Robert Wood Johnson IV
Encyclopedia
Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV (born April 12, 1947) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I
(co-founder of Johnson & Johnson
), and the owner of the New York Jets
of the National Football League
.
. His father was Robert Wood Johnson III
, president of Johnson & Johnson for four years, and his mother was Betty Wold Johnson. Johnson grew up with four siblings: Keith Johnson, Billy Johnson, Elizabeth "Libet" Johnson, and Christopher Wold Johnson. He graduated from Millbrook School
and the University of Arizona
.
. His family has been affected by both lupus and juvenile diabetes, which motivated Mr. Johnson to take a role in raising funds to prevent, treat, and cure autoimmune diseases. He has led efforts on Capitol Hill and at the National Institutes of Health to increase research funding for lupus, diabetes, and other autoimmune diseases. and personally contributed to causes related to diabetes, after his daughter Casey
was diagnosed with the disease. He also started a research foundation, the Alliance for Lupus Research
, after his daughter Jaime was found to have lupus.
Johnson, purchased the NY Jets for $635 million, the third-highest price for a professional sports team and the most for one in New York. Johnson, who also owns courtside seats to the New York Knicks
, outbid the $612 million offered by Charles F. Dolan, the chairman of Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden
, the Knicks and the Rangers
. The price seemed high for a team with a recent history of game losses, and which finished with a 1-15 record in 1996. The team sold for more than $100 million above what some sports finance analysts had expected. Based on the Jets' recent financial performance and the team's low-revenue lease at Giants Stadium, the analysts said the team was really worth about $250 million.
After buying the Jets, Johnson announced plans to move them to the proposed West Side Stadium
in Manhattan
. However, after the project's defeat in 2005, Johnson announced the Jets would move to a new Meadowlands Stadium
(opening day 10 April 2010) co-owned with the Giants
. Johnson served on the NFL Commissioner search committee in which a list of 185 candidates to succeed Paul Tagliabue
was narrowed down to the final choice of Roger Goodell
.
Johnson is the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Johnson Company, Inc., a private investment firm founded in 1978. In August 2006, Johnson was asked to testify before a Senate panel about his participation in a sham tax shelter. A Senate report said that Johnson, along with a few others, were able to buy, for relatively small fees, roughly $2 billion in capital losses that they used to erase taxable gains they garnered from stock sales. The U.S. Treasury lost an estimated $300 million in revenue as a result. In a statement, Johnson said he had been advised by his lawyers in 2000 that the transaction "was consistent with the Tax Code." But after the Internal Revenue Service challenged that view in 2003, Johnson this year "settled with the IRS and agreed to pay 100 percent of the tax due plus interest."
He was the committee president for Pre-Commissioning Unit for the USS New York (LPD-21)
.
Nancy Sale Johnson. They had three children: Casey
, Jaime, and Daisy, before divorcing in 2001. In early 2010, Casey died of diabetic ketoacidosis.
In 2009, Johnson married Suzanne Ircha Johnson, a former actress and Equities Managing Director at Sandler O'Neill & Partners. They have two children: Robert Wood Johnson V and Jack Wood Johnson.
Johnson has homes in Bedminster Township, New Jersey
and New York.
, by far the largest amount collected up to that point by a campaign that had been struggling to raise money. Johnson also provided significant funding to the Republican National Convention
of 2008 in Minneapolis-St. Paul convention host committee; from a $10 million shortfall, Johnson contributed personally and solicited friends to assist in covering the convention deficit.
Robert Wood Johnson I
Robert Wood Johnson I was an American industrialist. He was also one of the three brothers who founded Johnson & Johnson.-Early life:...
(co-founder of Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....
), and the owner of the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
.
Early life
Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
. His father was Robert Wood Johnson III
Robert Wood Johnson III
Robert Wood "Bobby" Johnson III was an American philanthropist and businessman. He was a grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I .-Early life:Johnson was born New Brunswick, New Jersey...
, president of Johnson & Johnson for four years, and his mother was Betty Wold Johnson. Johnson grew up with four siblings: Keith Johnson, Billy Johnson, Elizabeth "Libet" Johnson, and Christopher Wold Johnson. He graduated from Millbrook School
Millbrook School
Millbrook School is a private, coeducational preparatory school located in Duchess County, New York, USA. It is governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees, and is accredited by the New York State Association of Independent Schools and the Board of Regents of the State University of New York...
and the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
.
Career
Johnson became involved in charitable organizations full time in the 1980s. He is a member of the Council on Foreign RelationsCouncil on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
. His family has been affected by both lupus and juvenile diabetes, which motivated Mr. Johnson to take a role in raising funds to prevent, treat, and cure autoimmune diseases. He has led efforts on Capitol Hill and at the National Institutes of Health to increase research funding for lupus, diabetes, and other autoimmune diseases. and personally contributed to causes related to diabetes, after his daughter Casey
Casey Johnson
Sale Trotter Case "Casey" Johnson was an American heiress, socialite and celebutante, as well as an occasional actress, model and author. She was one of the great-great-granddaughters of Robert Wood Johnson I .-Early life:Johnson was born in Florida...
was diagnosed with the disease. He also started a research foundation, the Alliance for Lupus Research
Alliance for Lupus Research
The Alliance for Lupus Research is a medical research charity that seeks better treatment for those who suffer from Systemic lupus erythematosus. The charity also looks to ultimately assist in finding a cure to prevent the disease from becoming fatal...
, after his daughter Jaime was found to have lupus.
Johnson, purchased the NY Jets for $635 million, the third-highest price for a professional sports team and the most for one in New York. Johnson, who also owns courtside seats to the New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
, outbid the $612 million offered by Charles F. Dolan, the chairman of Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, the Knicks and the Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
. The price seemed high for a team with a recent history of game losses, and which finished with a 1-15 record in 1996. The team sold for more than $100 million above what some sports finance analysts had expected. Based on the Jets' recent financial performance and the team's low-revenue lease at Giants Stadium, the analysts said the team was really worth about $250 million.
After buying the Jets, Johnson announced plans to move them to the proposed West Side Stadium
West Side Stadium
The West Side Stadium was a proposed football stadium to be built on a platform over the rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City....
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. However, after the project's defeat in 2005, Johnson announced the Jets would move to a new Meadowlands Stadium
New Meadowlands Stadium
MetLife Stadium is a stadium in the New York City Metropolitan Area, part of the MetLife Sports Complex, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League and is adjacent to the site of the former Giants Stadium, which was home...
(opening day 10 April 2010) co-owned with the Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Johnson served on the NFL Commissioner search committee in which a list of 185 candidates to succeed Paul Tagliabue
Paul Tagliabue
Paul John Tagliabue is a former Commissioner of the National Football League. He took the position in 1989 and was succeeded by Roger Goodell, who was elected to the position on August 8, 2006. Tagliabue's retirement took effect on September 1, 2006. He had previously served as a lawyer for the NFL...
was narrowed down to the final choice of Roger Goodell
Roger Goodell
Roger S. Goodell is the Commissioner of the National Football League , having been chosen to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue on August 8, 2006. He was chosen over four finalists for the position, winning a close vote on the fifth ballot before being unanimously approved by acclamation of the...
.
Johnson is the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Johnson Company, Inc., a private investment firm founded in 1978. In August 2006, Johnson was asked to testify before a Senate panel about his participation in a sham tax shelter. A Senate report said that Johnson, along with a few others, were able to buy, for relatively small fees, roughly $2 billion in capital losses that they used to erase taxable gains they garnered from stock sales. The U.S. Treasury lost an estimated $300 million in revenue as a result. In a statement, Johnson said he had been advised by his lawyers in 2000 that the transaction "was consistent with the Tax Code." But after the Internal Revenue Service challenged that view in 2003, Johnson this year "settled with the IRS and agreed to pay 100 percent of the tax due plus interest."
He was the committee president for Pre-Commissioning Unit for the USS New York (LPD-21)
USS New York (LPD-21)
USS New York , the fifth San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, is the seventh ship of the United States Navy to be named after the state of New York. The New York has a crew of 360, and can also carry up to 700 Marines...
.
Personal life
In 1977, Johnson married former fashion modelModel (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
Nancy Sale Johnson. They had three children: Casey
Casey Johnson
Sale Trotter Case "Casey" Johnson was an American heiress, socialite and celebutante, as well as an occasional actress, model and author. She was one of the great-great-granddaughters of Robert Wood Johnson I .-Early life:Johnson was born in Florida...
, Jaime, and Daisy, before divorcing in 2001. In early 2010, Casey died of diabetic ketoacidosis.
In 2009, Johnson married Suzanne Ircha Johnson, a former actress and Equities Managing Director at Sandler O'Neill & Partners. They have two children: Robert Wood Johnson V and Jack Wood Johnson.
Johnson has homes in Bedminster Township, New Jersey
Bedminster Township, New Jersey
Bedminster Township is a Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 8,165....
and New York.
Politics
Johnson has personally given more than $1 million to Republican candidates and committees to date (2010). In May 2008, he orchestrated a fundraiser in New York City that brought in $7 million in a single evening for John McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, by far the largest amount collected up to that point by a campaign that had been struggling to raise money. Johnson also provided significant funding to the Republican National Convention
Republican National Convention
The Republican National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States. Convened by the Republican National Committee, the stated purpose of the convocation is to nominate an official candidate in an upcoming U.S...
of 2008 in Minneapolis-St. Paul convention host committee; from a $10 million shortfall, Johnson contributed personally and solicited friends to assist in covering the convention deficit.