John Paul DeJoria was six years old when his mother handed him and his brother a single dime one Christmas.
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mother → hand → dime
Wondering what the money was for, John looked at his mother.
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John → wonder → mother
She asked him to drop it into a bucket beside a man ringing a bell outside a downtown Los Angeles department store.
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She → ask → store
The coin could buy a few candy bars back then, and the boys wanted to know why they had given it away.
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they → buy → it
Their usual Christmas treat was a visit to see the holiday displays.
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treat → see → displays
“This is the Salvation Army that helps people who really are in need.
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who → help → need
Remember, boys, no matter how much you have, there is always someone who is more in need than you.
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who → remember → you
Always try to give, even if it is just a little,” their mother told them.
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mother → try → them
A lesson that stayed
The lesson stayed with John Paul DeJoria for the rest of his life.
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lesson → stay → life
It guided him through two periods of homelessness and remained central to his outlook even after he became a billionaire.
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he → guide → outlook
Having experienced hardship himself, he would go on to make giving back a defining part of his life.
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he → experience → life
From feeding orphans and helping homeless people find employment to protecting whales, rescuing young girls from prostitution and helping Appalachian families grow their own food, DeJoria has made philanthropy a central part of his life.
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philanthropy → feed → life
In 2011, DeJoria joined Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in signing the Giving Pledge, committing to give away at least half his wealth to philanthropy.
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DeJoria → join → philanthropy
In his pledge letter, he wrote: “I plan to help the world now and in the future, through my trust and my family, with half (if not more) of what I have been blessed with today.”
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I → write → what
A childhood shaped by hardship
DeJoria’s mother raised him and his brother in a European immigrant community in downtown Los Angeles.
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mother → shape → Angeles
“We didn’t have very much, not even a TV; however, we always felt we had enough,” the billionaire recalled in his pledge letter.
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billionaire → have → letter
This lesson later became his philosophy, which he sums up as “success unshared is failure”.
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success → become → which
It is also the title of his recently published autobiography.
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It → publish → autobiography
He was homeless twice
Going from homelessness to billionaire status is a journey few can imagine.
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few → go → status
DeJoria first became homeless at 22.
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DeJoria → become → 22
He came home from a job at a vehicle show to find that his wife had emptied their bank account, left their two-year-old son in the living room with a note, and left the rent and utility bills unpaid.
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wife → come → bills
The landlord was preparing to evict them.
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landlord → prepare → them
With a 1951 Cadillac that needed water every few hours, the family lived in the car and collected soda bottles from vacant lots for the two-cent and five-cent refunds.
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family → need → refunds
A biker friend, Lee Meyers, eventually offered them a spare room.
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friend → offer → room
DeJoria's second spell of homelessness came in 1980, when the European investor backing his planned $500,000 hair-care company pulled out.
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investor → come → company
He and hairdresser Paul Mitchell pooled $350 each.
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He → pool → 350
Before launching John Paul Mitchell Systems with Mitchell in 1980, DeJoria had been living in his car.
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DeJoria → launch → car
In 1989, he co-
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he → co → 1989
founded The Patrón Spirits Company, which was acquired in 2018 in a deal valuing the company at $5.1 billion.
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which → found → billion
Giving back
John Paul DeJoria never forgot the importance of giving back to those in need.
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DeJoria → give → need
In 2011, he signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment by wealthy individuals and families to give away at least half their fortunes.
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he → sign → fortunes
“Giving back is a practice and joy I want my family to continue,” he said.
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he → give → ?
The same year, he and his family established the JP’s Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation.
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he → establish → Foundation
The foundation reflects his personal interests, including food security, support for homeless people and veterans, animal protection, and the protection of vulnerable women and children.
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foundation → reflect → women
The foundation’s best-known project is Grow Appalachia, an initiative of Berea College in Kentucky.
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project → know → Kentucky
The programme teaches families to grow their own produce.
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programme → teach → produce
DeJoria made an initial donation of $150,000 in 2009, and the work has since continued through his foundation.
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work → make → foundation
According to the programme, it has helped more than 13,000 families grow almost 8 million pounds of produce.
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families → accord → produce
DeJoria has also embedded the principle of helping those in need into his businesses.
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DeJoria → embed → businesses
His company provides employees with 2,664 hours of paid time off to volunteer.
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company → provide → time
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
