Jump to content

John C. Malone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromJohn Malone)
"John Malone" redirects here. For other uses, seeJohn Malone (disambiguation).

John Malone
Born
John Carl Malone

(1941-03-07)March 7, 1941(age 83)
Milford, Connecticut,U.S.
EducationYale University(BA)
New York University(MS)
Johns Hopkins University(MS,PhD)
OccupationBusinessman
TitleChairman ofLiberty Media,Liberty Global,andQurate Retail Group
SpouseLeslie Malone
Children2

John Carl Malone(born March 7, 1941) is an Americanbillionairebusinessman, landowner, and philanthropist. He waschief executive officer(CEO) ofTele-Communications Inc.(TCI), a cable and media giant, for twenty-four years from 1973 to 1996. Malone is now chairman and largest voting shareholder ofLiberty Media,Liberty Global,andQurate Retail Group(formerly known as Liberty Interactive), and also owns 7% ofLionsgateandStarz Inc.[1][2][3][4]He was interim CEO of Liberty Media, until succeeded by formerMicrosoftandOracleCFOGreg Maffei.

Malone is ranked as the second largest private landowner in the United States, possessing 2.2 million acres (3,437 square miles), which is more than twice the size ofRhode Island.According toThe Land Report'sannual rankings, Malone ranked as the largest landowner in America from 2011 to 2021.[5]

Early life and education

[edit]

John C. Malone was born on March 7, 1941, inMilford, Connecticut.[6][7]His father was Daniel L. Malone, an engineer.[8]Malone is of Irish heritage, his family originating in County Cork.[9][10][11]Malone is a Catholic.[12]

In 1959, Malone graduated fromHopkins SchoolinNew Haven,Connecticut.In 1963, he graduated fromYale Universitywith a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and economics,[13]where he was aPhi Beta KappaandNational Merit scholar.In 1964, Malone graduated fromJohns Hopkins Universitywith a master's degree in industrial management.[13]He received a master's in electrical engineering at an NYU program at Bell Labs in 1965 before receiving his PhD inoperations researchat Johns Hopkins in 1967.[14]

Business career

[edit]

In 1963, Malone began his business career atBell Telephone LaboratoriesofAT&T,working in economic planning and research and development. In 1968, he joinedMcKinsey & Company,and in 1970, became group vice president atGeneral Instrument Corporation(GI). He was later president ofJerrold Electronics,a GI subsidiary. For twenty-four years, from 1973 to 1996, Malone served as president and CEO ofTele-Communications Inc.(TCI).[13]

Malone is on the boards of directors forBank of New York Mellon,Expedia,Charter Communications,Warner Bros. Discovery,andLions Gate Entertainment Corp.[15][16]Malone is chairman emeritus ofCable Television Laboratories, Inc.and chairman ofLiberty Global,Inc., and formerly theDirecTV Group.[14]His rise to chairman atLiberty Globalwas contentious at times.

In 2005, Malone held 32 percent of the shares in the media companyNews Corporation,and although only about half were voting shares,Rupert Murdochreportedly had concerns that he might lose control of his company to Malone, and tried to oust him from the firm with a "poison pill"strategy.[17]He was director of theNational Cable & Telecommunications Association(NCTA) from 1974 to 1977, and again from 1980 to 1993. During the 1977–1978 term, Malone was the NCTA's treasurer.[14]

In 1992, Malone coined the term500-channel universeto describe a future media environment where a vast number ofTV channelswould be available, by eliminating the need for broadcast radio channels as ascarce resource.[18]

In business dealings Malone has been dubbed "Darth Vader", a nickname allegedly given to him byAl Gorewhen Malone was the head of TCI.[19]

In 1994,Wiredportrayed Malone on their cover as "Mad Max" fromThe Road Warrior(also known asMad Max 2), with an interview describing his battles with the FCC.[20]He is also known as the "Cable Cowboy".[21]

Bloomberg estimated him to be worth overUS$9billionin May 2021.[22]

Land ownership

[edit]

Malone ownsSilver Spur Ranches,a ranching and beef company which includes the Silver Spur Ranch inEncampment, Wyoming,Bell Ranchand the TO Ranch inNew Mexico,Bridlewood Farm, a thoroughbred breeding, training and racing operation in Ocala, Florida; as well as ranches inWalden, Colorado,andKiowa, Colorado.[7][23]His international real estate holdings includeHumewood Castle[24]andCastlemartin House and Estate,both in Ireland.

As of 1 February 2011,he surpassedTed Turneras the largest individual private landowner in the US, owning 2,200,000 acres (8,900 km2) of land, much of which is inMaine,Colorado,New Mexico,andWyoming.[25]Malone held the top spot as America's largest landowner for 10 years, according to the 2022 The Land Report's ranking of the top 100 U.S. landowners. In 2021, the ranking listed Malone as the second largest landowner behind theEmmerson Family.[26]

Philanthropy

[edit]

In 2000, Malone gave $24 million to theYale School of Engineering & Applied Sciencein New Haven for the construction ofYale's Daniel L. Malone Engineering Center, named in honor of his father.[8]

In 2011, Malone gave theJohns HopkinsWhiting School of Engineeringin Baltimore its largest gift ever of $30 million for a new building onHomewood Campus.[13]The building will be named Malone Hall.[27]

In the same year, he gave the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science's largest gift ever of $50 million.[8]

Malone has also given $60 million toHopkins Schoolin New Haven to fund the construction of two new buildings, Malone Science Center, named for his father, as well as Heath Commons, named after his favorite Hopkins teacher.

In 2014, Malone and his wife donated $42.5 million toColorado State Universityto help create their Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies, which aims to develop stem cell and other treatments for animals and people. Of the donation, $32.5 million will pay for half the construction costs and $10 million will go to operational expenses.[28]

In 2021, the Malones donated $25 million to Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, for the hospital’s $534 million capital improvement project. Maine Medical Center will name a new tower for cardiac and vascular services the Malone Family Tower; Leslie Malone recently received cardiac care at the hospital.[29]

Malone Scholars Program

[edit]

In 1997, he established the Malone Family Foundation, which operates the Malone Scholars Program that provides scholarship endowments to certain private schools throughout the United States.[30]

Personal life

[edit]

Malone is married to Leslie, they have two children and live inElizabeth, Colorado.[31][32]His wife is active indressageand horse breeding and she founded Harmony Sporthorses inKiowa, Colorado.[33]In 2008, their son Evan D. Malone joined the board ofLiberty Media.[34][35]Malone reportedly shuns the limelight and glamorous lifestyle, taking his family vacations alongside long-time friend Gary Biskup in arecreational vehicle.[36][37]His native Colorado named Malone a "Citizen of the West" in 2016.[38][39]

Malone's political beliefs have been described aslibertarian.[40]He is on the board of directors for theCato Institute.He donated US$250,000 toDonald Trump.He also expressed support forMichael Bloombergin the2020 United States presidential election.[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Andreeva, Nellie (March 14, 2016)."CBS Mulling Acquisition Of Pay Cable Network Starz".
  2. ^Littleton, Cynthia (March 15, 2016)."John Malone: 'Cable Cowboy' Faces the Test in Rounding Up the Right Mix of Assets".Variety.
  3. ^Busch, David Lieberman, Anita (November 10, 2015)."Lionsgate Strengthens Ties To John Malone: Liberty Global Buy Stakes".{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^Williams, Christopher (November 22, 2015)."John Malone: the mystery method behind a media empire".Daily Telegraph.
  5. ^"The Land Report 2022.4 Page 118".editions.mydigitalpublication.RetrievedSeptember 27,2023.
  6. ^"Gift from alumnus John Malone to fund engineering building".Yale Bulletin & Calendar. Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2009.RetrievedNovember 5,2011.
  7. ^abJeff Hull,Meet the largest landowner in America,Fortune,September 27, 2012
  8. ^abc"SEAS nets $50 million donation".Yale Daily News.Archived fromthe originalon May 30, 2011.RetrievedNovember 4,2011.
  9. ^Patrick Counihan (December 27, 2012)."Irish American John Malone pays $10million for luxury Irish estate".IrishCentral.
  10. ^Peter Flanagan (December 22, 2014)."US mogul John Malone buys up former Tony O'Reilly estate Castlemartin for €28m".Irish Independent.
  11. ^Kim Bielenberg (April 5, 2014)."Homecoming of two million acre man John C Malone".Irish Independent.
  12. ^Catholic Online (October 13, 2011)."Who is America's largest landowner?".Catholic Online.
  13. ^abcdGmbH, finanzen net."Sirius XM's $3.5 billion Pandora deal is a bet on the future of streaming — here's how its largest shareholder, 'cable cowboy' John Malone, came to be worth $9 billion | Markets Insider".markets.businessinsider.RetrievedApril 14,2020.
  14. ^abc"Company Overview -–Management".Liberty Media.RetrievedFebruary 9,2014.
  15. ^"Leadership: Dr. John C. Malone".Discovery.Discovery, Inc.RetrievedNovember 22,2019.
  16. ^Kochan, Nick(2005). "Chapter 2 BoNYGate".The Washing Machine: How Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Soils Us.Mason, Ohio:Cengage Learning.ISBN9781587991592.
  17. ^Trefgarne, George (August 26, 2005)."Murdoch's son sees pay doubled ahead of exit".The Daily Telegraph.London.
  18. ^"Editorial: Going a la carte is right for cable. | Goliath Business News".June 15, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2011.RetrievedDecember 18,2019.
  19. ^Mark Lewis (July 11, 2001)."Cable's Darth Vader Is Back".Forbes.RetrievedFebruary 11,2009.
  20. ^Kline, David (July 1994)."Infobahn Warrior".Wired.RetrievedNovember 14,2010.
  21. ^Graham Rapier (August 10, 2017)."The amazing life of billionaire 'Cable Cowboy' John Malone, the single largest landowner in the US".Business Insider.RetrievedAugust 12,2017.
  22. ^"Bloomberg Billionaires Index: John Malone".Bloomberg.RetrievedMay 19,2021.
  23. ^"Silver Spur Ranches".silverspurranches.RetrievedNovember 11,2017.
  24. ^Flynn, Finbarr (May 21, 2013)."John Malone Buys Irish 'Green Banana' as Castle Prices Fall".Bloomberg.RetrievedMay 21,2013.
  25. ^Stebbins, Samuel (November 25, 2019)."Who owns the most land in America? Jeff Bezos and John Malone are among them".USA Today.RetrievedSeptember 6,2020.
  26. ^"The Land Report 2022.4 Page 118".editions.mydigitalpublication.RetrievedSeptember 27,2023.
  27. ^"Liberty's Malone Makes Largest Gift Ever to Whiting School".Johns Hopkins University.RetrievedNovember 5,2011.
  28. ^"Billionaire John Malone Donates Millions to Colorado State University".CBS Denver. December 29, 2014.RetrievedApril 28,2015.
  29. ^Writer, Joe LawlorStaff (June 15, 2021)."Maine Medical Center receives its largest gift ever, $25 million from Colorado couple".Portland Press Herald.RetrievedMarch 20,2023.
  30. ^"About the Foundation: Who We Are".Malone Family Foundation.RetrievedNovember 4,2011.
  31. ^"Forbes profile: John Malone".Forbes.RetrievedMay 18,2020.
  32. ^"John Malone: The US billionaire buying up Ireland".irishtimes.RetrievedSeptember 30,2018.
  33. ^"Leslie Malone Is Growing U.S. Dressage One Horse And Rider At A Time".chronofhorse.RetrievedSeptember 30,2018.
  34. ^"Evan Malone joins Liberty Media board".Denver Business Journal.August 14, 2008.RetrievedApril 14,2020.
  35. ^Bennett, Laurie."Billionaire Offspring on Boards Can Spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E".forbes.RetrievedSeptember 30,2018.
  36. ^"Darth Vader and the Sun King".The Independent.London. October 1, 2000.RetrievedFebruary 11,2009.
  37. ^"An RV Story... McMansions On Wheels".CampHalfPrice. October 15, 2005.RetrievedFebruary 11,2009.
  38. ^"Colorado philanthropist, cable pioneer John Malone honored as Citizen of the West".The Denver Post.September 22, 2016.RetrievedJune 3,2021.
  39. ^"National Western Stock Show Citizen of the West John Malone known for loyalty, can-do Western spirit".The Denver Post.January 8, 2017.RetrievedJune 3,2021.
  40. ^Littleton, Cynthia (May 18, 2016)."John Malone Talks TV Biz, Presidential Politics and His TCI Regret in Candid Q&A".Variety.
  41. ^Franck, Thomas (November 21, 2019)."Media mogul John Malone says Trump causes 'chaos' and he would vote for Bloomberg in 2020".CNBC.RetrievedFebruary 19,2022.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_C._Malone&oldid=1216683337"