John Paul DeJoria

John Paul DeJoria was born on April 13, 1944, in Los Angeles, California, to immigrant parents; his father was Italian and his mother Greek, making him a first-generation American. His parents divorced when he was two, leading him to start working young: at age nine, he sold Christmas cards and newspapers door-to-door with his brother to support his mother. He held numerous odd jobs, including janitor, encyclopedia salesman, tow-truck driver, and insurance salesman, and served two years in the U.S. Navy on the USS Hornet. By his 20s, he experienced homelessness, living in a 20-year-old Rolls-Royce while selling shampoo door-to-door after being fired multiple times, including from Redken Laboratories in 1971 over business disagreements. In 1980, DeJoria partnered with hairstylist Paul Mitchell, using a partially borrowed $700 to launch John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS), the largest privately held salon hair care line with over 100 products in 95+ countries. Despite early struggles, including rejection, the company's black-and-white bottle design stemmed from cost-saving ingenuity, and it now employs 325 people with a global educator network; DeJoria remains chairman and has refused public buyouts to support the beauty industry. In 1989, his passion for tequila led him to invest $400,000 in co-founding Patrón Spirits International in Mexico, growing it from 1,000 cases to nearly 3 million annually as the world's top ultra-premium tequila; he held 70% ownership until selling to Bacardi for $5.1 billion in 2018, yielding a 1,275,000% ROI. DeJoria expanded into ventures like House of Blues, Madagascar Oil, Pyrat Rum, John Paul Pet, ROKiT, diamond company (DeJoria), Harley-Davidson dealership, boat companies via J&D Acquisitions, and renewable energy like Sun King Solar. His leadership emphasizes treating employees as partners, ethical standards, and product development. A committed philanthropist, he supports Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Food4Africa (helping 17,000+ orphans with Nelson Mandela), Grow Appalachia, Waterkeeper Alliance, Mineseeker, and Blazer House; he signed The Giving Pledge in 2011 and founded JP’s Peace Love & Happiness Foundation for environment, poverty, and animal rights. Now based in Austin, Texas, he continues as chairman emeritus of Patrón and promotes habit formation, financial planning, and leadership.