Woody Johnson | |
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United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Nominee |
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Taking office TBD* |
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President | Donald Trump |
Succeeding | Lewis Lukens (Acting) |
Personal details | |
Born |
Robert Wood Johnson IV April 12, 1947 New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Nancy Sale (1977–2001) Suzanne Ircha (2009–present) |
Children | 5 (including Casey) |
Parents | Bobby Johnson |
Education | University of Arizona (BA) |
*Pending Senate confirmation |
Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV (born April 12, 1947) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson), and the owner of the New York Jets of the National Football League.
Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States. He is the son of Betty (Wold) and Robert Wood Johnson III, president of Johnson & Johnson for four years. He is sometimes referred to as "Woodith" by close friends and family. Johnson grew up with four siblings, Keith Johnson, Billy Johnson, Elizabeth "Libet" Johnson, and Christopher Wold Johnson, in affluent areas of North New Jersey, and attended the Millbrook School. He graduated from the University of Arizona. Johnson then worked menial summer jobs at Johnson & Johnson with the expectation of ascending to the top of the family business.
Johnson became involved in charitable organizations full-time in the 1980s. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His family has been affected by both lupus and juvenile diabetes, which motivated Johnson to take a role in raising funds to prevent, treat, and cure autoimmune diseases. He has led efforts on Capitol Hill and at the National Institutes of Health to increase research funding for these diseases, and personally contributed to causes related to diabetes, after his daughter Casey was diagnosed with the disease. He started a research foundation, the Alliance for Lupus Research, after his daughter Jaime was found to have lupus.
On January 18, 2000, Johnson purchased the Jets for $635 million, the third-highest price for a professional sports team and the highest for one in New York. Johnson, who also owns courtside seats to the New York Knicks, outbid the $612 million offered by Charles Dolan, chairman of Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden, the Knicks, and the Rangers. The team sold for more than $100 million above what some sports finance analysts had expected. Forbes now values the team at $1.8 billion.