Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

'I've been completely disenchanted.' Billionaire speaks out after attacks on Asian Americans

'I've been completely disenchanted.' Billionaire speaks out after attacks on Asian Americans

Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, is urging America to admit it has a racism problem.

"This unconscious bias and racism is pervasive. It's almost inherent, sadly, in the historic fabric of this country," Soon-Shiong, the founder and executive chairman of biotech company ImmunityBio, told CNN Business in his first public comments about the surge of anti-Asian hostilities. "We have to recognize that, accept it and then break it."

Soon-Shiong, who is of Chinese descent and was born in South Africa, expressed dismay at the recent spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans as well as the racial tensions that fueled the Black Lives Matter movement.

"I came from South Africa, where I saw [racism] growing up. The difference, in a funny way, is that it was Apartheid, but it was Apartheid in the open," said Soon-Shiong, who moved to the United States in 1977. "I thought we were coming to the land of the free. And frankly, I've been completely disenchanted."

The comments make Soon-Shiong one of the highest-profile Asian business leaders to speak out about the recent attacks on Asian Americans. And he urged more Asian Americans to do the same.

"Unfortunately, the Asian culture and mentality is to just suck it up. Do your work. Do your thing. Be quiet," Soon-Shiong said. "I don't think that can happen any longer."

'Lack of empathy'


Soon-Shiong, who graduated from medical school at the age of 23 and whose wealth Forbes pegs at $7.5 billion, made his fortune in part by inventing the blockbuster cancer drug Abraxane. He later bought a stake in the Los Angeles Lakers from Magic Johnson, and then acquired the LA Times and San Diego
Union-Tribune for $500 million in 2018.

Long before he became one of the wealthiest doctors on the planet and the "Barnum of biotech," as Forbes puts it, Soon-Shiong said he experienced discrimination while working as a surgical resident at UCLA in the 1980s.

"One professor from UCLA that had a house next door quite openly said, 'We don't like people like you here.' It was pretty blatant," he said.

Earlier this week, a 65-year-old Asian woman was attacked in broad daylight in Midtown Manhattan in what police are calling a hate crime: "F**k you, you don't belong here, you Asian," the assailant said prior to the attack, according to the criminal complaint.

"The lack of empathy for the human being, whether she's Asian, green, black, blue — that's a human being, a 65-year-old-lady in severe distress," Soon-Shiong said, adding that he found it "heartbreaking" that bystanders did not intervene.

"This country better wake up to this, because it becomes something that this next generation will deal with," he said.

The Trump factor


The heightened racial tensions come in the midst of a once-in-a-century pandemic that originated in China.

Soon-Shiong said former President Donald Trump "absolutely" shares some responsibility for the anti-Asian attacks because he called Covid-19 the "Kung Flu" and the China virus.

"That really didn't help at all," Soon-Shiong said. "It didn't help the Asians, didn't help the Black community, the Latino community. The racism was just flamed."

Soon-Shiong, whose company ImmunityBio is working on a vaccine candidate, said the Biden administration has done a "fantastic" job in rolling out Covid vaccines and successfully encouraging Americans to get shots.

Yet he cautioned that no one knows how long the protection afforded by the vaccines will last and said he's "really concerned" about coronavirus variants that have yet to fully reach US shores.

Next-generation vaccines


Last month, Soon-Shiong completed the merger of two of his biotech companies: NantKWest and ImmunityBio. The newly combined company, now known simply as ImmunityBio, is testing a next-generation vaccine that aims to overcome variants by not just blocking the virus, but killing it completely using T-cells.

Soon-Shiong urged governments to fund the next generation of vaccine research and "face the fact that this pandemic may be ongoing if we don't address it now."

Critically, ImmunityBio's vaccine candidate is an oral capsule that can be stored at room temperature. Phase 1 trials are ongoing in both the United States and South Africa.

"You can mail [the pills] across all of Africa. Now you can vaccinate a billion people," Soon-Shiong said, adding that the treatment could also potentially serve as a universal booster.

Soon-Shiong said his work to help South Africa, and Africa broadly, defeat the pandemic fulfills a promise he made decades ago to eventually return to his home country.

"It's taken me a long time," he said, "but I'm coming back."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
Iran Conducts Ballistic Missile Launches Amid Heightened Tensions with Israel
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Syria to Reconnect to Global Economy After 14 Years of Isolation
Saudi Arabia Faces Uncertainty Over Succession After Mohammed bin Salman
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Majority of French Voters View Macron's Presidency as a Failure
U.S. Reduces Military Presence in Syria
Trump Demands Iran End All Uranium Enrichment in Nuclear Talks
Iran Warns Europe Against Politicizing UN Nuclear Report
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
×