John Augustine Chilton Hearst (born October 24, 1952) is an American business and media executive, film producer and philanthropist. He plays a leadership role in the family-owned

Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...

, one of America's largest diversified media companies where he has been a member of the board of directors since 1990. Hearst is also vice president of special projects for Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, the operating group responsible for the Hearst Entertainment interests in cable television networks, including

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, Lifetime, A&E and

HISTORY History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

Career

Hearst is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Chestnut Holdings LLC, a private equity and agricultural development company. He partnered with architect Philippe Stark and hotelier Alan Faena to develop the Faena Hotel+Universe in Buenos Aires. The investment in the building, erected in 1902 as a grain storage facility, was in excess of $100 million. With Christopher Burch, he completed a $19 million luxury home project in Nantucket, Massachusetts. In fashion, Hearst was one of the first investors in

Tory Burch Tory Burch (née Robinson; born June 17, 1966) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of her own brand, Tory Burch LLC. She was listed as the 88th most powerfu ...

. Other investments in the sector included Candela, Fashion Tech Forum, Jack Rogers, Soludos, and Bikyni. In 2015, he launched with his wife designer Gabriela Perezutti Hearst, Gabriela Hearst. In consumer products, he has been an initial investor in Jawbone and Tipa Bags among others. As a principal and founder of Bridge Builders Collaborative, he's made investments in the mind fitness sectors included Headspace, eMindful, Happify, Pear Therapeutics, and Interaxon.

Philanthropy

Hearst is actively involved in a wide range of civic, philanthropic and global humanitarian causes, including early childhood development projects with Save the Children and the government of Bhutan, and community agricultural projects in South Sudan. He is on the board of directors of

Save the Children USA Save the Children Federation, Inc., commonly known as Save the Children USA, is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of children in the United States and around the world. Their headquarters is located in Fairfield, Connectic ...

, an organization he has been closely involved with for more than 20 years. He was awarded The National Humanitarian 2014 Award. Hearst also serves on the board of advisors of the

Blue School Blue School is a progressive independent school located in New York City's Lower Manhattan. The school offers early-childhood classes for children as young as two years old, as well as kindergarten and elementary school classes that extend throu ...

, and Karuna-Shechen, a non-profit humanitarian organization focused on providing education, healthcare and social services in the greater Himalayan region.

Personal life

Hearst's father was

William Randolph Hearst Jr. William Randolph Hearst Jr. (January 27, 1908 – May 14, 1993) was an American businessman and newspaper publisher. He was the second son of the publisher William Randolph Hearst. He became editor-in-chief of Hearst Newspapers after the death of ...

, chairman of the Hearst Corporation in New York; his mother was Austine McDonnell, a columnist for The Washington Times-Herald. Hearst is a grandson of the late

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

, the editor and publisher. He has three children and is married to fashion designer and Uruguayan rancher

Gabriela Hearst Gabriela Hearst (née Perezutti) born in Paysandú Department, Uruguay, (November 3, 1976) is a women's luxury ready-to-wear and accessories designer. In addition to designing her namesake collection, she runs and operates her family's ranch in Ur ...

. His previous marriage to Christine Mularchuk, the current wife of

Stephen Schwarzman Stephen Allen Schwarzman (born February 14, 1947) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he established in 1985 with Peter G. Peterson, former chairman and CEO of ...

, ended in divorce.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hearst, John Augustine 1952 births Living people John Augustine People named in the Paradise Papers American businesspeople