John Paul DeJoria was born on April 13, 1944 to immigrant parents in Los Angeles, California. His parents were divorced when he was only two years old. At age 10, he started selling newspapers to help support his family. DeJoria became a member of a street gang, after his single mother was unable to support her children and they ended up in a foster home. At 22 years old, his wife abandoned him and his two year old son. After loosing his car and rent money to his wife, he and his son were evicted and became homeless.
DeJoria later spent a few years in the Navy. After his service, he came home and held a few jobs, including a janitor and a salesman. His first time in hair care was when he became an employee for Redken Laboratories, but was fired over business disagreements. In 1980, while living out of his car, he met a hairdresser named Paul Mitchell, and together they formed John Paul Mitchell Systems. At the time, they took out a $700 loan. They wanted to make products to sell strictly to hairdressers, and still to this day, any Paul Mitchell products sold in a drug store are counterfeit. Shortly after their company took off, Paul Mitchell died from cancer, leaving DeJoria to take over. His haircare company expanded to John Paul Pets, which does personal grooming for animals. As a big animal lover, DeJoria was very stern on not testing on animals, even saying he would rather products be tested on him instead.
In 1989, DeJoria co-founded the Patron Spirits Company. He wanted to produce a tequila that “wouldn’t make people sick the next day.” DeJoria employs more than 1,000 locals in Mexico, and supports the economy, including education. Early on, Patron grossed $1 million a month, and has continued to grow. He is also known to be environmentally friendly, even reusing leftover distilled water to fertilize land.
Today, John Paul DeJoria is married with 4 children. He is currently worth $3.1 billion dollars. “In the end everything will be ok, and if its not ok, its not the end,” he says.