Abigail Johnson. One of the most influential heiresses in the world
It is no secret that many professions and knowledge about them were passed on from generation to generation, and dynasties of doctors, military men and engineers were born.
The sphere of investment business, whether in America or any other country, is also built on its successors, and in most cases on family ties.
However, no matter what the parents’ desire to instill a love for the family business, practice shows that children and relatives are one of the most important reasons for the collapse of companies.
Since the inheritance received does not represent any value for the person who did not create it.
There are a lot of similar stories, but there are also cases when children not only successfully accept obligations, but also proudly contribute by developing investment projects.
Abigail Johnson was born on December 19, 1961. If we talk about family, Abigail was lucky to be born into one of the richest and most influential families in the investment world, since her father had been the head of the largest American investment firm, Fidelity Investments, for many years.
By the way, Johnson's father was also not the founder of the company, since it was inherited from his father Edward K. Johnson II.
Thus, even as a child, Abigail understood perfectly well what fate her parents were preparing for her, moreover, the preparation was in full swing! Abigail Johnson studied at the very prestigious private school Buckingham Browne & Nichols, where she was named on the honor roll as one of the most diligent students.
The next stage in her life was the equally respectable Hobart and William Smith College, where she received a bachelor's degree in art history.
After college, Abigail got a job as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, which gave her the impetus to go on to learn a new profession and conquer the world of finance.
From 1985 to 1986, Abigail Johnson studied at Harvard Business School, from which she successfully graduated and received an MBA degree.
After her education began to correspond to the profile of her future profession, she went to work for her own father at Fidelity. Her first job in the company was the position of a very simple analyst, where she built her forecasts on the investment portfolio.
She then received the position of manager, after which a series of promotions followed, which were in one way or another related to management areas of work in the company.
The most interesting thing is that her father prepared Abigail for many years and forced her to go through all the career steps. Moreover, only after more than 20 years of collaboration, Abigail received the position of Vice President of the company.
Her management style is very similar to her father's, but more conservative. The father was so impressed with his daughter’s talents that he transferred about 24 percent of the company’s shares to her, and one fine morning Abigail Johnson appeared on the Forbes list as one of the richest women in the world.
In 2012, Abigail's father completely retired for health reasons, handing over his post as president of the company to his daughter.
By the way, things were not going well at Fidelity when the company went into receivership, but Johnson accepted the challenge and came out of it with excellent fund returns and investor growth.
Unfortunately, Abigail Johnson and her father were caught in a high-profile corruption scandal that was inflated by the media. Having received several tickets to the Olympics as a gift, they exceeded the $100 limit of permitted donations, which started a scandal and, moreover, a trial in the Securities Committee.
The conflict ended in nothing, but at the same time the company survived a series of government audits that checked all the financial statements of the company and their families.
Abigail Johnson currently has nearly $2 trillion under her management and her personal wealth is estimated at over $19 billion, making her one of the most powerful women in the world.