From Harvard grad to US’ 5th-richest self-made woman billionaire: How Thai Lee built a $15B tech empire with Buddhist values

A lesser-known figure among American business elites, she appears on Forbes’s 10th annual list of the most successful self-made women in the U.S. with a net worth of $6.1 billion.

She is the CEO of SHI International, a leading IT services company and one of the largest women-owned enterprises in the country.

Global upbringing and early focus

Born in Bangkok, Thailand, Lee was named "Thai" in recognition of her birthplace. Her family moved frequently due to her father’s work as a prominent South Korean economist who promoted the country’s postwar development globally, according to Forbes. But Lee, the second of four children, spent most of her childhood in South Korea.

Her younger sister Celeste, who also works at SHI, described her as highly focused from an early age, saying Lee was always planning their survival in imaginary games in case of a North Korean invasion.

Breaking barriers at Harvard

While in her teens Lee and older sister Margaret moved to the U.S., where they lived with a family friend in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended high school locally before enrolling at Amherst College, graduating with a double major in biology and economics.

She deliberately chose subjects that required minimal public speaking, given her limited English proficiency at the time. She says: "I was determined to get the best grade possible. I knew then that the best chance of success for me was to start my own business." Amherst College later described her as its most successful entrepreneur ever, according to South China Morning Post newspaper.

After graduation, Lee returned to South Korea and worked at Daesung Industrial Co., an auto parts manufacturer, to save money to pay for graduate school. She went on to become the first Korean woman to graduate from Harvard Business School in 1985. She told Amherst magazine that she pursued the degree so that "in case I failed in entrepreneurship, I’d have something to fall back on."

America’s 5th richest self-made woman, Thai Lee. Photo from X

Building a $15B tech empire

In 1989 Lee and her then-husband Leo KoGuan purchased a small IT firm in New Jersey for $1 million using personal savings and loans. They renamed it Software House International to reflect global ambitions.

Today, SHI provides cloud, data center and end-user computing services to more than 20,000 customers, including Boeing, Johnson & Johnson and AT&T. It has 35 offices worldwide, employs over 5,000 people and generates $14-15 billion in annual revenues. It ranked 27th in Forbes’s 2024 list of America’s Top Private Companies.

Lee places strong emphasis on keeping both customers and employees satisfied. "It’s culture at this point," she said. "We have no executive parking. We do not have a special executive compensation plan. We try to make sure that everybody feels valued."

At the 2019 Women in Cloud Summit, she told aspiring female entrepreneurs: "It’s OK to fail. At least you would have tried and have done your best."

Prioritizing purpose over technology

Despite her success in the tech world, Lee admitted to Forbes that she never had a strong personal interest in technology. "Actually, I probably would be the last person. Gadgets have to provide real utility. I have to extract more out of it than I would put into learning about it."

Her practical, utility-focused view may reflect a broader pattern among women in tech, she suggested. Melissa Graham, SHI’s first hire, recalled that the company’s early advantage came not from technical innovation, but from its dedication to service.

"We had no inventory, very little money, no market presence, no marketing, no promotion.

"What we did have was someone who wanted to make this thing work. Thai always had her eye on what would make SHI relevant."

Living by Buddhist values

Lee has lived in Lebanon in the U.S. state of New Jersey for over two decades and is a divorced mother of two daughters. Her personal and professional life has remained tightly focused on her family and company.

She drives herself to work, parks in the middle of the lot, and works in a modest office next to junior staff, without an assistant. She books her own travel and manages her own calendar.

When Forbes first approached her 10 years ago about appearing on the self-made women list, she asked her communications team to try to remove her name. After learning they would proceed regardless, she agreed to the interview, saying: "A dollar amount could never accurately convey the respect and admiration I have for the employees of SHI."

She said she often works seven days a week but hopes to slow down and find hobbies. Lee also credited Buddhist teachings for helping her maintain perspective. "The foundational belief in Buddhism is that life is unavoidably about suffering," she told American computer magazine CRN. "So, learning to adjust my expectation was really a huge advantage for me, combined with hard work and learning that education really allows one to achieve mobility."

In addition to her business career, Lee supports educational nonprofits and cancer research organizations.

Continuing a father’s legacy

Lee said much of her success is rooted in the values passed down by her father, whose emphasis on education shaped the paths of all four siblings.

"My father was a tremendous influence on all of us," she said in an interview with Harvard.

"He was a man of the world who believed in the power of education. Each of us has followed in his footsteps to achieve our own version of the American dream."