Episode 03/ Full Interview: Kevin Kwan on crazy wealth, vanity and inspiration

KEVIN KWAN is the author of Crazy Rich Asians, the international bestselling novel that has been translated into more than 40 languages. For several weeks in 2018, the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy commanded the top three positions of the New York Times bestseller list, an almost unprecedented single-author trifecta, and the film adaptation became Hollywood's highest grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. Kevin’s latest novel, Sex & Vanity, was published in June 2020 and became an instant New York Times bestseller. In 2018, Kevin was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Recorded November 20, 2020.Show Notes4:03 KK talks about his path to success and how he would advise young Asians wanting to pursue a creative career10:11 KK talks about his childhood and how to parent for creativity13:53 KK on the cultural difference between Asians from Asia and Asian Americans17: 21 KK on how the current wave of wealthy émigrés from China are influencing the Asian American zeitgeist20: 30 KK on the phenomenon of “international Asians”22:56 KK on the spirit of enterprise in the new Asia and what powers the drive to achieve characteristic of so many overseas Asian communities26:51 KK on connoisseurship in Asia30:57 KK on how Asia will define the new modern36:23 KK on world cities across the globe, what drives their rise and fall, and life in LA vs. NY vs. Singapore vs. HK42:21 KK on the process behind his new novel, Sex and Vanity46:03 KK on his upcoming television and film projects and the process of taking his stories from print to film 48:03 KK on how he feels about the Crazy Rich Asians movie52:45 KK on what inspires him54:46 KK on how Asia fared so much better than the West in its response to COVID 57:47 KK on what he’s looking forward to doing post-COVID Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.