What is Edgar Bronfman Jr.’s Net Worth?
Edgar Bronfman Jr. is an American media executive and heir who has a net worth of $500 million. Edgar Bronfman Jr. serves as a managing partner at Accretive LLC and the chairman of FuboTV and Endeavor. He previously held CEO positions at Warner Music Group and the Seagram Company, and briefly headed Vivendi Universal. Earlier in his career, Bronfman produced films and Broadway shows and co-wrote songs. Edgar’s father, Edgar Bronfman Sr. had a net worth of $2.5 billion at the time of his death in 2013. Edgar Sr. had seven children.
Early Life
Edgar Bronfman Jr. was born on May 16, 1955 in New York City, New York as the second of five children of Ann and billionaire businessman Edgar Sr., who later became the president of the World Jewish Congress. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Bronfman, was the patriarch of one of the most prominent Jewish families in Canada, having built its fortune through the whisky distiller the Seagram Company. Meanwhile, his maternal grandmother was Frances Lehman, of the prominent Lehman banking family.
Career Beginnings in Show Business
In the 1970s, Bronfman began his career in the entertainment industry as a producer of films and Broadway shows. One of the earliest films he produced was “The Blockhouse,” which was released in 1973. With Steve Sheppard, Bronfman briefly ran a production company called Sagittarius. Later, he established Efer Productions, which had a three-year production contract with Universal Studios. Through the company, Bronfman produced the 1982 film “The Border,” directed by Tony Richardson and starring Jack Nicholson.
Bronfman also had a career as a songwriter. Using the pseudonyms Junior Miles and Sam Roman, he frequently collaborated with singer-songwriter Bruce Roberts. Among his credits, he co-wrote such songs as “Whisper in the Dark,” for Dionne Warwick, and “To Love You More,” for Celine Dion.
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Seagram Company
In the early 1980s, Bronfman became the managing director of Seagram Europe, the European arm of his family’s company Seagram. He went on to become the president of Seagram’s US marketing division in 1984. Climbing the ladder, Bronfman became the CEO of Seagram by 1994. In his role, he moved the company away from its alcohol-distilling operations and into the entertainment business. Seagram expanded by acquiring the record label PolyGram and the film companies MCA and Universal Pictures.
In 2000, Bronfman guided the company through a controversial all-stock acquisition by the French media conglomerate Vivendi. He subsequently became the head of the new company, Vivendi Universal. In the process, however, Seagram ended up losing control of its entertainment businesses and, eventually its beverage division, as well. In late 2001, Bronfman announced he was stepping down from his executive position at Vivendi Universal.
Accretive LLC
In 2002, Bronfman became a managing partner of the private investment firm Accretive LLC. Focused on conducting market research, the firm has been involved with such companies as Accretive Health, Fandango, AlphaStaff, and Insureon.
Warner Music Group
In early 2004, Bronfman became the CEO of Warner Music Group. During his tenure, which lasted through the summer of 2011, he helped grow the company by significantly increasing its digital music sales, diversifying its revenue streams, and building stronger relationships with its roster of artists. In 2008, it was reported that WMG’s Atlantic Records label had become the first major record label to generate more than half of its music sales in the US from digital formats.
In 2011, Bronfman oversaw WMG’s sale to Access Industries for over $3 billion. At the time of the purchase, Access was controlled by Russian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik, a shareholder of WMG. Not long after the sale, Bronfman stepped down as CEO of WMG and was succeeded by Stephen Cooper. He remained chairman of the company until early 2012.
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Other Ventures
In 2017, Bronfman co-founded the venture capital firm Waverley Capital with Daniel Leff. The firm focuses on investments in innovative technology and entertainment companies, and has offices in New York and California. Elsewhere, Bronfman serves as the chairman of Endeavor, a New York City-based nonprofit that helps entrepreneurs by providing them with opportunities to positively impact their communities. He is also the chairman of the streaming television service FuboTV.
Insider Trading
In early 2011, Bronfman was convicted in a French court for insider trading as the head of Vivendi Universal. He consequently received a 15-month suspended sentence and a fine of €5 million. The suspended jail time was seen by many as being lenient, considering other executives with similar convictions had been put behind bars.
Personal Life
Bronfman wed his first wife, actress Sherry Brewer, in 1979. The marriage caused Bronfman to become estranged from his father, who disapproved of his son marrying a shiksa. Together, Bronfman and Brewer had three children named Benjamin, Vanessa, and Hannah. They eventually divorced in 1991. Bronfman went on to wed another gentile, Clarissa Alcock San Román, in 1993. They have four children named Aaron, Bettina, Erik, and Clarissa. In 2018, Edgar’s sister, Clare Bronfman, was arrested and indicted on several federal charges regarding an alleged cult called NXIVM. In 2020, she was sentenced to 81 months in prison.
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