Ari Emanuel

File:Rahm and Ari Emanuel at -fortunetech (19487340459).jpg

Born to a Jewish family,[http://forward.com/the-assimilator/318677/jews-in-the-vatican/ The Jewish Daily Forward: "Pope Francis Invites Hollywood biggest jews to Vatican" by Rachel X. Landes] August 6, 2015 Emanuel was raised in suburban Wilmette, Illinois. Emanuel is the brother of former mayor of Chicago, Presidential Chief of Staff and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, American oncologist and bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, and sister Shoshana Emanuel (who was adopted). His father, Jerusalem-born Benjamin M. Emanuel, was a pediatrician who was active in the Irgun in Mandatory Palestine.{{cite news | title = Profile: Rahm Emanuel | date = November 7, 2008 | publisher= BBC News | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7702408.stm | access-date = August 18, 2009}}{{cite book | chapter = Major Political Developments | title = The Jewish Plan for Palestine—Memoranda and Statements presented by The Jewish Agency for Palestine to the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine | publisher = The Jewish Agency for Palestine, Jerusalem | year = 1947 | page = 32}} His mother, Marsha Emanuel (née Smulevitz), was a civil rights activist, and the one-time owner of a Chicago-area rock and roll club.{{cite news | last = Bumiller | first = Elisabeth | author-link = Elisabeth Bumiller | date = June 15, 1997 | title = The Brothers Emanuel | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/15/magazine/the-brothers-emanuel.html | access-date = August 18, 2009 | work = The New York Times}} During his third grade at school, Ari was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia.{{Cite web|title=Ari Emanuel, Co-Chief Executive of William Morris Endeavor Entertainment|url=https://dyslexia.yale.edu/story/ari-emanuel/|access-date=July 27, 2021|website=Yale Dyslexia|language=en-US}} To supplement instruction at school, his mother spent many hours helping him to learn to read. She hired tutors and private instructors to give him private reading lessons at home.{{Cite web|title=Ari Emanuel|url=http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/success-stories/ari-emanuel|access-date=July 27, 2021|website=dyslexiahelp.umich.edu|language=en}} Emanuel attended New Trier High School and graduated from Macalester College in 1983.

In his early career, Emanuel worked as an assistant to New York talent agent Robert Lantz and then as a trainee at Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood.{{Cite news |last=Weinraub |first=Bernard |date=August 2, 2004 |title=Talent Agent, And Battler, In Spotlight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/02/arts/talent-agent-and-battler-in-spotlight.html |newspaper=The New York Times}} Prior to founding Endeavor, Emanuel was a partner at InterTalent and senior agent at ICM Partners (ICM). Emanuel has served as a member of Live Nation Entertainment board of directors since September 2007.{{Cite web|url=https://www.livenationentertainment.com/leadership/|title=Leaders Archive|website=Live Nation Entertainment|language=en-US|access-date=September 24, 2019}}

Emanuel has been described as a mogul and power player in Hollywood.{{cite news|title=Ari Emanuel: 21st century Hollywood mogul|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/ari-emanuel-21st-century-hollywood-mogul-1746355.html|work=The Independent|access-date=April 30, 2012|date=July 15, 2009|location=London}}{{cite news|last=Cieply|first=Michael|title=Mogul Ascends With Old Hollywood Clout|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/10/business/media/10emanuel.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 30, 2012|date=June 10, 2009}} Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, the co-CEO of WME, have both been named to Fortune's Businessperson of the Year list.{{cite web|last=Garrahan|first=Matthew|title=Rewriting the Hollywood script|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c7fd8106-1f6f-11e1-ab49-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1tY1bIPHc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/r4usU |archive-date=December 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|publisher=Financial Times|access-date=April 30, 2012|date=December 6, 2011}}{{cite news|last=P.N.|title=Businessperson of the Year|url=https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/news/companies/1011/gallery.business_person_year.fortune/50.html|publisher=Fortune|access-date=April 30, 2012|date=November 19, 2010}} In a May 2013 article on Emanuel, Fortune called him "one of the biggest guns in the consolidating entertainment business".{{cite news|last=Lashinsky|first=Adam|title=Hi, It's Ari @#$%ing Emanuel, and I plan to shake up Hollywood|url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/05/23/leadership/ari-emanuel-agent.pr.fortune/index.html|publisher=Fortune|access-date=May 23, 2013|date=May 23, 2013}}

Emanuel's relationships with his clients, coupled with his stature in the industry, has led to various homages and parodies over the years, including Bob Odenkirk's character Stevie Grant on The Larry Sanders Show, and Ari Gold, played by Jeremy Piven on the HBO television show Entourage.{{cite news | last = Horn | first = John | date = June 28, 2006 | title = A Green Light for 'Aqua'? | work = Los Angeles Times | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jul-28-et-aquaman28-story.html | access-date = August 18, 2009}}{{Cite web |date=2024-07-07 |title=Ari Emanuel: Hollywood agent provocateur |url=https://www.latimes.com/la-influential/story/2024-07-07/ari-emanuel-endeavor-wwe |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}

In April 2002 agent Sandra Epstein and other Endeavor employees sued Ari Emanuel on allegations that a pornographic website was operated out of Endeavor's offices and that Emanuel made racist and anti-gay remarks.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/business/media/27agent.html|title=Agents Replaying a Hollywood Drama|last=Cieply|first=Michael|date=July 27, 2008|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 18, 2009|author-link=Michael Cieply}} Emanuel disputed these accusations at the time. Emanuel settled Epstein's claims for $2.25 million.

In 2011, Emanuel co-founded TheAudience with Sean Parker and Oliver Luckett.{{Cite web |date=July 26, 2012 |title=TheAudience: A Stealthy, Celeb-Driven Startup Co-founded By Sean Parker, Ari Emanuel & Oliver Luckett |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/26/theaudience/ |access-date=September 24, 2019 |website=TechCrunch |language=en-US}}

Endeavor went public in 2021, the first Hollywood agency to do so, with Emanuel owning a stake worth around $480 million according to Bloomberg.{{Cite news|date=April 30, 2021|title=Hollywood Super-Agent Emanuel Cashes In With Endeavor Group IPO|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-30/hollywood-super-agent-emanuel-cashes-in-with-endeavor-group-ipo|access-date=April 30, 2021}} He and Patrick Whitesell are also co-CEO of IMG, a global sports, events and talent management company headquartered in New York City.{{Cite news|date=April 29, 2021|title=Ari Emanuel finally took Endeavor public. Now what?|language=en|work=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2021-04-29/endeavor-finally-went-public-how-did-the-ufc-and-talent-agency-owner-fare

|access-date=May 4, 2022}}

In 2023, Emanuel's total compensation from Endeavor was $83.9 million, up 340% from the previous year and representing a CEO-to-median worker pay ratio of 1,184-to-1 for the company, as well as making Emanuel the seventh highest paid CEO in the US that year.{{Cite web |last=Paradis |first=Tim |date=2024-06-18 |title=Here are the highest-paid CEOs in the US, some of whom have 9-figure compensation packages |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-us-ceos-compensation-packages-stock-awards-2024-5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240828183037/https://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-us-ceos-compensation-packages-stock-awards-2024-5 |archive-date=2024-08-28 |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} He debuted on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index in February 2025 with an estimated net worth of over $1 billion.{{Cite news |last=Sloan |first=Dylan |date=February 14, 2025 |title=Star Agent and Musk Backer Ari Emanuel Builds $1 Billion Fortune |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-14/star-agent-and-musk-backer-ari-emanuel-builds-1-billion-fortune |publisher=Bloomberg News}}

In 2025, Emanuel is set to buy Frieze, a global art fair and publishing group, previously owned by Endeavor. The deal is valued at $200 million and is backed by a group of investors including Apollo Global Management and RedBird Capital Partners.{{Cite news |last=Gerlis |first=Melanie |date=2025-05-01 |title=Ari Emanuel to buy Frieze art fairs from Endeavor |url=https://www.ft.com/content/bfb211f9-84db-4255-80ce-ea9143ebd8cf |access-date=2025-05-04 |work=Financial Times}}

Emanuel has hosted fundraisers for the Democratic Party.{{Cite web|url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/elections/article/rahm_emanuels_brother_ari_emanuel_is_a_hollywood_superagent_20081106/|title=Rahm Emanuel's brother, Ari Emanuel, is a Hollywood superagent|first=Danielle|last=Berrin|date=November 6, 2008|work=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles}} He donated $2,700 to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election. His long-standing relationship with his former client Donald Trump is well documented.{{cite news|last1=Messer, Lesley|title=Donald Trump Meets With Ari Emanuel: Inside Their Long-Standing Relationship|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/donald-trump-meets-ari-emanuel-inside-longstanding-relationship/story?id=43695132|work=ABC|date=November 21, 2016}} During the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries, Emanuel offered to produce a movie for Trump which was considered for the 2016 Republican National Convention but ultimately was not followed through on.{{cite web | title=Ari Emanuel Will Not Produce Trump Convention Film | website=Fortune | date=May 1, 2016 | url=https://fortune.com/2016/06/01/ari-emanuel-will-not-produce-trump-convention-film/ | access-date=November 3, 2020}}

After the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi on October 2, 2018, and reports that the Saudi hit squad had assassinated him inside their consulate in Turkey, Emanuel called White House senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.{{Cite news|last1=Tani|first1=Maxwell|last2=Suebsaeng|first2=Asawin|date=October 16, 2018|title='Pissed' Ari Emanuel Called Jared Kushner to Vent About Saudi Khashoggi Fiasco|language=en|work=The Daily Beast|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/pissed-ari-emanuel-called-jared-kushner-to-vent-about-saudi-khashoggi-fiasco|access-date=March 11, 2021}} Emanuel tried to extricate Endeavor from a $400 million deal with the Saudi Arabian government.{{Cite web|date=October 15, 2018|title=Endeavor Pulling Out of $400 Million Saudi Arabia Deal (Exclusive)|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/endeavor-pulling-400-million-saudi-arabia-deal-1152404|access-date=March 11, 2021|website=The Hollywood Reporter|language=en}}

In October 2022, Emanuel urged several businesses to stop working with rapper Kanye West over his antisemitic comments.{{Cite web |title=Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel urges brands to stop working with Kanye West |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kanye-west-ye-endeavor-ceo-ari-emanuel-stop-working-brands/ |access-date=October 24, 2022 |website=CBS News |date=October 21, 2022 |language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/ari-emanuel-benjamin-netanyahu-israel-terror-1235752910/|title=Ari Emanuel Takes Aim at Benjamin Netanyahu Over Terror Attacks in Israel: 'I Don't Think This Man Deserves to Be in Power'|date=October 12, 2023 |publisher=variety}}

Emanuel voiced critical opinions of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he was awarded the Humanitarian Prize at Simon Wiesenthal Center's National Tribute Gala. Emanuel called for Netanyahu to step down during his speech, which caused a negative reaction from the audience. He also criticized protesters using the slogan "from the river to the sea" which he claimed was a call for genocide.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/23/arts/ari-emanuel-condemns-netanyahu.html|title=Ari Emanuel Condemns Netanyahu, Drawing Boos at Jewish Group's Gala|work=The New York Times|date=May 23, 2024 |last1=Tracy |first1=Marc }}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-05-24/ari-emanuel-denounces-israeli-prime-minister-at-jewish-groups-gala|title=Ari Emanuel denounces Israeli Prime Minister at Jewish group's gala|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 24, 2024 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/ari-emanuel-accepts-simon-wiesenthal-center-honor-1235906198/|title=Ari Emanuel Accepts Simon Wiesenthal Center Honor, Slams Netanyahu Amid Walkouts and Boos|date=May 23, 2024 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter}}

Emanuel has in the past been active on the board of trustees of P.S. Arts, a Los Angeles, California-based nonprofit organization that works to bring art education programs to Southern California schools. He has also helped the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, establish MOCAtv, a dedicated YouTube art channel. In 2012, he joined the museum's board of trustees.Randy Kennedy (October 3, 2012), [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/museum-of-contemporary-art-in-los-angeles-expected-to-add-ari-emanuel-to-board/ Ari Emanuel Joins Board of Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles] The New York Times. 2012/10/03

In 1996, Emanuel married girlfriend Sarah Hardwick Addington; they have three sons.Gateway families: ancestors and descendants of Richard Simrall Hawes III and Marie Christy Johnson, by Christy Hawes Bond, Alicia Crane Williams, C. Hawes Bond, 1994, p. 527 The couple divorced in 2018.{{cite magazine |last1=Bruck |first1=Connie |title=Ari Emanuel Takes on the World |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/26/ari-emanuel-takes-on-the-world |access-date=October 1, 2023 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=April 19, 2021 |quote=They were married in 1996, had three sons, and divorced in 2018... On March 29, 1995—Emanuel's thirty-fourth birthday... After graduating from Macalester College, in 1983, Emanuel...}} In May 2022, he married fashion designer Sarah Staudinger, founder of the Los Angeles label STAUD.{{Cite web |last=Macon |first=Alexandra |date=June 16, 2022 |title=Inside Ari Emanuel and Sarah Staudinger's St. Tropez Wedding |url=https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/ari-emanuel-and-sarah-staudinger-st-tropez-wedding |access-date=June 18, 2022 |website=Vogue |language=en-US}} Emanuel adopted the daughter of Shoshana, his adopted sister.{{Cite news |last=Perman |first=Stacy |date=September 30, 2019 |title=For brash deal-maker Ari Emanuel, IPO collapse is a rare stumble, and his biggest challenge yet |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2019-09-29/for-brash-deal-maker-ari-emanuel-ipo-collapse-is-a-rare-stumble-and-his-biggest-challenge-yet |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}

He follows a strict vegan diet.{{Cite magazine |last=Rushfield |first=Richard |date=January 27, 2020 |title=Ari Emanuel, WME, and the Great Hollywood IPO That Wasn't |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/01/ari-emanuel-wme-and-the-great-hollywood-ipo-that-wasnt |magazine=Vanity Fair}}{{Cite news |last1=Nicolaou |first1=Anna |last2=Agini |first2=Samuel |date=April 4, 2023 |title=Ari Emanuel: the tenacious super agent disrupting Hollywood |url=https://www.ft.com/content/32f6a6cc-57b3-4183-9a8c-9ec6912388c6 |newspaper=Financial Times}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• [https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-emanuel/ Political blog] at The Huffington Post
• [https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3766109,00.html After getting $60 million in equity Mati Kochavi & Ari Emanuels HEED shuts down]
• Interview with Stephen Dubner on Freakonomics, [https://freakonomics.com/podcast/ari-emanuel-is-never-indifferent/ episode 544], May 31, 2023 (recording and transcript)

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Category:1961 births

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American businesspeople

Category:American people of Israeli descent

Category:American people of Moldovan-Jewish descent

Category:Businesspeople from Chicago

Category:American literary agents

Category:Living people

Category:Macalester College alumni

Category:New Trier High School alumni

Category:People from Wilmette, Illinois

Category:Philanthropists from Illinois

Category:21st-century American Jews

Category:People with dyslexia

Category:WWE executives

Category:Jews from Illinois

Category:People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder