The Hair Care With Philanthropy Works
“The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do all the things unsuccessful people don’t want to do.”
Born as John Paul Jones DeJoria on April 13, 1944, in Echo Park, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, he was the second son of an Italian father and a Greek mother. He was two years old when his parents divorced. Hence, to support his mother, he started selling Christmas cards and newspapers at the age of nine, along with his older brother.
He grew up in Atwater Village on Garden Avenue, and later in Revere. So he went to Atwater Elementary School and John Marshall High School. He graduated from high school in 1962. When his mother failed to support him and his brother, they were sent to a foster home in East Los Angeles.
As a directionless teen, he became a member of a street gang, but decided to mend his ways when his high school math teacher told him that he would never succeed in life unless he give up the dark life.
Best known as the cofounder of hair care company John Paul Mitchell Systems and high-end tequila Patrón Spirits Company, John Paul DeJoria is as well known for his philanthropic work as he is for his entrepreneurial endeavors. The documentary that details his life story, Good Fortune, opens Friday in New York, with a June 30 opening pegged for Los Angeles and other cities throughout the country to follow in July.
DeJoria, 73, has a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to FORBES, but at two separate times in his life, he was homeless and living out of his car. The one-time door-to-door shampoo and encyclopedia salesman partnered with Paul Mitchell in 1980 and the two turned $700 into what would become John Paul Mitchell Systems, one of the most profitable hair care companies in the world. Not too long after their company took off, Mitchell died of cancer and DeJoria took over. The company is still running strong and currently estimates a $1 billion annual revenue stream.
He’s signed the “Giving Pledge” alongside 150 billionaires to give 50% of his earnings to better the world and he contributes to over 160 charities worldwide. In fact, these days most of his time is spent giving back.
Even in the beginning, DeJoria ardently stood by his personal beliefs and as an avid animal lover, vowed to never test his products on animals, instead opting to test them on himself. The film, narrated by Dan Aykroyd, delves deep into what is being called “Conscious Capitalism,” or what many are calling “The Triple Bottom Line: profit, people, the planet.”
Twenty-four years ago, DeJoria was a homeless single father. He now lives in a $50 million estate in Malibu with all the toys a man could want: motorcycles, cars, a private jet. So, how did he do it? He works hard and gives back as much, if not more than he takes in. With each undertaking, he thinks not only of how much money can be made, but how he can help people, animals and the environment. Each business decision is always in line with a philanthropic decision.
“When I talk to the people there I get down to the nitty gritty. I share with them that I can remember feeling embarrassed that I didn’t have the right pair of shoes for an interview and I tell them about the days I spent hunting for bottles to turn in for coins. I want them to feel like they can turn their lives around.”
INSPR 