What Is Mellody Hobson’s Net Worth?
Mellody Hobson, a businesswoman with a net worth of $100 million, is the president and co-CEO of Ariel Investments and was previously the chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation. She gained national attention in 2013 when she married billionaire filmmaker George Lucas.
In 2018, Hobson became the vice-chair of the Starbucks Corporation board of directors, and in 2021 she became the first Black woman to chair an S&P 500 company. She was also the first African-American woman to hold the position of chair at The Economic Club of Chicago in 2017.
As a financial contributor, she has appeared on “Good Morning America” and “CBS This Morning,” and she hosted and executive produced the 2009 ABC special “Un-Broke: What You Need to Know About Money.” Hobson has been recognized by several publications, including “Esquire” magazine’s “America’s Best and Brightest” list in 2002 and “Time” magazine’s list of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People” in 2015.
Most recently, in June 2022, Hobson was part of a team of investors, led by Walmart heir Rob Walton, to acquire the NFL’s Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion, making her the first black female owner of an NFL team.
Mellody Hobson Donates Funds to Rename Residential College at Princeton University
Mellody Hobson, born on April 3, 1969, in Chicago, Illinois, graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1991. In 2020, Mellody and the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation donated funds to Princeton to establish a new residential college at the university. The residential college will be named Hobson College and will be built on the site of what was formerly known as Wilson College. Princeton’s Board of Trustees decided to remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from campus buildings in June 2020 due to his racist views and policies. Mellody hopes that her name will remind future generations of students, especially those who are Black and brown and the ‘firsts’ in their families, that they too belong. Renaming Wilson College is her way of letting them know that our past does not have to be our future.
Mellody Hobson’s Career Achievements
Mellody Hobson joined Ariel Investments as an intern after graduating from Princeton. She rose through the ranks to become the company’s Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing and ultimately, President. As of January 2021, the company was managing $15 billion in assets, making it one of the largest African American-owned mutual fund and money management companies in the U.S.A.
In addition to her role at Ariel Investments, Hobson has held leadership positions on the board of trustees for the Ariel Investment Trust, the Sundance Institute, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. She was also formerly on the board of directors of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Hobson is a noted speaker and has hosted the ABC special “Unbroke: What You Need to Know About Money.” She has also guest-hosted “CBS Sunday Morning” and her TED Talks have been used as reference material in popular culture, such as the character Courtney Paige in the CBS drama “The Good Wife.”
In 2012, Hobson became the chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, where she negotiated the studio’s $3.8 billion acquisition by NBCUniversal in 2016 before stepping down.
Personal Life of Mellody Hobson
Mellody began a relationship with George Lucas in 2006 after meeting at a business conference. They got engaged in early 2013 and married at Skywalker Ranch on June 22, 2013. They have a daughter, Everest, who was born via a surrogate on August 9, 2013. Mellody is stepmother to Amanda, Jett, and Katie Lucas. George adopted Amanda with his first wife, Marcia Lou Griffin, and he adopted Katie and Jett on his own after their divorce in 1983.
Hobson was honored by the City of Birmingham for her work with the charity Birmingham’s Bright Leaders of Tomorrow on the “Jack Good Show” in August 2017.
Accolades and Honorary Degrees
Mellody Hobson was awarded the Order of Lincoln in 2018, which is Illinois’ highest honor, and inducted into The Lincoln Academy of Illinois as a Laureate. She also earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Morning Program for “CBS This Morning” in 2019. Hobson has received honorary doctorates from the University of Southern California, Howard University, St. Mary’s College, and Johns Hopkins University.
Mellody Hobson and George Lucas’ Real Estate Portfolio
Mellody Hobson and George Lucas, the famous filmmaker, own a vast real estate portfolio that includes several luxurious properties in different locations. One of their properties is a 15,159 square foot home in San Anselmo, California. Another one is a $34 million home in the Bel Air area of Los Angeles, which is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city. In Chicago, they own a $19 million penthouse, which is located in a prestigious building.
Their most impressive property, however, is Skywalker Ranch, which is located on a 2,500-acre lot in Marin County, California. This ranch has been a hub for many of Lucas’ film productions and is a popular tourist attraction.
In late 2019, the couple purchased another home in Carpinteria, California, for $28 million. This property is next door to a home they bought in 2010 for $19.5 million. It’s clear that Mellody Hobson and George Lucas have a taste for luxury and are not afraid to invest in prime real estate.
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