How To Lose Nearly $20 Billion: Inside The Fall Of Charles Ergen & His Attempt To Battle Back
Once America’s 24th richest person, the former poker player is making a bold bid to revive his empire—and fortune.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicahunter-hart/2023/12/20/how-to-lose-20-billion-inside-the-fall-of-dish-networks-charles-ergen-and-his-latest-attempt-to-fight-back/?sh=4b5bb6222358
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
The Daily Briefing is edited, produced and hosted by Kieran Meadows.
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicahunter-hart/2023/12/20/how-to-lose-20-billion-inside-the-fall-of-dish-networks-charles-ergen-and-his-latest-attempt-to-fight-back/?sh=4b5bb6222358
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
The Daily Briefing is edited, produced and hosted by Kieran Meadows.
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00 Today on Forbes, how to lose nearly $20 billion,
00:04 inside the fall of Dish Network's Charles Ergin
00:07 and his latest attempt to battle back.
00:10 In early 2015, Charles Ergin was the richest person
00:15 in Colorado and the 24th richest in the United States.
00:18 Some 14 million households got their TV
00:21 from his Dish Network, which had recently hit
00:23 an all-time high market capitalization
00:25 of nearly $37 billion.
00:28 His second business, EchoStar,
00:30 was profiting off Dish's success,
00:32 providing most of the satellite technology
00:34 for its broadcasts.
00:36 Ergin, who owned sizable chunks
00:38 of both publicly traded companies,
00:40 had a fortune of $20.1 billion.
00:42 Then came the streaming wars.
00:46 As customers flocked to on-demand,
00:48 internet-based options like Netflix and Hulu,
00:51 Dish TV's subscriber base has fallen to 6.7 million,
00:55 down from a peak of 14.1 million in 2010.
00:59 Dish has lost 900,000 customers in the past year alone.
01:03 Shareholders have jumped ship,
01:05 pushing the stock from $70 per share nine years ago
01:08 to just under $5 now, including a 65% freefall in 2023.
01:13 Meanwhile, EchoStar brought in $1.8 billion in revenue
01:18 over the 12 months through September,
01:20 almost half the $3.4 billion it generated nine years ago.
01:25 Not surprisingly, Ergin's net worth,
01:27 which remains largely tied up in the two businesses,
01:30 has cratered, falling a stunning 94% since 2015,
01:34 despite the S&P 500 gaining 125% in value
01:38 over the same period.
01:40 His fortune slipped below $800 million in November,
01:43 when he briefly fell from the billionaire ranks
01:45 for the first time since 1998.
01:47 Now, Ergin, a former professional poker player,
01:52 is betting he can reverse his fortunes
01:53 with a full business overhaul,
01:55 merging EchoStar and Dish
01:57 and transforming the business from pay TV
02:00 into a 5G wireless network operator.
02:03 His gamble rests on a groundbreaking,
02:04 but little-tested technology,
02:06 and a deal that will bring in much-needed cash
02:08 to triage Dish's loan-littered balance sheet,
02:11 which totals $21 billion in debt,
02:14 $3 billion of it due this year.
02:16 Roy Chua, founder and principal at Avidthink,
02:20 a research and analysis firm
02:22 focused on infrastructure technologies, says,
02:24 quote, "He needed to make bold moves."
02:27 Announced in August,
02:30 the FCC approved the merger on December 6th,
02:32 sending the stock soaring 31% from its $3.32 low,
02:37 and helped push Ergin back to the billionaire ranks.
02:39 He's currently worth $1.3 billion.
02:41 The transaction was expected to close
02:44 by the end of last month.
02:46 Investors are encouraged that Dish
02:47 will now be able to pay off
02:49 at least the first of its massive debts this year,
02:51 though analysts remain skeptical
02:53 about the business's long-term health,
02:55 especially because debts could keep mounting,
02:57 and the business needs to raise billions more in capital.
03:00 It's not the first time Ergin has faced tough odds,
03:02 or come up with a long-shot plan to claw his way out.
03:06 Around 2008, 2009, Dish's star rose,
03:09 and as it did, Ergin also made some enemies,
03:12 earning himself the title of, quote,
03:14 "the most hated man in Hollywood"
03:16 by The Hollywood Reporter,
03:17 and Dish as the, quote,
03:18 "worst company to work for"
03:20 multiple times by 24/7 Wall Street in the early 2010s.
03:24 Dish spokesperson Ted Wyteka says that Ergin made enemies
03:28 because he introduced ad-skipping technology at the time
03:31 that angered broadcasters.
03:33 Wyteka says, quote,
03:34 "Of course Hollywood hated Charlie.
03:36 "That fight is just another example
03:38 "of Dish innovating on behalf of consumers."
03:40 For full coverage, check out Monica Hunter Hart's piece
03:45 on Forbes.com.
03:47 This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
03:49 Thanks for tuning in.
03:51 (gentle music)
03:53 (clock ticking)
03:56 (upbeat music)
03:59 (upbeat music)