Jay Penske (born May 5, 1979) is an American businessman best known for creating the media company Penske Media Corporation.

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, New York, Penske is the youngest son of Kathy, an English school teacher and Roger Penske, the founder and chairman of the Penske Corporation and former race car driver. Penske is an alumnus of St. Mary's Preparatory, in Detroit Michigan, after having attended Cranbrook, Tabor Academy, and Lawrenceville. Penske graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

's Wharton School"St. Mary's Preparatory honors trio for athletic accomplishments"
; April 15, 2004; The Oakland Press; Retrieved September 6, 2007 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Management of Information Systems and Finance."Jay Penske hopes to follow in footsteps of famous father"
Bruce Martin; May 21, 2007; yahoo.com; Retrieved October 18, 2007 He is on the board of the Entrepreneurial School at the Wharton School as of 2007, and is also a member of the

Library's Board of Directors."Trustees' Winter Meeting Coverage"
February 27, 2007;

; Retrieved November 10, 2007

Businesses and Career

Early Career – Cell Phone for Kids and Rare Books

Penske began his career while studying at Wharton, and shortly after graduating created the first mobile phone for children, Firefly. Penske co-founded Firefly Mobile, Inc., a wireless company that developed the Firefly mobile phone for children, and other youth targeted mobile devices and products. Penske also founded and owned Dragon Books, Ltd., a Los Angeles-based antiquarian and used bookstore which sold rare and collectible books which opened for business in 1999, and closed fifteen years later in 2014. Dragon Books, Ltd. was named after Penske's favorite childhood book, “Dragon, Dragon,” written by John Gardner.

Career – Email, Media and Publishing

Penske is the Chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation (PMC),"Son Adopts Father's Passion"
May 15, 2007; The Columbus Dispatch; Retrieved November 10, 2007 a

digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...

and publishing company that owns and operates a number of media brands, data services, and live events, including ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', '' Variety'', '' Billboard'', ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', '' Deadline'', and South by Southwest festival (SXSW). Prior to being named Penske Media Corporation, it began as an affinity marketing and internet services company called Velocity Services, Inc. The company acquired the Mail.com domain which was renamed to the Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC). Penske joined the board of

Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''S ...

in 2023 after PMC became the largest shareholder of the company. Penske in 2023 was declared by the Los Angeles Magazine on its cover to be “one of the most powerful publishers in the world”, and has been compared to

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

, S.I. Newhouse, and Rupert Murdoch for his acquisition and portfolio of media brands.

Motorsports

Penske founded an

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

racing team in 2007, jointly with Steve Luczo, the Chairman of

Seagate Technology Seagate Technology Holdings plc is an American Computer data storage, data storage company. It was incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology and commenced business in 1979. Since 2010, the company has been incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with ...

. In October 2013, Penske Autosport signed an agreement with Formula E Holdings to be the fourth franchise team to enter the new FIA Formula E Championship. The team was runner-up in the 2014-15 season with drivers Jérôme d'Ambrosio (who ranked fourth) and Loïc Duval. Penske Autosport has won the first ever Formula E races in the following countries: Germany, at the Berlin E-Prix (2015); Mexico, at the Mexico City E-Prix (2016); and India, at the Hyderabad E-Prix (2023), and the Jeddah ePrix in 2025

Personal life

Penske married model Elaine Irwin in 2012. They separated in 2023 and divorced amicably after 12 years in 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penske, Jay 1979 births Living people 21st-century American businesspeople American investors American mass media owners American magazine publishers (people) American newspaper publishers (people) American people of German descent American publishing chief executives American sports owners Businesspeople from Los Angeles Businesspeople from New York City Cranbrook Educational Community alumni Formula E team owners IndyCar Series team owners Lawrenceville School alumni Mass media people from Los Angeles Mass media people from New York City Penske Media Corporation Philanthropists from New York (state) St. Mary's Preparatory alumni Variety (magazine) people Wharton School alumni