroes, represented by Ann Lee of CORE and Natalie Tran of CAA Foundation, were honored with the A1 in Social Impact, with Chrissy Teigen and Television Star and Style Expert, Tan France, acknowledging their bravery, resilience, and dedication to rebuilding Los Angeles after this year's devastating wildfires.Guests were treated to an exclusive first-look at the upcoming Apple Original series "Chief of War," starring, executive produced and written by Jason Momoa, and premiering globally on Apple TV+ on August 1. The world premiere of the teaser trailer was presented by actor Luciane Buchanan, Executive Producer Doug Jung, and Executive Producer and Co-Creator Thomas Pa'a Sibbett.Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka was joined by the cast of "Deli Boys", Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh, and Poorna Jagannathan to share an exclusive first-look of Atsuko's new comedy special "Father", which premieres on Hulu on June 13.Guests also saw a sneak peak of Amazon MGM Studios' upcoming documentary "Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop" which will be streaming globally on Prime Video May 13.Liza Koshy brought guests back from intermission with a hilarious sketch.
Additional notable attendees included: Mindy Kaling, Daniel Dae Kim, H.E.R., John Legend, Agnez Mo, Alex and Maia Shibutani, Alysa Liu, Amanda Nguyen, Anjula Acharia, Bryan Greenberg, Carol Lim, Chloe Flower, Chloe Kim, Daniel Martin, E-40, Eileen Gu, Elodie Yung, Eric Nam, Eugene Lee Yang, Humberto Leon, Jamie Chung, Jeannie Mai, Jhené Aiko, Joel Kim Booster, Kelly Marie Tran, Kim Shui, Kimora Lee Simmons, Kelsey Meritt, Kristi Yamaguchi, Laufey, Leah Lewis, Lee Issac Chung, Lilly Singh, Lisa Ling, Liza Soberano, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Megan Suri, Nik Dodani, Nikko Remigio, Priya Krishna, Rahul Mishra, Rowoon, Shay Mitchell, Sherry Cola, Siwon Choi, Sohee Park, Stephanie Suganami, Taecyeon, Tayme Thapthimthong, Tiffany Young, and Utkarsh Ambudkar.
Additional notable CEOs in attendance included: Debby Soo (OpenTable), Richard Dickson (Gap), Derek Chang (Liberty Media), Aaron and Albert Yang (Din Tai Fung), Alfred Chang (Everlane), Imran Amed (Business of Fashion), Imran Majid (Island Records), Faye Iosotaluno (Tinder), Jenny Ming (Rothy's), Karthik Rao (Nielsen), Ken Ohashi (Brooks Brother), Mariko Silver (The Lincoln Center), Michael Mente (Revolve), Rahul Purini (Crunchyroll), and Will Lee (Adweek).
The theme for this year's evening, First Lights, honored those who provided glimmers of hope in uncertainty and darkness, lighting the path for all to follow. Guests were immersed in a multi-dimensional stage featuring digital designs representative of the birth of humanity from darkness. Gold auras representing the resounding impact and power of the Asian Pacific community embraced guests throughout various portions of the evening, including the grand step and repeat.
Wearing "heritage-inspired black tie" from Asian Pacific designers, guests entered the Gold Gala by ascending a stunning gold staircase and elaborate Gold Carpet, with a media room presented by The Walter and Shirley Wang Foundation. Before honorees and presenters graced the stage, they were treated to hair and make-up touch-ups featuring brands from across the L'Oréal Groupe portfolio.
During the program, Gold Gala guests dined on a three-course dinner, presented by OpenTable, with a menu highlighting Filipino cuisine created especially for the Gold Gala by James Beard Award-winning chef Lord Maynard Llera and his team at Kuya Lord in Los Angeles. The menu featured dishes showcasing Chef Llera's inventive take on his favorite regional dishes from his childhood, including an Ensalada Talong, Humba (Sweet Adobo) short ribs and tofu, and a Calamansi Mango Cake to end the meal. The dishes were accompanied by hydration provided by Smartwater and wine from Silver Oak.
Throughout the night, Hennessy provided bespoke signature cocktails designed by mixologist Ash Miyasaki, such as the "Seoul Sparkler" and "Bangkok Blush" with Hennessy V.S.O.P and the "Night Bloom" with Hennessy X.O.
Guests posed at the return of the "GoldBOT" camera, a special video experience with Cole Walliser presented by Genesis Motor America and featuring the new 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe. Guests also took center stage at the Reflections Photo Booth from Maybelline, as an extension of their #FacetheDifference campaign, and the group portrait station by Lounge Booth.
As they left, Gold Gala guests received gift bags featuring the Imperial Youth Skin Cream from The Whoo, an Everlane ReNew Transit Backpack, assorted beauty products from the L'Oréal Groupe, a custom "24K" Gap hooded sweatshirt, Prabal Gurung's new memoir Walk Like a Girl provided by GoldenTV, and more.
The Gold Gala was immediately followed by the Billboard x Gold House Founders Party that featured a headlining DJ performance by Grammy-nominated artist, DJ Pee .Wee (Anderson .Paak). The first-ever presentation of the Hennessy X.O La Carafe in Los Angeles kicked off the evening, and DJ Hu Dat kept the energy going throughout the evening. Guests were thrilled by the new Rakuten Viki arcade corner, featuring specialty claw machines themed to popular K-drama genres., and the return of the Bopomofo boba bar and comforting American Chinese favorites from Panda Express. In a true "Have you eaten yet?" fashion, the Panda Express Aunties served up care and karaoke as they kicked off the crowd-favorite Celebrity Karaoke Room, setting the stage for rousing performances that capped off the evening.
The Gold Gala was also made possible with the generous support of East West Bank, HYBE, Invisalign, Nielsen, Pop Culture Collaborative, TikTok, and Visa.
The Gold Gala was produced by long-time industry leader Sequoia Productions; the name behind prestigious events including Emmys Governors Gala, Oscars Governors Galal and G'Day USA Gala. Stage creatives were produced by Aura Studios.
ABOUT GOLD HOUSE
Gold House is the home of collective power where leaders unite to forge culture.
We foster spaces where established and emerging makers gather to amplify their impact. We shape public perceptions by consulting on, investing in, and marketing society-defining media properties. We create new economies by backing the boldest entrepreneurs and scaling them internationally.
By fueling unity, visibility, and economic mobility, success becomes our shared world. With roots in Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and Singapore, Gold House operates with the heart of a nonprofit and the scale of a world-class enterprise.
We don't just change culture-we make it.
SOURCE: Gold House
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