John Paul Jones DeJoria, an American businessman, self-made millionaire, and philanthropist, was born on April 13, 1944. He is best known for co-founding The Patrón Spirits Company and the Paul Mitchell hair care line. DeJoria's transformation from a homeless person to a successful businessman has led to him being hailed as a living illustration of the American Dream.
Early Life & Education
On April 13, 1944, in the Los Angeles, California, neighbourhood of Echo Park, the second child of an Italian immigrant father and a Greek immigrant mother was born, John Paul Jones DeJoria. Before he turned two, his parents got divorced. When his single mother was unable to care for both of them, they were placed in a foster home in East Los Angeles, where they remained for a week until he turned nine and was reunited with his mother. At age nine, he started working alongside his older brother to sell Christmas cards and newspapers to help support his family.
Career
DeJoria served on the USS Hornet for two years while in the US Navy. Following that, he worked as a caretaker, door-to-door encyclopaedia salesperson, and insurance salesman, among other positions. DeJoria began her career in the hair care industry as a Redken Laboratories entry-level employee. He got let go from this job. He founded John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980 while residing in a 20-year-old Rolls-Royce and with the help of hairstylist Paul Mitchell and a $700 loan.
DeJoria co-founded the Patrón Spirits Company in 1989, is a founding partner of the House of Blues nightclub chain, and has stakes in a number of businesses, including Diamond Audio, a Harley-Davidson dealership, Pyrat Rum, Smokey Mountain Bison Farm, llc, Ultimat Vodka, Solar Utility, Sun King Solar, Touchstone Natural Gas, Three Star Energy, Madagascar Oil Ltd., and the John Paul Pet Company, which provides hair and personal grooming for pets DeJoria joined the advisory board of the online television channel The Beauty Channel in 2008, which focuses on beauty and fashion.
DeJoria has worked in the film industry as both an actor and an executive producer. He appeared in two cameo roles, one as himself and the other as the fictitious John Paul Mitchell, in the 2008 comedy You Don't Mess with the Zohan. DeJoria also had a brief appearance in season two of the Weeds television show on Showtime. In November 2011, he voiced and made an appearance in television advertisements for Patron. He replaced series regular Robert Herjavec as a guest investor on the ABC reality series Shark Tank's November 1, 2013, airing. He is the third-richest "shark" of all time on the programme, trailing only series regular Mark Cuban (2017 net worth: US $3.3 billion) and fellow cast member.
Personal life And More
DeJoria has a spouse. He and his wife, Eloise (née Broady), have given more than $4,000 and $5,000, respectively, to the political campaigns of Texas Governor Rick Perry and Senator Ted Cruz, as well as to the Democratic National Committee and several Democratic candidates. DeJoria backs Mineseeker, Blazer House, Food4Africa, Mobile Loaves & Fishes, and. DeJoria visited sub-Saharan Africa in 2008 to assist Nelson Mandela in his mission to provide food for more than 17,000 orphaned children through Food4Africa.[Reference required] The same year, his business Paul Mitchell contributed to the provision of almost 400,000 meals that saved the children's lives. Dejoria is a co-founder of Grow Appalachia, a business established in 2009 that aids in promoting wholesome food and imparting farming knowledge.
A documentary on DeJoria's struggles and charitable activities, titled Good Fortune, was released in 2017. It went on to win Sundance's Audience Award for Best Documentary. When Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was jailed in Germany for interfering with shark finning activities in 2012, he supported Watson by supporting him in a video. The 'John Paul Dejoria,' the first vessel owned by The Captain Paul Watson Foundation, was revealed in December 2022.
He acquired the former McDonald's global headquarters campus, which covers 80 acres (32 ha), in 2019. In addition to The Hyatt Lodge, a hotel with a Hyatt name and maintained by Hyatt, this transaction also contains the training centre for Hamburger University. He promised to donate £20,000 in 2022 to help save the HMS Unicorn, one of the oldest ships still in existence.