How much is Charlie worth?

[jerryez]

Charlie is the 12 richest person in the US at 13.7 billion dollars. That's why he passes on the costs of increases to the consumer, it makes him richer.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wealthiest-people-state-richer/story?id=20715457#12

 

[primestar31]

You think Dish Network is a charity, and Charlie should GIVE US free service out of the goodness of his heart?

LOL! What world are you living in?

He started with a pickup truck and an idea to make his money. Nothing is stopping you or me from doing the same thing and making even MORE money.

 

[Scherrman]

I don't understand the purpose of this post. So according to you, every rich person should pass all of their earned money onto us? I get what you're trying to say but it's pointless.

 

[DS0816]

I think the point of this is that Charlie Ergen and Dish Network are penny wise pound foolish with some contractual negotiations for programming, which resulted in a few losses (for however long they lasted), and that no sympathy should be given to Ergen and/or Dish Network. That subscribers of Dish Network have been mistreated under such policy.

 

[DS0816]

I think the point of this is that Charlie Ergen and Dish Network are penny wise pound foolish with some contractual negotiations for programming, which resulted in a few losses (for however long they lasted), and that no sympathy should be given to Ergen and/or Dish Network. That subscribers of Dish Network have been mistreated under such policy.

^ That is what I figure to be the point of this thread.

 

[bellevuecoug]

I think there are some valid points on both sides of this - the guy had made his money on his own with brains and guts - nothing more AMERICAN than that, so kudos. Nothing was handed to the guy. Right on.

But . . . . the "cheapskate Charlie" moniker and dubious public spats with quite a few networks makes you wonder if the consumer is at the forefront on any of this - Charlie is constantly about "what makes sense for the customer", right? Riiiiight. Over $ 13 billion tells me the customer is important, yes, but profit is king. Also very American.

 

[Hall]

He started with a pickup truck and an idea to make his money. Nothing is stopping you or me from doing the same thing and making even MORE money.

Thank you for saying that !! I will never hold a grudge against someone who earned their money like Ergen, Bill Gates, etc. You might not agree with some of how they got there, but that doesn't really matter either.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Its mostly on paper and in the form of Dish stock.

 

[Scherrman]

I tell ya what, if I was running a company that was worth billions I wouldn't care to be told how to run my business. My guess is he runs Dish the way it needs to be run in order to keep the prices reasonable enough for customers yet still profit.

I'm actually curious how much he actually makes off of the Dish TV service alone. I would guess he makes even more money off of other investments and not Dish. If that were the case then it makes sense why he makes the decisions he does regarding Dish. Dish satellite service may not actually be his cash cow right now and he may have to fight to keep prices low for a reason.

Just some ideas to think about.

 

[dare2be]

Ya know, most people in the top of the net worth list got most of their wealth from leveraging their capital against other ventures, such as buying debt at a discount using one corporate entity and then doubling it by paying for it from another corporate entity. :

 

[JM42]

Its mostly on paper and in the form of Dish stock.

It's always "mostly on paper." None of these guys have billions of dollars in cash. They didn't accumulate the wealth hiding cash under a matress.

 

[mike123abc]

Nobody has to do business with Dish (or Charlie), nobody has to put up with programming outages during programming negotiations. No one is forcing you to pay high fees... He has gotten millions of people to sign up with Dish and keep them as customers, and as a result has made billions of dollars despite all the moaning going on here. If he was doing such a bad job as the back seat drivers seem to think (which I would be 99% have never managed a business) Dish would have been bankrupt years ago and he would be just an average American.

 

[KAB]

I don't understand the purpose of this post. So according to you, every rich person should pass all of their earned money onto us? I get what you're trying to say but it's pointless.

Speaks to either bad humor or intelligence.

 

[navychop]

If he hadn't made a LOT of people happy by giving them what they wanted at an acceptable price, he wouldn't HAVE billions.

Just offhand, I suspect his judgement is a heck of a lot better, and better informed, than anyone's here.

 

[jerryez]

No hidden message intended. I was just pointing out the article that lists the 50 richest Americans. Obviously. making money is his number one business as is the other 49. Don't get your panties in an uproar. Chill, its' only TV.

 

[KAB]

No hidden message intended. I was just pointing out the article that lists the 50 richest Americans. Obviously. making money is his number one business as is the other 49. Don't get your panties in an uproar. Chill, its' only TV.

Suggest you re-read your OP. Your revealed intent, and previous words are somewhat contradicting

 

[foghorn2]

More power to Charlie, at least he is not a jerk like alot of CEO's out there. Sure he makes money off of us, but the impression I get is that he does fight for his customers.

 

[Scherrman]

No hidden message intended. I was just pointing out the article that lists the 50 richest Americans. Obviously. making money is his number one business as is the other 49. Don't get your panties in an uproar. Chill, its' only TV.

I know what your saying. It's not a big deal. I still believe he makes the majority of his money off of investments and other business ventures. I doubt he really makes a ton off of Dish directly.

 

[Hall]

I still believe he makes the majority of his money off of investments and other business ventures. I doubt he really makes a ton off of Dish directly.

Dish is publicly traded - one can look up exactly how much Ergen receives (or rec'd) in salary, bonuses, and stock options. I'm guessing if you added up his salary and bonuses from day # 1 of Dish's existence, it won't be anywhere close to $13 billion ! So yes, it has to be from different investments (including Dish stock).

 

[Claude Greiner]

If he hadn't made a LOT of people happy by giving them what they wanted at an acceptable price, he wouldn't HAVE billions. Just offhand, I suspect his judgement is a heck of a lot better, and better informed, than anyone's here.

That was the strategy back in the late 90's and up until early 2009. Ever since Dish has been run just like every other cable company out there. The honeymoon was over when they started charging $17 for an HD/DVR and tried to explain that this was simplifying fees to avoid a separate line item for the no phone line fee, DVR service and the additional outlet charge. So you reel in customers for 12 years by being the cut rate provider, wait till you get a fairly large customer base and start to jack up the rates to be on par with everyone else. Not to be negative, but look at the profits in the past 4 years compared to the early days.

Why do you think we don't have Charlie chats or even tech chats anymore?

The warm cozy family feeling we used to all have about Dish ain't there like it used to be.