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Abigail Johnson

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Abigail Johnson
Johnson in 2022
Born
Abigail Pierrepont Johnson

(1961-12-19) December 19, 1961 (age 63)
Boston, Massachusetts, US
EducationWilliam Smith College (BA)
Harvard University (MBA)
OccupationBusinesswoman
TitleChairwoman, CEO, and president, Fidelity Investments
Chairwoman, Fidelity International
Spouse
Christopher McKown
​
​
(m. 1988)​
Children2
FatherEdward Johnson III
RelativesEdward C. Johnson II (grandfather)

Abigail Pierrepont Johnson[1] (born December 19, 1961) is an American billionaire businesswoman and the granddaughter of late Edward C. Johnson II, the founder of Fidelity Investments.[2] Since 2014, Johnson has been president and chief executive officer (CEO) of American investment firm Fidelity Investments (FMR),[3] and chair of its former sister company Fidelity International (FIL). Fidelity was founded by her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II. Her father, Edward C. "Ned" Johnson III, remained chair emeritus of FMR until his death in March 2022. As of March 2013, the Johnson family owned a 49% stake in the privately-held company, with Johnson herself holding an estimated 24.5%.[4][5] She is a board member of Breakthrough Energy Ventures.[6]

In November 2016, Johnson was named chair and remained CEO and president, giving her full control of Fidelity with 45,000 employees worldwide.[7] As of June 2024 Johnson's wealth is approximately $35.6 billion,[8] making her one of the world's wealthiest women. She was named on Forbes' "The Richest Person In America's 50 Largest Cities" list in 2016 and ranked eighth in 2023 on their "World's 100 Most Powerful Women" list.[9] She has been the richest person in Massachusetts since at least 2015.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][excessive citations]

Early life

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She was born in Boston, Massachusetts[20] on December 19, 1961. Johnson and her younger siblings did not feel pressured to join the family business. As a child Johnson was attracted to her father’s work.[21] Johnson attended Cambridge, Massachusetts private school Buckingham Browne & Nichols School and then graduated from William Smith College with a bachelor's degree in art history in 1984.[22] After working as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she met her husband, Johnson completed an MBA at Harvard Business School.[4][1][23]

Fidelity Investments

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Johnson at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in 2012

Upon graduating from Harvard Business School in 1988, Johnson joined Fidelity Investments, which her grandfather Edward Johnson II founded in 1946[4] and of which her father Edward Johnson III was then the CEO. She began as an analyst and portfolio manager.[4] In 2001, she was promoted to president of Fidelity Asset Management. During her time in that position, Johnson unsuccessfully attempted to orchestrate a vote to remove her father as CEO over disagreements about his business decisions.[24] In 2005, she became Head of Retail, Workplace, and Institutional Business. She was named president in 2012. In 2014, she became CEO,[25] and in 2016 she became chairman as well.[4] In 2018, Johnson introduced cryptocurrency investment at Fidelity, making it possible for institutional investors to trade Bitcoin and Ether.[4]

Politics

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In 2015, Johnson donated $2,700, the maximum amount legally allowed for presidential primary campaigns, to Republican candidate Jeb Bush.[26] In 2016, she donated about $330,000 to Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.[27]

Awards and honors

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Johnson has served as a member of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation and as a member of the board of directors of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and of MIT.[28] She is the first and only woman to serve on the board of the Financial Services Forum.[29]

Forbes has ranked Johnson among the most powerful women in the world for several years:

Forbes: The World's 100 Most Powerful Women
Year Rank
2024 6
2023 8[30]
2022 5[31]
2021 6[32]
2020 9[4]
2019 7
2018 5
2017 7
2016 16
2015 19

Johnson was ranked 13th on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women in 2023.[33] In 2024, American Banker recognized Johnson as the No. 2 Most Powerful Woman in Finance.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Abby Johnson Has Wedding". The New York Times. June 26, 1988. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  2. ^ "The World's Billionaires (2010): #48 Abigail Johnson". Forbes. March 3, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  3. ^ O'Donnell, Carl (October 13, 2014). "Abigail Johnson Replaces Father Edward As CEO Of Fidelity". Forbes. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Abigail Johnson". Forbes. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Lau, Debra (May 21, 2001). "Fidelity Promotes Abigail Johnson To President". Forbes. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
  6. ^ "BEV Board and Investors | Breakthrough Energy". breakthroughenergy.org. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  7. ^ Healy, Beth (November 21, 2016). "'Ned' Johnson stepping down as Fidelity chairman". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  8. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Abigail Johnson". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  9. ^ "The World's Most Powerful Women 2023". Forbes.
  10. ^ Brown, Abram. "The Richest Person In Every State". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  11. ^ Alexander, Dan. "Meet The Richest Person In Every State". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Peterson-Withorn, Chase. "Meet The Richest Person In Every State 2017". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Debter, Lauren. "Meet The Richest Person In Every State 2018". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  14. ^ Wang, Jennifer. "The Richest Person In Each State 2019". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  15. ^ Coudriet, Carter. "The Richest Billionaire In Every U.S. State 2020". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Voytko-Best, Lisette. "Here's The Richest Billionaire In Every U.S. State 2021". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  17. ^ McEvoy, Jemima. "The Richest Billionaire In Every State 2022". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  18. ^ Team, Forbes Wealth. "The Richest Person In Every State 2023". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  19. ^ Team, Forbes Wealth. "The Richest Person In Every State 2024". Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  20. ^ "Abigail P. Johnson, MBA 1988". Harvard Business School. May 23, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  21. ^ "Who's Afraid of Abby Johnson?". Boston Magazine. August 7, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  22. ^ "William Smith Leaders: Abigail P. Johnson '84". William Smith College. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  23. ^ "Fidelity: Here Comes Abby". BusinessWeek. July 8, 2002. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  24. ^ Grind, Kirsten (April 8, 2015). "Fidelity's New Chief Confronts Market Shift". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  25. ^ Grind, Kirsten (October 13, 2014). "Abigail Johnson Named CEO of Fidelity Investments". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  26. ^ Ryan, Greg (November 13, 2015). "Fidelity's Abigail Johnson maxes out donations to this presidential candidate". Boston Business Journal.
  27. ^ Pendleton, Devon (August 3, 2020). "Fidelity Family's Vast Wealth Is Matched by Passion for Privacy". Bloomberg L.P. Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  28. ^ Ryan, Greg (September 6, 2019). "Fidelity's Abby Johnson strikes deal to stay off stand in MIT 401(k) trial". BizJournals.com. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  29. ^ Healy, Beth (December 5, 2014). "Abigail Johnson, after years of training, gets to put her stamp on Fidelity". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  30. ^ "The World's Most Powerful Women 2023". Forbes.
  31. ^ Contreras, Isabel (December 6, 2022). "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  32. ^ Contreras, Isabel (December 7, 2021). "Most Powerful Women In Finance". Forbes. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  33. ^ "Most Powerful Women". Fortune.
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