Hi, I am Sunny Istar Lee, founder and creator of Money Master Kids. It’s great connecting with you.

Growing up in a small town in South Korea, I watched my parents work hard everyday. But they barely met our basic needs. Being poor was not fun at all and was very inconvenient especially as a young child. I remember deciding to be financially independent early on. I began working at age 7 to earn money. My main job was to clean the toilet and kitchen. I saved every penny and felt very proud. Later I learned  investing in different assets and began my  financial journey.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO WRITE YOUR BOOK? 

“When I become a mother, I will help my kids about money early,” I often thought to myself as a child. Fortunately, this aspiration came true when I became a mother to my twins Jason and Matthew. I taught them about the basic financial concepts when they were two years old. I gave them work to do at home and helped them to save their money. It led me to create the Seven Habit System I used for them over many years and also became a framework and inspiration for my book.

With the confidence and momentum I gained along the way, I published  Is Your Child a Money Master or a Money Monster? in 2016. Thankfully my message was well received in my community, and the local media such as LA Magazine and CBS News reached out to me. One thing led to another, later in 2016 I was invited to speak at many events and media outlets.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SPEAKING EXPERIENCE?

With no hesitation, that would be the 2017 MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) Annual Event in Orlando, Florida.

I spoke to more than 14,000 financial professionals from all over the world! At first it was intimidating but thankfully it went well. What was more encouraging to me was the people who came after my speech. They offered to translate my book into their languages to teach to their clients and children there.  Some of them also became a volunteer to MMK.  Thanks to their vision and support, now my book is translated into multiple languages. In 2017, we created a global team together and have taught over 30,000 students worldwide. The power of working and believing created these new realities beyond my wildest dreams.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

Money Master Kids is a small organization with the BIG heart for children. In early 2020, I created two signature programs MMK BASIC and MMK ADVANCED available in 4 different languages. Despite of the COVID-19 breakout, we were able to teach thousands of students around the world through these online programs. When I first started, it was just me and my kids. Now we have a group of dedicated volunteers who work on our mission to educate 1 billion children about money.  We believe that together we can make a meaningful difference in children’s overall financial life.