Carlos Watson's Net Worth Might Be Enough to Save Ozy Media
With Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson’s net worth estimated in the millions, he might need that money to keep the company afloat.
Oct. 4 2021, Published 1:02 p.m. ET
Ozy Media investors and advertisers rushed to jump ship last week from the scandal-ridden company. However, CEO and co-founder Carlos Watson said that he will keep Ozy Media afloat. With Watson’s net worth estimated in the millions, he might need that money to keep the ship sailing.
What is Carlos Watson’s net worth?
Watson’s net worth is estimated at between $4 million and $7 million, according to the website Biography Daily.
Ozy Media lies were exposed.
Ozy Media became the center of controversy last week after The New York Times reported on numerous lies told by Watson and his business partner Samir Rao. The New York Times reported on Sept. 26 that Rao impersonated a YouTube executive during a February conference call with potential investor Goldman Sachs, which was considering investing $40 million.
Watson also reportedly lied when he claimed that Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne had invested in his company, CNBC reported on Sept. 30. The Osbourne’s didn’t invest in the company but were given stock in it after they sued in 2017 over the name of the company’s annual music festival, Ozy Fest, CNBC reported.
Another alleged lie involved the production of “The Carlos Watson Show.” When Watson and Ozy Media hired longtime television producer Brad Bessey to be the executive producer on the show, Bessey was told that the show would appear on the cable television network A&E, the Times reported on Sept. 30. Bessey soon discovered that the claims were false and resigned. The show was released on YouTube instead.
As the Ozy scandals snowballed, more employees resigned including Katty Kay, former BBC anchor, and billionaire investor Marc Lasry, the chairman of the company.
Watson says that Ozy Media won’t shut down.
Amid the controversy, Watson announced on Oct. 1 that the company was closing its doors, only to do an about-face days later and say that the company will remain open.
The shutdown announcement was “premature,” Watson told CNBC on Oct. 4.
“We have lots of things we have to do to improve, but I very genuinely feel like we have a meaningful, transformational voice,” he told CNBC. “At our best, this will be our Lazarus moment.”
Can you buy Ozy Media stock?
Watson and Rao founded Ozy Media in 2013. The company started as a daily digital newsletter and has since added podcasts, TV shows, and the Ozy Festival. Over the years, the company has raised more than $70 million from investors. It's a privately owned company so you can't buy stock in Ozy Media.
Watson got kicked out of kindergarten.
Although Watson got kicked out of kindergarten at the tender age of six, he went back to school a year later and eventually graduated from Harvard and Stanford Law School. He's a former anchor and contributor to several cable news stations including CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN.
In 2020, Watson was executive producer of the show Black Women OWN the Conversation on the Oprah Winfrey Network, which received an Emmy for one of its episodes.
Who is Carlos Watson’s wife?
If Watson is married, he's keeping it under wraps. There isn't any public information available about whether he has a wife.
