Barry Charles Diller, born on the 2nd of February 1942, is an American businessman who became a corporate giant for reviving dying companies. He is now the Chairman and Senior Executive of InterActiveCorp and the travel website Expedia, Inc.
So how much is Diller’s net worth? As of mid-2016, it is reported to be $2.7 billion, acquired from his years working in television and on the internet, buying and selling various companies and making a profit.
Barry Diller Net Worth$2.7 billion
Born in San Francisco, California, Diller is the son of Reva and Michael. He grew up in a Jewish household, but is not in to studying. After finishing high school, he entered the University of California, Los Angeles but left before completing a year.
Diller was able to get a job at William Morris Agency, working in the mailroom. He trained himself by reading everything that goes into the mail, such as memos, contracts and the like. Soon, he was promoted to secretary and later on to a junior agent. Although he started as a rank-and-file employee, his career at the agency started his net worth and his career.
In 1966, his career working in the world of television started when he was hired as the personal assistant of Leonard Goldberg, who was about to become head of programming of the network ABC, and he tagged Diller along as his assistant. His work was recognized by other executives of ABC, and he was later on promoted to become vice-president in charge for Circle Entertainment, a division of ABC. He revived the dying network by producing shows including “ABC’s Movie of the Week” and a number of mini-series. The work he did in ABC made him a corporate icon, and tremendously helped his net worth.
In 1974, Diller was hired by Paramount Pictures to revive the dying company. He produced movies and television series that became blockbuster hits and helped the company with their finances. Movies like “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “48 Hours” are some of the top grossing films of all time that he produced.
After leaving Paramount Pictures, Diller was then hired by Twentieth Century-Fox Corporation to do the same thing he did with Paramount, help them with their financial woes. He made drastic changes in the company, from their budgets to their scheduling and eventually the company thrived. He produced a number of shows that helped the network boost audience numbers, such as “The Simpsons”, “Cops”, and “21 Jump Street”. His years working in the world of television made him very popular in the corporate world, and increased his wealth immensely.
Diller later bought QVC, and also sold it. His experience in QVC led him to purchasing Silver King Communications which owns Home Shopping Network. He then turned it into an interactive commerce company, and called it InterActiveCorp. IAC became one of his most successful ventures, and under IAC are a number of popular companies that people from all over the world use, including Expedia, About.com, Dictionary.Com and Investopedia. All of which are very successful and help maintain his wealth.
In terms of Diller’s personal life, he has been married to famous fashion designer, Diane Von Fürstenberg since 2001.
