Jonathan Nelson
Executive Chairman , Providence Equity Partners
$3.4B
as of 04/02/25
About Jonathan Nelson
Jonathan Nelson is the executive chairman of Providence Equity Partners, the private equity firm he founded in 1989. He was CEO until 2021.
Providence has invested in more than 170 companies, many in the media, communications, education and information industries.
The firm sold scuba-diving certification company PADI in 2017 for over $700 million, three times its initial investment.
In 2021, Providence sextupled its 2007 investment of $300 million in video game developer ZeniMax Media, which Microsoft acquired for $7.5 billion.
Nelson serves as a trustee of Rockefeller University and on the board of the Institute for Advanced Study.
Personal stats
Citizenship
United States of AmericaSource of wealth
Private equityResidence
Providence, Rhode IslandMarital status
Widowed, RemarriedBirth date
05/18/56 (age 68)Number of children
3Education
Bachelor of Arts/Science, Brown University; Master of Business Administration, Harvard UniversitySelf-made
self-madeJonathan Nelson’s fortune is worth
57K
troy ounces of gold
52K
median U.S. household
34K
median U.S. income
0.068%
U.S. credit card volume
0.014%
GDP of the United States
0.01%
United States debt
Net worth history
Annual ranking
Related people
Did you know?
Nelson serves on the board of directors of the Newport Festival Foundation, which puts on the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals.
Net worth over time
Real-time ranking
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