From $20 million to $100: ‘Donut King’ Ted Ngoy fled from Cambodia to the US and became a multimillionaire in 10 years, lost it all; how he rebuilt his wealth

Ted Ngoy’s story sounds like a story straight from a blockbuster film, filled to the brim with drama. Forced to flee the brutal and oppressive Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia in 1975, Ngoy had to abandon a flourishing career (prior to his escape from Cambodia, he was a Major, appointed military attaché at Cambodia's embassy in Thailand), and with his wife and three children, he was one of several refugees to arrive in the US. Within ten years of his arrival, he became the very embodiment of the 'American Dream', with a networth of $20 million and an empire he built from scratch. However, as meteoric as his rise had been, his fall was just as disastrous and humiliating. But he refused to back down and clawed his way from bankruptcy, to success once again.

Humble Beginnings

As per a BBC report, the family was sent to Camp Pendleton, a hurriedly constructed refugee camp on a marine training installation. They needed an American sponsor to help them find employment and a place to live so they could leave the camp and find employment. Ngoy was hired by Peace Lutheran Church in Tustin, California, as a janitor. During this time, he also worked as a petrol attendant.

It was during this time he came across a busy doughnut shop called DK Donuts. The taste reminded him of a fried pastry back home – nom kong. He asked the owners about learning the business and was soon inducted into the training programme of a doughnut chain, Winchell’s. He learned all the ropes of the trade – from baking to handling the payroll and sales. He was eventually given the responsibility to manage a shop on Balboa Pier, a tourist spot.


Before Winchell’s chastised them, they washed and reused coffee stirrers to save money wherever they could. Ted purchased pink doughnut boxes at a discount when they were in excess, and the pink boxes became his signature. He was able to buy Christy's Doughnuts, his first doughnut shop, in La Habra by 1977. Christy's gained popularity under the Ngoys' ownership, despite never being a major success under the prior owners.

Ngoy purchased several Orange County doughnut shops. Ngoy operated more than 25 doughnut businesses in 1979. Eventually, he decided to train and lease the shops to his relatives and various Cambodian refugees – like this, he sponsored more than 100 Cambodian families.

By 1985, within just 10 years of arriving in the US, Ted and his family were millionaires. According to an Inside Edition report, his networth was a whopping $20 million at the peak of his career. A Los Angeles Times article revealed that Ted and his wife enjoyed a lavish life which included a million-dollar home, a vacation home, expensive cars and trips to Europe.

In the documentary about his life, rise and fall, directed by the filmmaker Alice Gu, Ted revealed he was earning $100,000 every month. “They called me the Donut King.”

The Decline From Grace

But his empire fell. All due to his gambling addiction. He often visited Las Vegas, where he frequently placed bets on blackjack tables. He neglected the business, and the amount of money he lost gradually increased each visit. According to another Los Angeles Times report, he would often forge his wife’s signature on cheques and borrow money from people who leased stores from him. Once, a leader in the Cambodian diaspora, many now avoided him in fear of being asked for a loan.

Return To Cambodia

In 1990, Ngoy flew to Washington, D.C., and entered a Buddhist monastery where he meditated for a month following a particularly terrible gambling loss. After his stay in the nation's capital, Ngoy lived in a rural monastery in Thailand, where he begged for alms every morning. Ngoy started gambling more after returning to Orange County. Ngoy and his spouse returned to Cambodia for the 1993 general election following the country's transition to a constitutional monarchy. The Free Development Republican Party was founded by him. Despite his poor performance in the 1993 and 1998 parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen, a friend, appointed him as an advisor on agriculture and business.

His marriage also broke apart as his wife found him having an affair with a younger woman.

By 2002, Ted was penniless, having spent all his wealth to win elections. After falling out with a powerful political adversary, he returned to America, this time with only $100 in his pocket, as per the BBC. During this time, he tried living a sober life and became a devout Christian. However, no one offered in work, his community shunned him.

The Great Turnaround

As per the BBC report, after four years, he eventually moved to the coastal town of Kep, on the Gulf of Thailand. A Chinese acquaintance asked him to assist on a real estate project. He agreed and received a good commission. More deals followed, and he gradually became a millionaire again. He remarried and had four kids.

He kept a low profile until Alice Gu shared his story through the award-winning documentary The Donut King in 2020. His return to California proved to be a healing experience as he managed to mend relations with his former wife, Christy, and reconcile with their now grown-up kids.