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John Paul DeJoria

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John Paul DeJoria
DeJoria in 2017
Born
John Paul Jones DeJoria

(1944-04-13) April 13, 1944 (age 80)
Los Angeles, California, US
Years active1980–present
Known forJohn Paul Mitchell Systems
Spouse
​
(m. 1993)​
[1]
Children4, including Alexis

John Paul Jones DeJoria (born April 13, 1944) 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

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John Paul Jones DeJoria[5] was born the second son of an Italian immigrant father and a Greek immigrant mother[6] on April 13, 1944[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

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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 insurance salesman.[13][14]

DeJoria entered the world of hair care as an entry-level employee of Redken Laboratories. He was fired from this position. In 1980, he formed John Paul Mitchell Systems[15] with hairdresser Paul Mitchell and a loan for $700[8] and while living in a 20-year-old Rolls-Royce automobile.[14]

DeJoria co-founded the Patrón Spirits Company in 1989,[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 2008, 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 2008 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 2011. He appeared on the November 1, 2013, broadcast of the ABC reality series Shark Tank as a guest investor, replacing series regular Robert Herjavec. With a 2017 net worth of US$3.1 billion, he is the 3rd richest "shark" of all time on the show, behind series regular Mark Cuban (2017 net worth: US $3.3 billion) and fellow "guest shark" Sir Richard Branson (2017 net worth: US $5.1 billion).[21]

In 2018, DeJoria co-founded ROKiT Group alongside business partner Jonathan Kendrick.[22][23] Since their start in 2018, DeJoria and Kendrick have expanded ROKiT Group, creating brands such as ROKiT Phones, ROKiT Telemedicine, ROKiT Drinks, and more.[24][25][26]

Patrón Tequila

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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 1989 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 2018, he sold Patrón Tequila to Bacardi.[30]

Patrón Tequila Express

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The Patrón Tequila Express private railroad car is owned by DeJoria.

DeJoria owns the Patrón Tequila Express, a historic private railroad car.[31][32][33] It was built in 1927, and was previously used by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad as Car No. 50.[31] DeJoria bought the train car in 1996 and spent $2 million to renovate it.[32][33] The train car is 85 feet (25.91 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 $10,000 a month to staff, maintain, store, and insure the Patrón Tequila Express.[32][33]

Personal life

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DeJoria has married four times.[34] He married his current and fourth wife Eloise Broady DeJoria in 1993. 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 $4,000 to the political campaigns of Senator Ted Cruz and over $5,000 to Texas Governor Rick 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 2008, DeJoria traveled to sub-Saharan Africa to join Nelson Mandela in his efforts to help feed over 17,000 orphaned children through Food4Africa.[42] In the same year his company Paul Mitchell helped provide over 400,000 life-saving meals for the children.[43] Dejoria is a co-creator of Grow Appalachia, an organization begun in 2009 which helps promote healthy food and teaching farming skills.[14][44]

In 2017, 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 2012, 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 2022 The Captain Paul Watson Foundation announced their first ship, the 'John Paul Dejoria II'.[47][48]

In 2018, 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 2019, he purchased the 80-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 2022, he pledged £20,000 to save the 19th century frigate HMS Unicorn, one of the oldest surviving ships in the world.[50]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Mesinger, Maxine (1993-06-15). "A wedding to remember". The Houston Chronicle.
  2. ^ "John Paul Dejoria: From Homeless Single Father to 2.7 Billion in Net Worth". Selfmade Eyewear. 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ Ioannou, Lori (December 15, 2017). "John Paul DeJoria went from homeless to billionaire by following 3 simple rules". CNBC.
  4. ^ Elkins, Kathleen (December 9, 2015). "Billionaire John Paul DeJoria says the smartest thing he's ever done with his money is a habit he started at age 6". BusinessInsider.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  5. ^ Palmeri, Christopher (1991-03-04). "Often Down but Never Out". Forbes. Vol. 147, no. 5. p. 138. ISSN 0015-6914. OCLC 6465733.
  6. ^ Romero, Dennis (10 June 2009). "Homelessness, Hair Care and 12,000 Bottles of Tequila". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  7. ^ Gilbert, Jeffrey (2003-04-14). "'Hairdressers and Harleys care' Bikers' benefit roars through Austin". Austin American-Statesman. p. B1.
  8. ^ a b c Breyer, R. Michelle (1997-12-07). "HOMECOMING; John Paul DeJoria, chairman of the Paul Mitchell". Austin American-Statesman. p. J1.
  9. ^ Krier, Beth Ann (1991-12-20). "You can go from absolute zero to millions, says hair-care mogul John Paul Jones De Joria. He's got the business and the toys to prove it. Top of the Line". Los Angeles Times. p. E1.
  10. ^ Bernard, Bailey S. (April 1, 2012). "The Robb Reader: John Paul DeJoria". Robb Report.
  11. ^ a b Gill, Oliver (October 12, 2024). "From foster home to billionaire: the man who made a fortune from shampoo and tequila". The Sunday Times.
  12. ^ Sciacca, Patrick (February 2015). "One With The Water". Yachting: 36.
  13. ^ Wilson, Jeff (1999-06-29). "Battling Bogus Hair Products; Paul Mitchell's chairman fights to wipe". Austin American-Statesman. p. D1.
  14. ^ a b c d Bertoni, Steven (June 29, 2011). "A Billionaire's Agricultural Giving Plan". Forbes.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  15. ^ "John Paul Mitchell Systems". paulmitchell.com.
  16. ^ Nelson, Brett (26 May 2011). "America's Richest Living Veterans". Forbes.com. p. 2. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012.
  17. ^ "Who is DeJoria?". dejoria.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  18. ^ "Jacobs buys back more Genmar assets". BoatingIndustry.com. Minneapolis. January 22, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  19. ^ Francis, Eileen (July 7, 2018). "Beauty TV Accessible to TiVo Subscribers; Network Readies Brand for Sale". The Rose Sheet: 6.
  20. ^ "John Paul DeJoria". IMDb. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  21. ^ Malankar, Nikhil (2017-03-27). "Shark Tank: Net Worth Of All Sharks On The Show Till Date". Tell Me Nothing. Archived from the original on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  22. ^ "GROUP". ROKiT GROUP. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  23. ^ "ROKiT | Jonathan Kendrick". Jonathan Kendrick Entrepreneur | Jonathan Kendrick. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  24. ^ "ROKiT Telecommunications | Affordable Phones | ROKiT Phones". rokitphones.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  25. ^ "Virtual Medical Consultation | About | ROKiT Telemedicine". rokittelemedicine.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  26. ^ "ROKiT Drinks". rokitdrinks.com. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  27. ^ Tequila.net. "7 Leguas Tequila Blanco - Tequila Reviews at TEQUILA.net". Tequila.net. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  28. ^ Mark Spivak (6 November 2012). Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History. Lyons Press. pp. 161–163. ISBN 978-0-7627-8991-7.
  29. ^ Jr, Tom Huddleston (2023-10-25). "He knew 'nothing' about selling alcohol when he launched Patrón—then he sold it for $5.1 billion". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  30. ^ Peebles, Angelica (2018-01-22). "Bacardi is buying Patron in deal that values the tequila company at $5.1 billion". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  31. ^ a b c Newman, Liz (July 25, 2016). "7 Things You Didn't Know About The Patrón Tequila Express". The Patrón Spirits Company. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  32. ^ a b c d Keates, Nancy (March 22, 2018). "Train Buffs Are Traveling Cross-Country in Super Luxe Railcars Hitched to Amtrak Trains". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  33. ^ a b c d Curtis, Wayne (March 26, 2012). "All Aboard Patron Billionaire John Paul DeJoria's Golden-Era Railcar". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  34. ^ "John Paul DeJoria: Finding true love in 4th marriage". YouTube.
  35. ^ "DeJoria earned billionaire title on empire of hair products, premium tequila".
  36. ^ "John Paul DeJoria: I was homeless and sleeping in car". YouTube.
  37. ^ "Earles Court tower fundraising underway". 5 July 2014.
  38. ^ "DEJORia's TOUGHNESS DRIVES HER IN ADVERSITY | Competition Plus". 16 March 2017.
  39. ^ "Eloise Dejoria - 1010 Park Place". 28 October 2014.
  40. ^ "Donor Lookup: John DeJoria". OpenSecrets. 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  41. ^ "Donor Lookup: Eloise DeJoria". OpenSecrets. 2016. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  42. ^ "Eloise and John Paul DeJoria – Paul Mitchell". Texas Cultural Trust. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  43. ^ "John Paul DeJoria Supports Food4Africa". EsteticaMagazine.com. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
  44. ^ "Home". Grow Appalachia.
  45. ^ Daswani, Kavita (July 2017). "John Paul DeJoria, billionaire co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair-care brand, shares his 'Good Fortune' and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  46. ^ Big Think (July 30, 2017). "How I Overcame Homelessness Twice to Become a Billionaire - John Paul DeJoria". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved June 9, 2019 – via YouTube.
  47. ^ "Nonprofit | Captain Paul Watson Foundation". CPWF.
  48. ^ "Eco-warrior Paul Watson, Scourge of Whalers, Returns to the Seas". 24 November 2022.
  49. ^ "John Paul DeJoria buys Former McDonald's HQ Site". Smart Business Dealmakers. 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2020-04-03.
  50. ^ Loudon, Calum (2022-11-03). "US billionaire donates cash to help save historic Dundee ship". STV News. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
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