Woody Johnson

Infobox Person
name = Robert "Woody" Johnson

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image_size = 220px
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1947|04|12
birth_place = New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
death_date =
death_place =
religion = Christianity
residence = Bedminster Township, New Jersey, U.S.
education =
occupation = Owner, New York Jets, Philanthropist,Corporate Heir (Johnson & Johnson)

spouse = Nancy Sale Frey (divorced 2001)
parents =
children = Casey, Daisy, and Jaime (by Sale Frey) and Robert Wood Johnson V (by Suzanne Ircha)

Robert Wood Johnson IV (born April 12, 1947 in New Brunswick, New Jersey), nicknamed Woody Johnson, is the owner of the National Football League's New York Jets. He bought the Jets from the estate of Leon Hess in 2000. Johnson purchased the team for $635 million, the third-highest ever for a professional sports team and the most for one in New York. Johnson is a graduate of the Millbrook School and the University of Arizona.

The son of Robert Wood Johnson III and an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, Johnson is a well known philanthropist. He became involved in charitable organizations full time in the 1980s. Johnson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was a major fundraiser for George W. Bush's 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns. In 2000, Johnson was the fourth largest contributor to Bush's presidential campaign, giving $126,332. He has started a research foundation, the Alliance for Lupus Research.

Johnson is also the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Johnson Company, Inc., a private investment firm.

Johnson served on the NFL Commissioner search committee in which 185 candidates to succeed Paul Tagliabue was narrowed down to the final choice of Roger Goodell.

Personal life

Woody Johnson married Nancy Sale Frey of St. Louis, Missouri; they were divorced in 2001 and have three daughters: Casey, Daisy, and Jaime. Casey has juvenile diabetes and Daisy has lupus; their conditions have led their father to successfully lobby Congress to fund research into both diseases. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/us/politics/05donate.html?hp]

Woody Johnson is engaged to Suzanne Ircha, a former actress [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0409834/] and equities specialist, by whom he has one son, Robert Wood Johnson V, born March 24, 2006.

Johnson has homes in Bedminster Township, New Jersey and on Columbus Circle in Manhattan. [Sandomir, Richard. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE6DB173AF931A25752C0A9669C8B63 " The Jets Fill One Opening: New Owner at $635 Million"] , "The New York Times", January 12, 2000. Accessed September 30, 2007. "Johnson, who is 52 years old, has homes in Manhattan and Bedminster, N.J."] He frequently arrives to Jets home games at The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey via helicopter.http://westsidestadium.org/content/woodyhomepage.html/newsdayprofile.html

References

*cite news
first = Duff
last = Wilson
authorlink =
author = Duff Wilson
coauthors =
title = Behind the Jets, a Private Man Pushes His Dream
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/11/sports/football/11woody.ready.html?pagewanted=4
format =
work = The New York Times
publisher =
location = New York
id =
pages =
page =
date = 2004-11-11
accessdate = 2008-01-23
language =
quote =
archiveurl =
archivedate =

*cite news
first = Richard
last = Sandomir
authorlink =
author = Richard Sandomir
coauthors =
title = Man in the News; Philanthropist and Fan
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E0DC173AF931A25752C0A9669C8B63
format =
work = The New York Times
publisher =
location =
id =
pages =
page =
date = 2000-01-12
accessdate = 2008-01-23
language =
quote =
archiveurl =
archivedate =
* [http://www.tpj.org/pioneers/robert_johnson.html Texans for Public Justice – Pioneer Profiles: George W. Bush's $100,000 Club – Robert Wood Johnson, IV]