MIKE OVITZ made his name as an entertainment agent and as the former president of The Walt Disney Company. But his strategy in tackling Holyrood unexpectedly inspired one of the biggest crypto investment firms in the world.
So what is the story behind Mike Ovitz and what is his net worth?
Who is Mike Ovitz?
Mike Ovitz was born on December 4, 1946, in Encino, California.
He stayed in the state to study at university, attending the University of California, Los Angeles. He graduated with a degree in theatre, film, and television in 1968.
While studying he worked part-time as a tour guide at Universal Studios. It was during this time that he first gained exposure to the entertainment agency world.
“I came in contact with a lot of people from the agency business.
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“I realised that there were a lot of areas in the entertainment business that I was interested in, and the career that would offer me the widest exposure to the entertainment business was the agency business,” he said in an interview about his experience.
“Agents can allow creative people to achieve their visions, and that’s why I did it.”
Upon graduating, Ovitz took on a job at the William Morris Agency. He stayed at the firm for six years before quitting along with four of his colleagues to found the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 1975.
Early clients for CAA included comedian Rich Little and the singing group The Jackson 5.
The firm had a plan to monopolise the talent agency industry and set about offering lower rates than other agencies in order to rapidly clear up the market.
Ovitz said in an interview about the strategy: “At the time I thought being vulnerable was a sign of weakness and that any weak link would affect the business.
“We were the ones who got stuff done, and that meant we sometimes ran a little rough over people. We always had to be moving forward and winning. We had to have 100 per cent market share, the number one book, the number one movie, the number one TV show.
“I discovered after the fact that we could have gotten just as big and still let a few others take some wins.”
In 1995, Ovitz resigned from CAA in order to become president of The Walt Disney Company. He lasted just three years in the role after becoming frustrated at his role as number two to chairman Michael Eisner. He was dismissed in 1997.
Mike Ovitz and crypto
Mike Ovitz ended up having a significant impact on the venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz, which specialises in crypto and blockchain technology.
Founded in 2009, Andreessen Horowitz aimed to copy CAA’s strategy of taking on Holyrood in the finance world. Ovitz was invited to join the firm as an adviser on how to dominate the market.
In 2022, Ovitz also entered the crypto-sphere himself, investing in the crypto exchange MoonPay.
Explaining his decision, the businessman said: “NFTs and Web3 technology will revolutionise the business of entertainment.
“Consumers are seeking new ways to consume entertainment and engage with their favourite creators — and the creators themselves want different ways of owning and sharing their creative output.
“MoonPay is helping to power that change as it lowers the barrier of entry to the crypto economy, and I’m excited to join them on that journey.”
What is Mike Ovitz net worth?
Mike Ovitz’s net worth is estimated to be $600million. A large proportion of his money comes from his settlement payment after he left Disney.
The Walt Disney Company paid Ovitz $100million in stock and $38million in cash.
The businessman then invested a lot of this money to help boost his worth.