John Paul DeJoria Success Story

The journey from homeless to billionaire

John Paul DeJoria is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and self-made billionaire. He is the founder of tequila maker The Patrón Spirits Company and a co-founder of the John Paul Mitchell line system which manufactures hair care products and styling tools

Because of his extraordinary life, once being homeless to becoming a self-made billionaire, he has been featured in a number of reports and documentaries. He has been so popular that he has appeared in cameo roles in movies including “You Don’t Mess with the Zohan” and “The Big Tease.” He appears in television ads for Patron and Season 2 of the television show “Weeds.” Also, he had an appearance on the ABC reality programme “Shark Tank.”

Early Life:

John Paul Jones DeJoria was the second son and born on April 13, 1944 to an Italian immigrant father and a Greek immigrant mother in Los Angeles, California. DeJoria’s parents got separated when he was two years old. When her single mother couldn’t afford to support both the children, she sent them to a foster home. At the age of nine, John Paul DeJoria began working with his brother selling Christmas cards and newspapers to help them make ends meet.

At the age of 17, he joined the US Navy. After serving in the US Navy for two years, he returned to a life where he could not afford college education. For the following several years, he worked a variety of occupations, including caretaking and selling shampoo door-to-door.

In 1971, while working at Redken Laboratories, he gained understanding about hair care products. In 1975, however, he was sacked because of a difference of opinion over business strategy. Despite increasing sales, he was once again sacked from his position at Fermodyl Hair Care where he had trained the management and sales staff. His next position was at the Institute of Trichology, but he later lost his employment since the company could no longer afford his pay.

He and his hairstylist buddy Paul Mitchell decided to launch John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980 with a $700 loan since they were both having financial difficulties. They made the decision to provide items for trained stylists that would aid in shortening the time needed to style a client’s hair. They began by developing a shampoo for single use and a leave-in conditioner. After two years of hardship, the firm generated $1 million in gross sales in the third year, and the goods started to take off, entering thousands of salons.

Personal Life:

John Paul DeJoria’s first wife abandoned him and their two-year-old kid in 1966. She stole all of their money as well as his only car. As a result, DeJoria was unable to pay his apartment fee and was forced to evict himself and live on the street with his young son. He met a girl Eloise Broady on a blind date and married her in 1993. DeJoria has six children, three of them are from his marriage to Eloise.

He and his wife Eloise have given more than $4,000 to Senator Ted Cruz’s campaign and more than $5,000 to Texas Governor Rick Perry’s, among other candidates, as well as to the DNC and other Democratic candidates.

His Achievements and Awards:

He received the Legend of Beauty Award from Beauty Business West’s Board of Directors that same year for being an innovator whose ideas, dedication, and actions significantly altered the course of the beauty industry. In recognition of his contributions to the nation and his community, John Paul DeJoria earned the prestigious Lone Sailor Award in 2012.

He received the Humanitarian Award from The Dream Foundation in 2014 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Dream Foundation initiatives. As one of the most renowned corporate figures in the world, he also earned the Lifetime Humanitarian Award from the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer, and AIDS Research in 2014.

Philanthropy and Social work:

He supports Food4Africa, and in 2008 he worked alongside Nelson Mandela to help feed more than 17,000 orphaned children. He gave the kids over 400,000 life-saving meals. He established Grow Appalachia in 2009 to help promote wholesome eating and impart farming knowledge. When Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was jailed in Germany for interfering with shark finning activities in 2012, he publicly supported and advocated for Watson.

Off the coast of Antigua in the Caribbean, on the island of Barbuda, which he bought for real estate purposes, he intends to give the islanders roughly 700 full-time jobs. Moreover, he pledged that 1% of all island sales would benefit the community. DeJoria also keeps himself occupied by assisting in the deactivation of landmines, providing aid to the homeless, and collaborating with other groups to protect the environment and animals.

The Patrón Tequila Express:

The Patrón Tequila Express, a vintage private train car, is owned by DeJoria. It was created in 1927 and served as Car No. 50 for the Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Railroad before that. DeJoria purchased the railway car in 1996 and spent $2 million renovating it. The railway car is 85 feet (25.91 m) long and has three cabins (each with a bathroom and shower), a kitchen, a dining area, an observation room, and an outside deck. The expense of staffing, maintaining, storing, and insuring the Patrón Tequila Express is $10,000 each month, in addition to the mileage charges paid to Amtrak to move the train car across the country.