From the Editor
  • Media pioneer Charles Dolan founded Cablevision and HBO. He died in December 2024 at age 98.
  • Dolan owned controlling stakes in AMC Networks and Madison Square Garden's entertainment and sports companies, along with his six children.
  • After dropping out of John Carroll University, the Cleveland native got his start creating sports newsreels for TV stations from his home.
  • He moved to New York in 1952, making industrial films before wiring lower Manhattan with cable and founding HBO's predecessor, which he sold in 1973.
  • He launched Cablevision with 1,500 customers in 1973, and sold the cable giant to billionaire Patrick Drahi's Altice for $17.7 billion in 2016.
  • He was chairman emeritus of the Lustgarten Foundation, the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research in the world.
Wealth History
HOVER TO REVEAL NET WORTH BY YEAR
Personal Stats
Source of Wealth
Cable television, Self Made
Self-Made Score
9
Philanthropy Score
2
Citizenship
United States
Children
6
Education
Drop Out, John Carroll University
Did you know
His brother, Larry Dolan, owns the Cleveland Guardians baseball team.
His son, James Dolan, is the CEO of publicly-traded Madison Square Garden Co., which owns the NBA's New York Knicks and the NHL's New York Rangers.

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