Jonathan Nelson
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- Private equity
- Industry
- Finance & Investments
- Residence
- Providence, Rhode Island
- Organization
- Executive Chairman at Providence Equity Partners
- Education
- Brown University (Bachelor of Arts/Science)Harvard University (Master of Business Administration)
- Marital Status
- Widowed, Remarried
- Children
- 3
Biography
Jonathan Nelson is the executive chairman of Providence Equity Partners, the private equity firm he founded in 1989.
Providence has invested in more than 180 companies, many in the media, communications, education and information industries.
The firm sold scuba-diving certification company PADI in 2017 for over $700 million, three times its initial investment.
In 2021, Providence sextupled its 2007 investment of $300 million in video game developer ZeniMax Media, which Microsoft acquired for $7.5 billion.
Nelson serves as a trustee of Rockefeller University and on the board of the Institute for Advanced Study.
About
In college, Nelson worked for a commercial radio station where he broadcast the "Jazz After Hours" program.
Nelson serves on the board of directors of the Newport Festival Foundation, which puts on the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals.