John dejoria biography

American businessman

John Paul Jones DeJoria (born April 13, ) is an American entrepreneur, self-made billionaire,^[2][3][4] and philanthropist best known as a co-founder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair products and The Patrón Spirits Company. DeJoria has been described as a living example of the American Dream due to his rise from homelessness to success in business.

Early life and education

John Paul Jones DeJoria^[5] was born the second son of an Italian immigrant father and a Greek immigrant mother^[6] on April 13, ^[7] in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His parents divorced by the time he was two years old. When his single mother proved unable to support both children, they were sent to an East Los Angeles foster home and stayed there during the week until he was nine and returned to his mother.^[8][9] At nine, he began selling Christmas cards and newspapers with his older brother to support his family.^[10] He was educated at John Marshall High School in Los Angeles.^[11]

Career

DeJoria spent two years in the United States Navy,^[8] serving on the USS Hornet.^[12] After that, he held a series of jobs including janitor, door-to-door encyclopedia salesman, and insurancesalesman.^[13][14]

DeJoria entered the world of hair care as an entry-level employee of Redken Laboratories. He was fired from this position. In , he formed John Paul Mitchell Systems^[15] with hairdresserPaul Mitchell and a loan for $^[8] and while living in a year-old Rolls-Royce automobile.^[14]

DeJoria co-founded the Patrón Spirits Company in ,^[16] is a founding partner of the House of Blues nightclub chain, and has interests in Madagascar Oil Ltd., Pyrat Rum, Smokey Mountain Bison Farm, llc, Ultimat Vodka, Solar Utility, Sun King Solar, Touchstone Natural Gas, Three Star Energy, Diamond Audio, a Harley-Davidson dealership, a diamond company (DeJoria),^[17] mobile technology developer ROK AMERICAS, the John Paul Pet Company which does hair and personal grooming for animals, and J&D Acquisitions LLC, the parent company for the Larson, Striper, Triumph, Marquis and Carver boat companies formed with Minneapolis-based investor Irwin L. Jacobs.^[18] In , DeJoria became an advisory board member for The Beauty Channel; a streaming beauty and fashion-focused television station.^[19]

DeJoria has been active in the film industry as an executive producer and actor.^[20] He made a cameo appearance as himself, in the comedy You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and also in The Big Tease as the fictional John Paul Mitchell. DeJoria also made a cameo appearance in the Showtime series Weeds season 2. He narrated and appeared in television commercials for Patron in November He appeared on the November 1, , broadcast of the ABC reality series Shark Tank as a guest investor, replacing series regular Robert Herjavec. With a net worth of US$ billion, he is the 3rd richest "shark" of all time on the show, behind series regular Mark Cuban ( net worth: US $ billion) and fellow "guest shark" Sir Richard Branson ( net worth: US $ billion).^[21]

In , DeJoria co-founded ROKiT Group alongside business partner Jonathan Kendrick.^[22][23] Since their start in , DeJoria and Kendrick have expanded ROKiT Group, creating brands such as ROKiT Phones, ROKiT Telemedicine, ROKiT Drinks, and more.^[24][25][26]

Patrón Tequila

The original Patrón Tequila was produced by Casa 7 Leguas, one of the oldest Mexican distilleries;^[27] DeJoria and Martin Crowley purchased the brand rights in via their St. Maarten Spirits company.^[28] He was not a tequila expert, but fell for the quality of Casa 7's tequila. He launched the sale in the US in the ultra premium category, distributing it to restaurants and friends to make the launch more exclusive and driven by word-of-mouth.^[29] In , he sold Patrón Tequila to Bacardi.^[30]

Patrón Tequila Express

DeJoria owns the Patrón Tequila Express, a historic private railroad car.^[31][32][33] It was built in , and was previously used by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad as Car No. ^[31] DeJoria bought the train car in and spent $2 million to renovate it.^[32][33] The train car is 85 feet (&#;m) long and contains three staterooms (each with a bathroom and shower), a kitchen, a dining room, an observation lounge, and an outdoor observation platform.^[31][32][33] In addition to the mileage fees paid to Amtrak to transport the train car across the United States, it costs $10, a month to staff, maintain, store, and insure the Patrón Tequila Express.^[32][33]

Personal life

DeJoria has married four times.^[34] He married his current and fourth wife Eloise Broady DeJoria in They have one child, John Anthony.^[35] He also has three children from previous relationships, John Paul II (or Jr.),^[36]Alexis Jones (with former wife Jamie Briggs),^[37][38] and Michaeline. He also has two stepchildren from Eloise's previous relationship, Michael and Justin Harvey.^[39]

The DeJorias have contributed over $4, to the political campaigns of Senator Ted Cruz and over $5, to Texas GovernorRick Perry, among others, as well as to the Democratic National Committee and many Democratic political candidates.^[40][41]

DeJoria is a supporter of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Food4Africa, Mineseeker, and Blazer House.^[14] In , DeJoria traveled to sub-Saharan Africa to join Nelson Mandela in his efforts to help feed over 17, orphaned children through Food4Africa.^[42] In the same year his company Paul Mitchell helped provide over , life-saving meals for the children.^[43] Dejoria is a co-creator of Grow Appalachia, an organization begun in which helps promote healthy food and teaching farming skills.^[14][44]

In , a documentary named Good Fortune was released depicting the struggle and philanthropic work of DeJoria which later won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Sundance.^[45]

In , using a video, he showed his support for Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, when Watson was detained in Germany for interfering with shark finning operations.^[46] In December The Captain Paul Watson Foundation announced their first ship, the 'John Paul Dejoria II'.^[47][48]

In , when DeJoria finalized the purchase of Taymouth Castle, he paid £10 million to his lawyer, Stephen Jones, for the transaction. However, Jones absconded with the funds, leaving DeJoria and his fellow investors to pay for the property a second time. Seeking restitution, DeJoria eventually got Jones's professional indemnity insurers, Axis Specialty, to pay him $7 million via a Court of Appeal order, and Jones receiving prison sentence.^[11]

In , he purchased the acre (32&#;ha) former McDonald's global headquarters campus. This acquisition includes the Hamburger University training facility, in addition to the Hyatt-branded and managed hotel, The Hyatt Lodge.^[49]

In , he pledged £20, to save the 19th century frigate HMS Unicorn, one of the oldest surviving ships in the world.^[50]

See also

References

External links