You can’t write a list of the top 5 media/telecommunications business moguls in the United States without including John Malone, aka The Cable Cowboy. John Malone is the man who for more than two decades served as CEO of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), a cable network that served many Americans at the time. He quickly became one of the most influential men in media, leading landmark mergers, branching out into other areas and buying properties as he went. He now owns Liberty Media, Liberty Global, Qurate Retail Group, among others. Here’s what you need to know about him.
Who is Liberty Media’s John Malone?
The name John Malone would not immediately call oneBut he is a man whose service you have surely used and whose cable television channel you have surely watched. The Discovery Channel, Lionsgate Entertainment, Sirius XM Radio to name a few are among its services.
How is Malone doing today? result of pure brilliance and of course hard work. John Malone was born on March 7, 1941 in Milford, Connecticut to Irish parents. His father, Danel L. Malone, worked as an engineer at General Electric. His mother, whom Malone remembers as a somewhat reserved woman, was a swimmer who later took a job as a teacher.
As a boy, Malone attended Hopkins School, a private preparatory college. At school located in New Haven, Connecticut, Malone became a three-letter athlete playing football, running the track, and fencing. After graduating in 1959, Malone attended another reputable school, Yale University in Connecticut. There he followed in his father’s footsteps by studying electrical engineering and economics.
Four years later, in 1963, Malone graduated with a bachelor’s degree and was a National Merit Scholar. Although Malone began his career later that same year, he would later return to school to earn more degrees. In 1964, he earned a master’s degree in industrial management from Johns Hopkins University. The following year, he undertook another master’s degree, this time in electrical engineering, from a New York University program at Bell Telephone Laboratories, where he had begun his career in 1963.
A few years later, in 1967, John Malone obtained a doctorate. in Johns Hopkins Operations Research.
Bell Telephone Laboratories, named after famous telephone inventor Grham Bell, gave Malone his start. He has worked in economic planning and research and development.
Five years later and with two master’s and doctoral degrees in hand, Malone was hired in 1968 by one of New York’s largest consulting firms, McKinsey & Co. Over the next two years, he consulted for large companies such as General Electric and IBM.
Malone joined general minicomputer producer Instruments in 1970 and in no time was at the helm of one of its subsidiaries called Jerrold Electronics. In Jerrold, Malone would meet a certain Bob J. Magness, founder of Télé Télécommunications Inc. (TCI). In 1993, when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, Magness enlisted the services of John Malone, who as CEO was able to save the company from over $130 million in debt and increase the number of its subscribers from 400,000 to more than 8 million.
After an eventual landmark merger between TCI and Bell Atlantic failed in 1993, Malone would spearhead the sale of TCI to AT&T for $48 million. John Malone would then become the chairman of Liberty Media, a separate subsidiary of publicly traded TCI.
Malone succeeded in building the company into a media behemoth and now owns the majority of the company’s stock. He also owns a majority stake in Liberty Global, an international telecommunications and television company created in 2005 following a merger between the international branch of Liberty Media and United Global Com. Malone also owns the majority voting shares of Qurate Retail Group (formerly Liberty Interactive), a media conglomerate.
Net value
John Malone is a billionaire with a net worth that was close to $8 billion in 2018. Most of his wealth is tied to the sale of proceeds from his stakes in his various businesses as well as real estate. In June 2017, Liberty Media reported annual revenue of $18 billion.
He owns properties in Ireland worth at least 150 USD.million. Malone owns more than 500,000 hotels and family accommodations in the United States. His interests extend to sports. In 2008, Liberty Media acquired MLB team Atlanta Braves, which is now the subject of a separate transaction under the name Braves Group. In January 2017, he paid $4.6 billion to become the owner of Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula 1 group.
Family
John Malone is married to Leslie Ann Malone (née Evans) whom he met through his sister when she was just 15 years old. They married in 1963 and have been together ever since. Leslie right after graduating from high school worked as a secretary at the Milford Police Department. She is a horse enthusiast and is skilled in dressage. Leslie is the founder of Harmony Sporthorses in Kiowa, Colorado.
Malone and his wife share two children, a son named Evan and a daughter named Tracey. Evan followed in his father’s footsteps to become an engineering consultant. Like his father, he holds a doctorate and has served as a director of several Liberty Media subsidiaries. He owns 1525 South Street LLC, a real estate and property management company. Evan helped found Jet Wine Bar, LLC and Rex 1516 restaurant in Philadelphia.
other facts
1. John Malone, despite being one of the most influential men in media, ironically keeps no televisions in his office.
2. Malone is America’s largest landowner surpassing Ted Turner. He owns over 2 million acres of land spread across at least 9 US states.
3. Malone’s media portfolio includes the Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel and Scripps Network Interactive. He bought the latter in July 2017 for over $14 billion.
4. He owns about 10% of the capital of the British television channel ITV.
5 John Malone donated 8 figurines to all the schools he attended to fund various projects. The largest donation to date is $60 million offered to the Hopkins School to fund two new buildings.
6. Malone donated $250,000 for Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017.