One Boston family owns 49% of one of the world's most successful mutual fund companies, and the company employees own the other 51%.
Fidelity is a successful company. Because of this, four Johnson family members are on the annual Forbes 400 list.
Today, I will discuss Edward C. Johnson IV, the richest person in Boston, Massachusetts. His net worth exceeds $10.6 billion, and he may lose half by year-end.
Who is Edward C. Johnson IV?
Edward C. Johnson IV is the grandson of Edward C. Johnson II, who founded Fidelity Investments in 1946, and the president of Pembroke Real Estate.
Pembroke Real Estate is an international real estate business that invests in residential, office, and mixed-use properties worldwide. One of the firm's biggest clients is Fidelity Management & Research Company.
Edward C. Johnson IV was born and raised in Massachusetts. Johnson IV graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science Degree. Johnson IV joined Pembroke during its inception in 1997, and he has been directly responsible for Pembroke's worldwide development activities, including design, planning, construction, and leasing for the last 25 years.
His wife turned the famed litigator for divorce.
Last year, his wife filed for divorce and appointed celebrity attorney David Boies as her lawyer in a high-stakes divorce case that begins this month. Boies represented Al Gore in the U.S. Supreme Court case over the 2000 presidential election recount.
Johnson IV owns 5% of Fidelity Management & Research Company.
He also owns more than 5 percent of Fidelity Management & Research Company, the parent company of Fidelity Investments.
His sister, Abigail Johnson, is the chief executive officer and the largest shareholder of Fidelity Investments, and his sister, Elizabeth Livingston Johnson, is the owner and president of a horse farm in Wellington, Florida.
The history behind the brand
Edward C. Johnson II, Edward C. Johnson IV's grandfather, took over the management of the Fidelity Fund in 1946 and built a new company, Fidelity Management and Research.
Johnson II wanted the firm to invest in stocks that were traded heavily. With this simple strategy, he built a $3.5 billion financial business. Then, in 1957, Edward C. Johnson III joined the company as a research analyst. A few years later, Fidelity invested in using computers to serve its clients.
In 1977, Edward C. Johnson III became chairman and CEO of FMR: his daughter, Abigail. P Johnson joined the company as an equity analyst in 1988 and set her vision on taking control of the company.
The company continues to be family-owned and managed.
In 2014, Abigail Johnson, Edward C. Johnson III's daughter, became the company's CEO. She became the third generation to manage this privately owned company by taking over.
Abigail became very successful in balancing innovation with stability. After becoming the company CEO, she said, "It is important to figure out how to balance long-standing traditions with new insights to make room for innovation."
Under her effective leadership, the business expanded its offerings, including cryptocurrencies and other digital currencies. Today, Abigail Johnson owns a 24.5% stake in the firm, with $4.2 trillion in managed assets.
The Fidelity Foundation
The Johnsons family has donated to many historic preservation and conservation societies and funded several programs on conservation education.
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