Dan Friedkin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Dan Friedkin (born 1965) is an American businessman and film producer. He is the owner and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of The Friedkin Group which was founded by his father, Thomas H. Friedkin. He is also the owner and chairman of
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
club Roma and
Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
club Everton. , his estimated net worth is US$7.8 billion.


Early life

Dan Friedkin was born in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California, the son of Thomas H. Friedkin and grandson of Kenny Friedkin, founder of Pacific Southwest Airlines. He earned a bachelor's degree from
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
, and a master's from
Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...
.


Career

After his father, Tom, turned 65, he turned over responsibility for running the holding firm and its 3,000 employees to Dan, but remained chairman and continued to dispense advice.Forbes: "Under the Radar" by Doug Donovan
October 1, 2001
At age 35, Dan Friedkin was the CEO of Gulf States Toyota and Friedkin Group. Since 2013, Friedkin has been chairman of Auberge Resorts Collection, a portfolio of luxury resorts, hotels and vacation properties in the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, Europe, Caribbean, and Fiji. In 2017, Friedkin co-formed 30WEST, providing capital and guidance to creative projects and companies. In 2018, Friedkin and 30WEST acquired majority ownership in
Neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...
, a theatrical marketing and distribution company that distributed the
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winning film ''Parasite''. In December 2019, Friedkin started negotiations to purchase the Italian
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club Roma, and on August 6, 2020, signed the preliminary contract to agree to pay $591 million to
James Pallotta James Joseph Pallotta (born March 13, 1958) is an American billionaire businessman. In 2009, he founded Raptor Group, a private investment company. Prior to forming Raptor, Pallotta was vice chairman at Tudor Investment Corporation. He was co-o ...
, the main shareholder of Roma. In July 2024, Friedkin started negotiations to purchase English football club Everton. He pulled out of negotiations in August 2024, but restarted negotiations soon after, with him agreeing to buy the 94.1% share of the club owned by Farhad Moshiri in September 2024. On December 19, 2024, the deal was completed, paying approximately £400 million to become the owner of Everton. Friedkin is the co-founder and principal at Imperative Entertainment, a studio specializing in the development, production and financing of original and branded entertainment across all platforms focusing on film, television and documentaries. Friedkin was a producer on over a dozen Imperative Entertainment films, including '' The Square'' (Palme d'Or at the 2017 Festival de Cannes), '' All the Money in the World'', '' The Mule'' and '' Killers of the Flower Moon''. Friedkin was also the director of the 2019 film '' The Last Vermeer''. In addition, Friedkin has been recognized for his work in the film ''
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
'' with a Taurus Stunt Award for Best Specialty Stunt. Friedkin piloted an authentic
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...
through an aerial dogfight, landing on the beach at
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
, France. In March 2025, it was reported that Friedkin met with the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
regarding placing an expansion team in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
.


Personal life

He and his wife Debra have four children, and live in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. Friedkin is the founder and chairman of the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation and "one of nine civilian Heritage Flight pilots qualified to fly in formation with US. Air Force single-ship demonstration teams". Friedkin flies a variety of high-performance vintage military aircraft, performing in aerobatic air shows across North America and Europe with the U.S. Air Force and the Horsemen P-51 Flight Team. An avid golfer, Friedkin built the Congaree golf course in South Carolina that was designed by Tom Fazio. Congaree is ranked No. 42 on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. He is owner of Diamond Creek Golf Club in North Carolina which he purchased from
Wayne Huizenga Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr. (; December 29, 1937 – March 22, 2018) was an American businessman. He founded AutoNation and Waste Management Inc., and was the owner or co-owner of Blockbuster Video, the Miami Dolphins of the National Football ...
in 2012. Diamond Creek Golf Club is ranked as one of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses by
Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its TNT Sports unit. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competitive golf. The magazine started by John F. ...
. In August 2019, Friedkin was voted chair of Project Recover, a collaborative effort to enlist 21st century science and technology in a quest to find and repatriate Americans missing in action since
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Conservation

Friedkin is involved in conservation efforts through the Friedkin Conservation Fund, which works to protect millions of acres of endangered wildlife areas and stimulate community development in
East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
. FCF also conducts research and monitoring in order to make effective wildlife management decisions and promote long-term sustainability of wildlife and their wilderness. The family also leases 3.2 million acres of protected wildlife areas across
Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
for conservation. Friedkin is also the Chairman-Emeritus of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, which manages and conserves the natural and cultural resources of Texas. In 2014, Friedkin and Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, along with other conservation organizations, made the largest conservation investment in Texas history when they purchased the 17,351-acre Powderhorn Ranch to preserve one of the largest remaining tracts of unspoiled coastal prairie in Texas. Friedkin is among landowners who supported a Texas legislative bill that would regulate wind and solar power projects in Texas. Environmentalists criticized the bill, saying it unfairly targets renewable energy and undermines
climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include energy conservation, conserving energy and Fossil fuel phase-out, repl ...
. Friedkin has sought to prevent an electric transmission line being built on his sprawling ranch in
West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...
. Friedkin also owns Mwiba Lodge, a luxury secluded lodge, located in a private wildlife reserve in the southern part of the
Serengeti National Park The Serengeti National Park is a large national park in northern Tanzania that stretches over . It is located in eastern Mara Region and northeastern Simiyu Region and contains over of virgin savanna. The park was established in 1940. The Se ...
in Tanzania.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedkin, Dan 1965 births Living people Businesspeople from Houston American people of Russian-Jewish descent Film producers from California Film directors from California American billionaires Rice University alumni Georgetown University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Italian football chairmen and investors English football chairmen and investors AS Roma non-playing staff Everton F.C. non-playing staff