Carlos Watson is in the news after his media company, Ozy, shut down. Here’s a look at the net worth of the entrepreneur and his life before Ozy.
What happened to Ozy?
American media company Ozy launched in 2013 under the guidance of founders Carlos Watson and Samir Rao.
A producer of podcasts, TV series and a digital magazine, the firm sprang to recognition when its show, Black Women OWN The Conversation, aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network in August 2019. The show subsequently won an Emmy for outstanding news discussion and analysis.
However, fast forward two years and the company and its founders are in the news themselves following accusations of inflated traffic numbers.
Watson had claimed Ozy had 25 million newsletter subscribers but The New York Times reported numbers were actually around 500,000.
Meanwhile, Ozy is under FBI investigation after Rao was accused by the New York Times of impersonating a YouTube executive during a call with Goldman Sachs while attempting to secure a $40 million investment.
On Friday, 1 October 2021, Watson announced the company was shutting down but the chief executive appeared on the Today show on Monday, 4 October reversing his decision.
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Carlos Watson’s net worth and career explored
Watson is estimated to have a net worth of between $4 million and $7 million.
Before founding Ozy with Rao, Watson studied at prestigious institutions Harvard and Stanford Law School.
Straight out of university, he worked for management consulting firm McKinsey & Company before moving on to Goldman Sachs as global head of education investment banking.
He entered broadcast journalism in 2002 as a political analyst for Fox News, CNBC and CNN. Watson gained recognition when he covered the 2004 presidential election and hosted his own prime-time show on CNN, interviewing the likes of Barack Obama and Shaquille O’Neal.
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Carlos Watson’s family
Born in Miami, Florida, on 29 September 1969, Watson is of Jamaican descent and has three siblings.
Throughout his youth, the family experienced financial difficulties and regularly depended on food stamps. Despite eventually studying at some of the country’s top schools, Watson’s academic career got off to a rocky start when he was asked to leave kindergarten.
The 52-year-old’s relationship status is currently unknown.
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