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Gold House’s 2020 A100 List Kicks Off AAPI Month

For the third year in a row, Gold House officially kicks off AAPI Heritage Month by announcing their annual list of influential Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander leaders who have impacted the globe. Click here to check out the full 2020 list.

This year’s honorees come from all walks of life — from pop culture to business to politics, and sports. The list also include several NOC favorites such as Oscar winners Bong Joon-Ho and Taika Waititi, Birds of Prey director Cathy Yan, The Green Knight’s Dev Patel, Hadestown star Eva Noblezada and her Yellow Rose director Diane Paragas, Patriot Act host Hasan Minhaj, future Snake Eyes Henry Golding, DC Films president Walter Hamada, icons Daniel Dae Kim, Keanu Reeves, and The Rock, and recent Southern Fried Asian guest Dino-Ray Ramos.

Check out the official press release below.

Los Angeles (May 1, 2020) — Gold House, the largest nonprofit collective of Asian cultural leaders that accelerates the inclusive representation and empowerment of Asians, announces its third annual A100 List to celebrate Asians and Asian American & Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and their transformative contributions to society. The seminal 2020 A100 launches in partnership with the 2020 Census, a critical count of everyone who lives in America. The online destination was developed with creative agency Barrel.

Each year, the A100 commences Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by spotlighting the 100 most esteemed and impactful Asians in entertainment and media, fashion and lifestyle, technology, business, and social activism. The List, determined by 20 Asian nonprofit groups, a panel of multicultural icons, and hundreds of Gold House members, unites the Asian diaspora with other communities in celebrating excellence and championing a path towards a more inclusive future for everyone. This year, for the first time, voters selected the single most impactful Asians per category as well as the Legend Honor for lifetime achievement including:

  • Business: Betty Liu (Executive Vice Chairman, New York Stock Exchange)
  • Fashion and Lifestyle: Prabal Gurung (Designer)
  • Media & Entertainment: Awkwafina (Actress, Producer, Musician)
  • Social Activism: Andrew Yang (Humanity Forward and former Presidential Candidate)
  • Technology: Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft)
  • Legend Honor: Miky Lee (Vice Chairman, CJ Entertainment)
  • The full A100 list may be viewed at a100list.com.

Championing the A100 and AAPI community is more important now than ever, as anti-Asian sentiment has surged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate, a project tracking hate incidents against Asian Americans, received more than 1,135 reports in just two weeks. Crisis Text Line reported that AAPIs, which represent about 6% of the US population, accounted for 16% of all crisis texts related to coronavirus. These are just a few of the reported numbers the AAPI community has faced in recent weeks — a community that continues to have the greatest wealth disparity of any racial group and is the least likely to be promoted to management, seek mental health services or be counted in the Census.

According to the 2020 Census Barriers Attitudes and Motivators Study, Asian Americans have the lowest awareness about the 2020 Census and are therefore least likely to complete their Census questionnaire. As the fastest growing population in America, it is critical that Asian Americans be counted once, only once, and in the right place for accurate statistical representation that affects so much of our everyday lives.

Despite these challenges, AAPIs remain critical to American society. According to a Nielsen report in 2019, AAPIs not only experienced the most rapid population and spending power growth (214% since 2000 vs. 19% for the rest of the country) of any U.S. ethnicity, but also exhibit the highest rates of internet connectivity and are voicing their influential opinions at a “market-changing pace.“ In the streaming war, AAPIs are the highest media streamers with 82% subscribed to at least one service. Research by Gold House indicates that nearly 30% of “unicorn” and “unicorn-emerging” companies — startups with at least $500 million in valuation — have at least one Asian founder, suggesting that a growing number of Asians are disrupting industries rather than only working to be promoted. Gold House serves as a culmination of these facts to showcase and spread further awareness of AAPI’s broadening impact on consumerism, culture, and business.

“The AAPI community is facing a pivotal juncture in our history. Unprecedented hope and progress — seen in IPOs and other major company exits to the Democratic Presidential Primaries to the Oscars and Golden Globes — quickly turned into hateful harassment and violence,” said a Gold House spokesperson. “The A100 spotlights significant contributions made by the Asian diaspora that transcend ethnicities, generations, industries, and continents — a powerful reminder that we have always been and will continue to be an integral part of the fabric of American society.”

The A100 will be celebrated throughout the month of May through several forums:

  • Identifying new avenues for empowerment through a live virtual discussion featuring several Honorees later this month to discuss the current and future State of Asian America and its next steps to grow as a community in partnership with the 2020 Census.
  • Bolstering representation through live #GoldOpen Live Watch Parties for major Asian films with their cast and crew.
  • Several other to-be-announced events

The full list of this year’s Honorees and Selection Committee can be found at a100list.com and on social media via #A100. Nominations for Gold House’s 2021 A100 are open now at goldhouse.org/nominate. Discover more about Gold House and additional initiatives at goldhouse.org.

About Gold House
Gold House is a nonprofit collective of diverse leaders dedicated to forging stronger bonds that empower Asians to lead authentic, successful and healthy lives, and in turn, advance all of society. Our ventures include supporting authentic representation of Asians in media (#GoldOpen); accelerating success and representation of Asian founders (Gold Rush); championing societal contributions made by Asians to reshape public opinion (A100); and strengthening relationships to codify our cultural legacy (Golden Age). To learn more, visit goldhouse.org or follow @GoldHouseCo on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

About the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census counts every person living in the 50 states, District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. The count is mandated by the Constitution and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population be conducted once every 10 years. Census Bureau data are used to determine how more than $675 billion in federal funds are distributed annually to states and local communities for services and infrastructure, including health care, jobs, schools, roads and businesses. The data are also used for the purpose of reapportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. You can fill out your census here. Your responses to the census are protected by U.S. Code Title 13.

About Barrel
Barrel is an independent creative and digital marketing agency in New York and Los Angeles that partners with brands to drive results through marketing strategy, user experience, e-commerce, web development, content production, and customer acquisition. Clients include L’Oréal, KIND Snacks, Amazon, Barry’s Bootcamp, Scholastic, and Well+Good. To learn more, visit www.barrelny.com.

Media Contact
Jane Hong & Quyenzi Pham
Jane@goldhouse.org, Q@goldhouse.org