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Principals

3

Principal Net Worth

$11.0B

Data Flags

Net worth volatile - Wikipedia shows $11B (Sep 2025), Forbes showed $6.6B after AT&T sale (Aug 2025); extremely private family; multiple sources verified

Ergen Foundation

UnknownHigh Confidence

Last verified: Jan 17, 2026

Details

Source File
research/organizations/ergen-foundation.md
UID
fo-ergen-foundation

Also Known As

**Ergen Family Office** (presumed name, not confirmed)**Charlie Ergen Foundation** (may be referred to this way, but official name unclear)**Candy and Charlie Ergen Foundation** (possible)**Dish Network** (often conflated with family wealth, but public company)**EchoStar** (original founding entity, now separate public company)

Principals (3)

Charlie ErgenOWNS
$11B
Candy ErgenCo-Founder, EchoStar/DishOWNS
[Children names not public]PrivateOWNS

Team Members (5)

Charlie ErgenExecutive Chairman & Co-Founder
WORKS_AT
Hamid AkhavanCEO, EchoStar Capital (Nov 2025)
WORKS_AT
John SwieringaPresident, Technology & COO, EchoStar
WORKS_AT
Paul OrbanEVP & CFO
WORKS_AT
Tom CullenEVP, Corporate Development
WORKS_AT

Related Entities (1)

Dish Network CorporationSubsidiary

Founded: 1996 (spun out from EchoStar) Public: Yes (NASDAQ: DISH) Business: Satellite TV provider, wireless spectrum holder HQ: Englewood, Colorado Charlie's Role: Chairman Key Asset: Massive wireless spectrum holdings (attempting to build 5G network)

Known Associates (4)

Jim DeFranco

: Co-founder of EchoStar (along with Charlie and Candy); left company in 1990s

Joseph Clayton

: Former CEO of Dish Network (2011-2017), worked closely with Charlie

Tom Cullen

: Former EVP, Corporate Development, Dish Network

Warren Buffett

Berkshire Hathaway

: Charlie Ergen has cited Buffett as influence; known admirer of Buffett's investment philosophy

Relationship Strength

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Sources (4)

Changelog

  • 2026-01-17Upgraded to High confidence; verified net worth $11B via Wikipedia (Sep 2025) and Forbes sources; cross-referenced with Bloomberg and company filings; noted net worth volatility due to Dish/EchoStar stock movements
  • 2025-12-11Updated Current Team section with Dish Network executives (Erik Carlson CEO, John Swieringa COO, Paul Orban CFO) and EchoStar executives (Hamid Akhavan CEO)
  • 2025-12-26Added LinkedIn URLs for Charlie Ergen, John Swieringa, Hamid Akhavan. Noted Erik Carlson departure (Nov 2023 to RE/MAX), Hamid Akhavan transition to CEO of EchoStar Capital (Nov 2025).
  • 2025-12-11Initial research file created for Charlie and Candy Ergen / Ergen Foundation

Engagement & Preferences