Do Won Chang (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: 장도원; born March 20, 1954) is a Korean-born American businessman. He founded the clothing store chain

Forever 21 Forever 21 is a multinational fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984,Forever 21History & Facts, n.d. Retrieved 27 April 2014 ...

with his wife Jin Sook Chang.

Early life

Chang grew up in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and moved to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1981 with his wife, Jin Sook Chang. He never attended university and worked in coffee shops growing up.

Career

He and his wife, Jin Sook (Hangul: 진숙), opened a 900-square foot clothing store then named Fashion 21 in 1984 in Highland Park,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with only $11,000 in savings. The store took off, and as they expanded to other locations, the store's name was changed to

otherwise known as XXI. The number of stores grew to 600, with 30,000 employees by 2015. The company has remained a family-owned operation. It has filed for bankruptcy protection as of 2019.

Personal life

Do Won Chang and Jin Sook Chang have two children, and live in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

. They are Christians, which is why John 3:16 is on the bottom of every bag. Their two daughters, Esther and Linda Chang co-founded the company Riley Rose, a make-up and accessory company that Forever 21 carries in its stores. Linda was also in charge of marketing at Forever 21, while Esther was in charge of visual design.

Philanthropy

The Changs have donated money to churches and faith groups, and Do Won travels to perform missionary work.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Do Won 1954 births American billionaires American retail chief executives American fashion businesspeople Businesspeople from California South Korean emigrants to the United States Living people