John Augustine Chilton Hearst (born October 24, 1952), also known as Austin Hearst, is an American business and media executive, film producer and philanthropist.[1][2] He plays a leadership role in the family-owned Hearst Corporation, one of America's largest diversified media companies where he has been a member of the board of directors since 1990.[3] Hearst is also vice president of special projects for Hearst Entertainment & Syndication,[4] the operating group responsible for the Hearst Entertainment interests in cable television networks, including ESPN, Lifetime, A&E and HISTORY.
Hearst is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Chestnut Holdings LLC, a private equity and agricultural development company.[5] He partnered with architect Philippe Stark and hotelier Alan Faena to develop the Faena Hotel+Universe in Buenos Aires.[6] The investment in the building, erected in 1902 as a grain storage facility, was in excess of $100 million. With Christopher Burch, he completed a $19 million luxury home project in Nantucket, Massachusetts.[7]
In fashion, Hearst was one of the first investors in Tory Burch. Other investments in the sector included Candela, Fashion Tech Forum, Jack Rogers, Soludos, and Bikyni.[8] In 2015, he launched with his wife designer Gabriela Perezutti Hearst, Gabriela Hearst.[9][10] In consumer products, he has been an initial investor in Jawbone[11][12] and Tipa Bags among others.[13] As a principal and founder of Bridge Builders Collaborative, he's made investments in the mind fitness sectors included Headspace, eMindful, Happify, Pear Therapeutics, and Interaxon.[14][15]
Philanthropy
Hearst is actively involved in a wide range of civic, philanthropic and global humanitarian causes, including early childhood development projects with Save the Children[16][17] and the government of Bhutan, and community agricultural projects in South Sudan.[18] He is on the board of directors of Save the Children USA,[19] an organization he has been closely involved with for more than 20 years. He was awarded The National Humanitarian 2014 Award.[20] Hearst also serves on the board of advisors of the Blue School,[21] and Karuna-Shechen, a non-profit humanitarian organization focused on providing education, healthcare and social services in the greater Himalayan region.[22]
Personal life
Hearst's father was William Randolph Hearst Jr., chairman of the Hearst Corporation in New York; his mother was Austine McDonnell, a columnist for The Washington Times-Herald.[23][24] Hearst is a grandson of the late William Randolph Hearst, the editor and publisher.[7] He has three children[25] and is married to fashion designer and Uruguayan rancher Gabriela Hearst. His previous marriage to Christine Mularchuk, the current wife of Stephen Schwarzman, ended in divorce.[26]
↑ "Advisory Board". Blue School - Independent School in New York City, Preschool, Elementary School, Middle School. Archived from the original on 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
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