Early Life and Education
John Joseph Fisher was born on June 1, 1961, in San Francisco, California. He is the son of Doris and Donald Fisher, who founded Gap Inc. in 1969. Fisher attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Princeton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1983. He furthered his education with a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University's School of Business.
Rise to Success
Fisher's wealth primarily stems from his inheritance of the Gap fortune. After completing his education, Fisher initially worked for a real estate company that did business with Gap. Later, he became president of Pisces, the Fisher family's investment management company. In 1992, John and his father purchased a stake in the San Francisco Giants. He was part of an investment group that prevented the Giants from relocating to Tampa Bay and retained a small ownership stake in the team until 2005.
Key Business Strategies and Sports Ownership
Fisher is a founding partner of investment firm Sansome Partners. He is also a majority owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team since 2005 and acquired full ownership in 2016. He also has smaller stakes in Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes and the Scottish Glasgow Celtic F.C. In 2022, Fisher became the owner of the Texas Rattlers, a professional bull riding team. Fisher's ownership of the Athletics has been marked by criticism, particularly regarding the team's planned relocation to Las Vegas.
Philanthropy
Fisher is a chairman of the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), a non-profit network of public charter schools. He has also been involved in supporting the Charter School Growth Fund.