Robert Wood Johnson IV
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Robert Wood Johnson IV (born April 12, 1947 in New Brunswick, New Jersey), nicknamed Woody Johnson, is the owner of the NFL's New York Jets. He bought the Jets from the estate of Leon Hess in 2000. Johnson purchased the team for $635 million, the third-highest ever for a professional sports team and the most for one in New York.
The son of Robert Wood Johnson III and an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, Johnson is a well known philanthropist, member of the Council on Foreign Relations, was and a major fundraiser for George W. Bush's 2004 presidential campaign. He has started a research foundation, the Alliance for Lupus Research. Johnson was originally an executive at his family company, but became involved in charitable organizations full time in the 1980s.
Johnson served on the NFL Commissioner search committee in which 185 candidates to succeed Paul Tagliabue was narrowed down to the final choice of Roger Goodell. He is the father of American socialite Casey Johnson and a brother of Libet Johnson.
Johnson is current involved in a dispute for a new stadium for the Jets. He actively supported the proposal for a new Manhattan West Side Stadium, which would serve as the home of his team and was designed to court a bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, since the stadium was shot down in 2005, Johnson has grudgeingly been forced to keep the team at Giants Stadium.
Preceded by Leon Hess |
Owners of the New York Jets | Succeeded by current |