Endeavor, the talent agency and parent company of William Morris is marching towards an IPO that could give it a $10 billion evaluation, make their top two executives the richest agents ever, and tie in some incredibly fascinating pop culture side stories.
What does the UFC, Jeff Bezos, Entourage, the Charlotte YMCA, and millions of news stories and salacious scandals have in common?
Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell…
After a failed IPO attempt in 2019, Endeavor looks like it is on track for a new IPO soon that would value the company at 10 figures.
If/when that happens, it would make their top two execs worth a combined $900 million or so. The net worths of almost all of their clients, with the exception of Dwayne Johnson, would pale in comparison.
What’s even more fascinating is the tangled web that Emanuel and Whitesell have weaved with their history and back stories.
Consider these fun facts connected with these two super agents.
- 1. Ari Emanuel started his career in the CAA mailroom and eventually co-created Endeavor in 1995. He is probably the most famous agent of all time. Ari Gold, Jeremy Piven’s character on HBO’s hit show Entourage was based on Ari Emanuel. The trademarked intensity, anger, larger than life personality and power that Gold’s character wielded on the show all came from inspiration from Emanuel.
2. Patrick Whitesell is executive chairman of Endeavor. He and Emanuel own a combined 36.7 million shares of Endeavor. He is very rich already, and potentially will become incredibly wealthy. His ex-wife is Lauren Sanchez.
3. After divorcing Whitsell and causing a world-wide scandal/sensation, Lauren Sanchez is now dating the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos.
4. MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, is on a charitable spending spree. She has a net worth of $59 billion, even after donating over $6 billion to hundreds of causes and charities and businesses in 2020, including $18 million to the Charlotte YMCA.
5. Endeavor is the owner of the UFC, having partnered with investment firm Silver Lake to take control of the company in 2016, paying the founders of UFC Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta $4 billion.
Talk about a high-profile butterfly effect!
None of this would have happened if Ari Emanuel had not started a rival upstart agency called Endeavor back in 1995!
Add comment