Charles W. Ergen (with Cantey M.)
March 5, 2001 Charles and Cantey Ergen founded EchoStar Communications in 1980 to sell backyard satellite dishes in rural Colorado. Since then, their business has grown to become one of the nation's largest providers of direct broadcast satellite service, with more than 4 million DBS subscribers around the country. And the company has big plans: Late last year, it launched a bid to take over a competitor twice its size, DirecTV. If EchoStart manages to beat out rivals like Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., General Electric, and Viacom, it would become the nation's sole DBS provider and its second-largest cable operator -- a monopoly that would require federal approval. To hedge their bets, the Ergens contributed $177,000 to Congressional and Senate candidates from both parties during the last election cycle. That still left them plenty for their attempt to take over DirecTV. Although industry analysts say bidding could exceed $60 billion, Charles is listed as the 16th wealthiest American by the most recent Forbes 400. -- Suzanne Boothby | | |
