Mellody Louise Hobson Lucas is popularly known as Mellody Hobson, who was born on 3rd April 1969. The American businessman is the CEO and president of Ariel Investments and former chairman of Dreamworks Animation. She stepped down from Dreamworks Animation in August 2016 after negotiating the acquisition of Dreamworks Animation SKG, inc.
Mellody Hobson is a former chair of Starbucks. She became the chair of Starbucks in 2021, which was announced on 26 December 2020. She was the first Black woman to chair an S&P 500 company. Melody Hobson served as the chair of Starbucks till August 2024. Till 2020 she was in the 94th position of world’s 100 most powerful women by Forbes.
Mellody Hobson Networth
The American businesswoman, mellody Hobson has a net worth of $ 150 million. In 2013, she got married to a billionaire filmmaker, George Lucas after that she gained national recognition. Melody has a very successful career in finance, she is serving as the CEO of Ariel Investment, which is a Chicago-based investment company. She was also the chairwoman of Dreamworks Animations which supplemented her net worth. Mellody Hobson is the former chair of Starbucks which also contributed to the growth of her net worth.
The estimated salary of Melody Hobson is $1 million monthly. After adding all the additional benefits her annual income is more than $12 million. Melody got a lot of popularity and money after becoming the President of the Economic Club of Chicago. Hobson is very popular among future leaders and other publications.
Melody Hobson was the first African American woman to sit on the chair of the Economic Club of Chicago in 2017. She has been contributing financially to “Good Morning America” and “CBS This Morning.” In 2019 she was the host and executive producer of the ABC special “Un-broke What You Need to Know about Money.”
Mellody Hobson has been featured in many magazines and Journals including Ebony magazine’s 20 Leaders of the Future list in 1992, the Wall Street Journal’s list of 50 women to watch in 2004, Esquire magazine’s America’s Best and Brightest list in 2022, and Time magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people in 2015. In June 2022, Melody became the first Black female to own an NFL team.
Who is Mellody Hobson?
Mellody Hobson was born in Chicago, Illinois on 3rd April 1969. She is the youngest of five siblings. She completed her graduation in 1991 from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. In 2019 she was Awarded in the Alumni Day of Woodrow Wilson School. She joined the cottage club at Princeton University. The cottage club is one of the eating clubs on the Princeton University campus. During her time in Princeton, she stated that none of her family members had graduated from college before she arrived in Princeton from Chicago. She also stated that hope her name will inspire the future generation students of Princeton, especially the ones who are black and brown. She concluded her speech by saying that our past should not affect our future.
Mellody Hobson’s Personal Life
In 2006 Mellody was in a relationship with George Lucas whom she had met at a business conference. In 2013 they both got engaged. Melody Hobson and George Lucas got married on 22nd June 2013 at Skywalker Ranch. The lovely couple welcomed their first daughter, Everest, on 9th August 2013 via surrogacy. Melody has three stepchildren named Katie Lucas, Amanda, and Jett. George and his wife, Marcia Lou Griffin, adopted Amanda, and after their divorce in 1983, he adopted Katy and Jett on his own. In August 2017, the city of Birmingham honored Mellody Hobson on the Jack Good Snow for her charitable works with leaders of tomorrow.
Mellody Hobson’s Career Highlights
Mellody Hobson joined as an intern at Ariel Investments after completing her graduation from Princeton. After some years of her work, she became the senior Vice President as well as director of marketing of the company. In 2000 Mellody became the President of Ariel Investments. Melody was also on the board of trustees of Ariel Investments.
Melody has been a member of various organizations including JP Morgan Chase and corporations, Sundance Institute, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. She was in the position of the board of directors of The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. Melody was the head of the Starbucks finance committee after that she became the chair of Starbucks.
Real estate property of Mellody Hobson
Melody Hobson and George Lucas own a 15,159-square-foot home in San Anselmo, California. In the Bel Air area, they have a home worth $ 34 million. The couple have a penthouse in Chicago and Sky Walker Ranch worth $19 Million. The penthouse is 2500 acres in Marin Country California. In 2010 the couple purchased a home worth 19.5 million in California. In 2019 the couple bought a home in Carpinteria and paid $28 million.
Awards & Honors of Mellody Hobson
In 2018 the governor of Illinois awarded Mellody with Lincoln’s highest honour. Melody was inducted as a Laureate in the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. In 2019 option was nominated for an Emmy because of her outstanding contribution to “CBS This Morning.”
Hobson received doctorates from Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Southern California, and St. Mary’s College.
Conclusion
The journey of Melody Option from an intern at a company to becoming the CEO and President of the same company is inspirational. Her groundbreaking achievements with extraordinary qualities like leadership have paved her way to become a business representative. This woman is inspiring the aspiring generation how to break all the barriers and rule the world.
