Todd R. Wagner (born August 2, 1960) is an American entrepreneur, co-founder of

Broadcast.com Broadcast.com was an Internet radio company founded as AudioNet in September 1995 by Cameron Christopher Jaeb. Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban later led the organization and eventually sold to Yahoo! on April 1, 1999, for $5.7 billion, making it the ...

and founder and CEO of a company called Charity Network which organizes regular fund raisings. He also co-owns

2929 Entertainment 2929 Entertainment, LLC. is an American integrated media and entertainment company co-founded by billionaire entrepreneurs Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. 2929 maintains companies and interests across several industries including entertainment develo ...

with

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

, along with other entertainment companies.

Early life

Wagner was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

. He attended Merrillville High School and then

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

, joining

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

fraternity Beta Theta chapter. He graduated from Indiana University in 1983. He earned a J.D. degree from

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

and then moved to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

where he became a licensed CPA in the State of Texas, and began a legal career with the national firms Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld and Hopkins & Sutter.

Career

Broadcast.com

In 1995, Wagner launched AudioNet with Mark Cuban, a platform for broadcasting live sporting events and radio stations over the internet. As CEO, Wagner grew the company and expanded its services to include corporate events and business services. In 1998 Wagner and Cuban changed the name to

and took the company public in the midst of the dot-com boom. The Broadcast.com IPO set an opening-day record, with shares climbing 249% from an offering price of $18 to a closing price of $62.75. In 1999, Wagner and Cuban sold Broadcast.com to

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Mana ...

for $5.7 billion, making 300 employees millionaires (briefly, on paper) and Wagner and Cuban instant billionaires. Wagner continued to lead the division as Yahoo! Broadcast until May 2000, when he declined an offer to become Yahoo!'s Chief Operating Officer to focus on other interests.

2929 Entertainment

Using the success of Broadcast.com, Wagner built the Wagner/Cuban Companies including 2929 Productions. Two films the company helped produce received Oscar nominations: ('' Good Night, and Good Luck'' and '' Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room''). Other films include '' Akeelah and the Bee'' and ''

The Road ''The Road'' is a 2006 post-apocalyptic novel by American writer Cormac McCarthy. The book details the grueling journey of a father and his young son over a period of several months across a landscape blasted by an unspecified cataclysm that ha ...

''. Wagner is currently developing ''The Chosen Few'', a film about the landmark

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

battle. ''Good Night'', directed by and co-starring

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the ot ...

, was nominated for six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

including Best Picture. Through 2929 Entertainment, Wagner and Mark Cuban own a group of vertically integrated entertainment properties that includes high-definition production compan
HDNet Films
(produced the Academy Award–nominated documentary ''Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room''); distributor

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Ma ...

(released ''Enron'' and Oscar-nominated '' Capturing the Friedmans''); home video division Magnolia Home Entertainment; the Landmark Theatres art-house chain; and high-definition cable channels

HDNet AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...

and HDNet Movies.

Other business ventures

Wagner also has a stake in the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...

, and he continues to invest in and nurture start-ups. Additionally, Wagner and Mark Cuban were the original investors in Content Partners LLC, a company that invests in the back-end profit participations of Hollywood talent. As of 2019, Wagner remained an equity partner. Additionally Wagner serves on the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

's Board of Trustees. In June 2015, it was announced that Wagner had acquired the celebrity charitable fundraising platform

Prizeo Prizeo is a privately owned internet company based in Los Angeles, California. It is an online fundraising platform that enables clients to mobilize their fan bases to raise funds and awareness for their chosen causes. In June 2015, it was announ ...

for an undisclosed sum.

Charity Network

In 2014, Wagner launched Chideo, a digital platform designed to raise funds and awareness for causes by connecting fans to celebrities through exclusive video content. Over the next two years, Wagner expanded the concept through the acquisition of online sweepstakes platform

in June 2015, and online charity auction site Charitybuzz in October 2015. In 2016, Wagner announced the formation of Charity Network, parent company to Charitybuzz, Prizeo and Chideo, with a mission to help charities transition from analog to digital. The company uses celebrities, technology and the media to raise awareness for its customers. In February 2017, Charity Network was named one of

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year. History ''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...

's 2017 Most Innovative Companies by a website called Fast Company.

References

External links

*
2929 EntertainmentTodd Wagner FoundationCharity NetworkPrizeoCharitybuzz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagner, Todd People from Gary, Indiana 1960 births Living people Philanthropists from Indiana 2929 Entertainment holdings 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Indiana 21st-century philanthropists Indiana University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Yahoo! people