Johannes Hendrikus Hubert "John" de Mol Jr. is a Dutch media proprietor. De Mol is one of the men behind production companies

Endemol Endemol B.V. (stylized in all lowercase) was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted gen ...

and Talpa. He created the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

formats '' Big Brother'', ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

'' and'' The Voice'', and the game shows ''

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled '' ...

'' and ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a ...

''. ''Forbes'' estimated him to be worth about

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

1.8 billion in 2023.

Endemol

De Mol acquired his fortune producing television programmes. From 1997 to 1999, he developed the popular

series '' Big Brother'' with his production company, John de Mol Produkties. In 1994, his company merged with Joop van den Ende TV-Producties into

, but it still functioned on its own. He produced ''

'', ''Love Letters'', '' 1 vs. 100'' and ''

'' ('' Miljoenenjacht'') for Endemol. De Mol sold his share of Endemol in 2000 to but continued to serve as creative director until 2004. In 2005, he was listed on the ''

Forbes Magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The c ...

'' list of the 500 Richest People in the World.

''Utopia''

In January 2014, Endemol launched a new reality TV program called ''Utopia'', featuring 15 people given the aim of building up a new community living on a rural property.

Talpa Media Holding

De Mol founded his own television station. The proposed name, Tien (Dutch for ''10''), was disputed by competitor

SBS Broadcasting SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Cen ...

, owner of the TV10 brand. The channel had to launch under the Talpa brand, Latin for

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

which translates to ''mol'' in Dutch. Later the name dispute was ended, which resulted in the rebranding of Talpa to Tien. The station scored bad ratings, despite scooping the rights of the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

football league. In 2007, de Mol decided to close down Tien and sold the channel to

RTL Nederland RTL Nederland is a Dutch Mass media, media network, a subsidiary of RTL Group. The media company is located in Hilversum, although the licences of its Television station, TV stations are issued in Luxembourg. History Early years The history ...

, retaining a share in that company. De Mol also sold

Radio 538 Radio 538 () is a Dutch commercial radio station established in Hilversum, Netherlands, in 1992. It is the second-most listened to radio station in the Netherlands. The name “Radio 538” refers to the wavelength on which Radio Veronica broadc ...

to RTL Nederland, which he acquired in 2005. Talpa remained the name of the holding company managing De Mol's assets and the production company which continued to produce several programmes for the RTL network, including the highly successful ''Ik Hou van Holland''.

Buying SBS

In 2011, Talpa worked together with Finnish media conglomerate

Sanoma Sanoma Corporation (, , formerly SanomaWSOY) is Finland's largest media group and a European education publisher. The company has media business in Finland and an education business in twelve European countries, including Belgium, Netherlands, ...

to buy the Dutch activities of

from German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media. As part of that deal, De Mol sold his shares in RTL Nederland to the

RTL Group RTL Group S.A. ("Radio Télévision Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate office in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 56 television channels and 36 radio stations in Germany, France an ...

, retaining the ownership of Radio 538 and its sister stations Radio 10 Gold and SLAM!FM.

''The Voice''

In 2010, a new reality competition series, ''

The Voice of Holland ''The Voice of Holland'', also known by its acronym ''TVOH'', is a Dutch singing reality competition television series that became a global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol Jr. and musician Roel van Velzen in the Net ...

'', was launched by de Mol. It was a large success in the Netherlands and the formula was sold to several other countries around the globe. '' The Voice'' (of America) launched on NBC on 27 April 2011 with De Mol and Mark Burnett as executive producers. In '' The Voice'', the singing auditions are 'blind': the jury is turned with their back to the competitors. Once having 'selected' by pushing a button, the juror turns towards the competitor. This concept, the creation of De Mol and Dutch singer VanVelzen, makes it "all about the voice." After these blind auditions, the coaches train their competitors through knock-out battles and public voting rounds until there is one competitor left, who will be named as 'The Voice'.

Personal life

De Mol was formerly married to singer and actress

Willeke Alberti Willy Albertina Verbrugge (born 3 February 1945), known as Willeke Alberti, is a Dutch singer and actress, the daughter of entertainer and singer Willy Alberti (1926–1985) and Hendrika Geertruida Kuiper (1921–2011). Biography Alberti starte ...

. The actor Johnny de Mol is their son. From 1980 to 1984,

Luv' Luv' were a Dutch girl group that scored a string of hit records in Continental Europe ( Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway and Finland) as well as Israel, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Cana ...

singer Marga Scheide was his partner. Outside of television, De Mol controls a large private equity fund which, at one time, owned significant shares of car manufacturer

Spyker Cars Spyker Cars (, ) is a Dutch sports car brand held by the holding company Spyker N.V. (formerly known as Spyker Cars N.V. and Swedish Automobile N.V.). The modern Spyker Cars company held the legal rights to the brand name. The company's mot ...

and telecommunications company Versatel. John's sister, broadcaster and actress Linda de Mol, presents or appears in some of Endemol's programmes, including the original Dutch version of ''

'', '' Miljoenenjacht (Hunt for Millions)''.

References

Sources

*

forbes.com; Nov 2023.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mol, John de 1955 births Living people Dutch chief executives in the mass media industry Dutch corporate directors Dutch television producers Dutch television personalities Dutch billionaires Dutch stock traders People from Hilversum Endemol people Primetime Emmy Award winners 20th-century Dutch businesspeople 21st-century Dutch businesspeople