Ariel Zev Emanuel is an American businessman and the CEO of Endeavor, an entertainment and media agency that owns the UFC.
Born March 29, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Emanuel is the son of Dr. Benjamin M. Emanuel, a pediatrician and civil rights activist Marsha Smulevitz Emanuel. He is the brother of former Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel, American oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel J. Emanuel, and sister Shoshana Emanuel.
Ari was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia during his third grade at school. In addition to school, his mother spent many hours helping him to learn to read. She hired tutors and private instructors to give him private reading lessons at home.
In 1987, Emanuel moved to Los Angeles and launched his career in the entertainment industry where he completed a mailroom training program at the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), in his first role within an agency.
He was a founding partner of the Endeavor Talent Agency and was instrumental in shaping its June 2009 merger with the William Morris Agency.
Prior to founding Endeavor, Emanuel was a partner at InterTalent and senior agent at ICM Partners (ICM).
In 2011, Emanuel co-founded TheAudience with Sean Parker and Oliver Luckett.
Emanuel has served as a member of Live Nation Entertainment board of directors since September 2007.
Endeavor went public in 2021 with Emanuel owning a stake worth around $480 million according to Bloomberg.
In 1996, Ari Emanuel married his girlfriend Sarah Hardwick Addington; they have three sons. After 20 years of marriage, Emanuel filed for divorce at Los Angeles County Court, citing “irreconcilable differences”.
In May 2022, he married fashion designer Sarah Staudinger, founder of the Los Angeles label STAUD.