Gerald ‘Jerry’ M. Levin was a media businessman from America known for his involvement in brokering the merger between AOL and Time Warner in 2000.
Jerry Levin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a Jewish family with origin in Russia and Romania. His father worked in the food industry, while his mother was a piano teacher.
Growing up, Gerald lived in the residential area of Philadelphia, first in Upper Darby and then in Overbrook Hills.
After finishing second in his class at Lower Merion High School, where he was part of the Honor Society, he went on to attend Haverford College.
Later, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1963.
Levin’s career was primarily with Time Inc., where he began in 1972 as a programming executive for HBO. He later promoted to become the CEO of the corporation.
Table of Contents
Key Facts About Gerald M. Levin American media businessman
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Gerald Manuel Levin |
| Birthdate | May 6, 1939 |
| Birthplace | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Death Date | March 13, 2024 |
| Age at Death | 84 years old |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouses | Carol Needleman (divorced), Barbara Riley (divorced), Laurie Ann Perlman Rapke (divorced) |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | Bachelor’s degree from Haverford College, Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania Law School |
| Career Highlights | – Led HBO into the satellite TV age |
| – Orchestrated the merger between Time Warner and AOL in 2000 | |
| – Spearheaded the acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System | |
| Legacy | Known for the disastrous AOL-Time Warner merger, leaving a complicated legacy |
Gerald M Levin net worth is estimated to be around $30 million.
Gerald’s amazing career has helped him build an impressive financial portfolio.
Levin was always mentioned as an intelligent and visionary person in the media and entertainment industry.
Nowadays, executive compensation package in HBO includes an annual salary of $3 million with an annual $22 million bonus.
Based on his tenure as CEO of HBO, it’s quite reasonable to estimate that Gerald may have collected a huge net worth in the millions.
Parsons praised Levin for predicting the digital revolution and understanding how the internet would revolutionize Time Warner’s business.
The merger between AOL and Time Warner quickly turned into a disaster.
AOL’s stock price dropped over 30% between the announcement of the deal in January and its approval by the Federal Trade Commission in December.
This drop reduced AOL’s proposed purchase of Time Warner from $165 billion to $112 billion.
By 2002, AOL Time Warner’s market value was only about $127 billion, and the company recorded a huge net loss of $98.7 billion that year.
Ted Turner, the largest individual shareholder at the time of the merger, lost about 80% of his wealth, around $8 billion. Due to these challenges, Jerry Levin resigned in 2002.
The company removed “AOL” from its name in 2003, and in 2009, Time Warner separated the AOL unit to shareholders with a market capitalization of $3.5 billion.
Overall, Jerry has lived a rich and lavish life, with a net worth estimated to be in millions.
Jerry Levin’s career journey from HBO programming executive to Time Inc.
Jerry Levin spent the majority of his career with Time Inc., which later became Time Warner and then AOL Time Warner.
He joined the company in 1972 as a programming executive for Home Box Office (HBO) and eventually become CEO of the corporation.
Also, Levin has a huge role in the leaving of Nicholas J., his longtime colleague and rival.
Levin later admitted to plotting of Nicholas’s quitting after working together for 20 years, admitting his own obstacle.
However, Levin is perhaps best known for arranging the merger between AOL and Time Warner in 2000, which resulted in the loss of $200 billion in shareholder value as the dot-com bubble burst.
Following the merger, Levin faced criticism, with CNBC naming him one of the “Worst American CEOs of All Time.”
The merger has since been widely studied as one of the worst deals in corporate history.
Despite once being a powerful media executive, Levin largely retreated from public life after the collapse of AOL Time Warner.
He later became involved in ventures such as Moonview Sanctuary, a holistic healing institute, and Elation Media, a startup focused on launching a live and on-demand service.
However, as of July 2022, Elation TV has not been launched. Despite facing challenges, Levin’s retirement comes sooner than expected.
Levin passed away in a hospital on March 13, 2024, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease before his death.
FAQs
1. When was Gerald appointed as the Chairman of Time Warner?
Gerald was chairman and chief executive officer of Time Warner Inc and was elected chairman of the board on Jan. 21, 1993.
2. Who was Gerald M Levin married to?
Mr. Gerald has been married three times. His first wife was Carol Needleman, second was Barbara Riley and, most recently, Laurie Perlman.
