Laurene Powell Jobs Invested $250 Million in David Ellison’s Skydance
Billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs has taken a $250 million stake in Skydance, the David Ellison-led entertainment company formed by the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. Variety reported on October 19, 2026 that Powell Jobs acquired 20.83 million shares of Skydance Corp. at $12 each, a purchase disclosed in an SEC filing. She indirectly owns the shares, which are held in a trust.
The deal
Powell Jobs acquired the shares in connection with her appointment to the Skydance board. Her appointment was effective October 5, 2026 and announced the following day, alongside former Activision chief Bobby Kotick as independent directors. Her board package also includes 33,118 restricted stock units, vesting at Skydance’s 2027 annual stockholders’ meeting.
Skydance said it “believes that Ms. Powell Jobs is qualified to serve as a member of the board because of her extensive experience and focus investing in innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises and on high-quality journalism.”
A crowded cap table
Powell Jobs is buying into one of Hollywood’s most closely watched ownership structures. The Ellison family holds the largest equity stake, backed by Larry Ellison’s multibillion-dollar fortune, while RedBird Capital Partners invested $4 billion. Equity investors in the merger also counted the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi among their ranks. The Ellisons and RedBird together hold 100% of the combined company’s voting shares, according to Variety’s reporting.
Deadline reported on October 6 that the Skydance board seats David Ellison as chairman and CEO, Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO, and former UK prime minister Tony Blair as a board advisor, with Powell Jobs and Kotick serving as independent directors. That report did not mention the $250 million share purchase.
Who is Laurene Powell Jobs
Powell Jobs is the founder and president of Emerson Collective, which combines philanthropy with venture capital investing. She is the majority investor and chair of The Atlantic, a lead investor in Anonymous Content and Concordia Studio, and Emerson Collective has invested in OpenAI and Anthropic. Her fortune is estimated at about $15.8 billion by Forbes.
Key Story Metrics
| Figure | Reported Status |
|---|---|
| Investment | $250 million (Variety; SEC filing) |
| Shares acquired | 20.83 million (Variety; SEC filing) |
| Price per share | $12 (Variety; SEC filing) |
| Restricted stock units granted | 33,118 (Variety; SEC filing) |
| Powell Jobs net worth | about $15.8 billion (Forbes, via Variety) |
| RedBird Capital investment | $4 billion (Variety) |
✓ Verified
Powell Jobs was named to the Skydance board effective Oct. 5, 2026, alongside Bobby Kotick, with the appointments announced Oct. 6 (Variety; Deadline). She was granted 33,118 restricted stock units vesting with the 2027 annual stockholders’ meeting (SEC filing, via Variety). Skydance’s board has David Ellison as chairman and CEO, Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO, and Tony Blair as advisor (Deadline). Powell Jobs is founder and president of Emerson Collective and the majority investor and chair of the Atlantic (Variety).
⚠ Still needs confirmation
The $250 million investment figure, 20.83 million shares at $12 each held via a trust, is a Variety exclusive based on an SEC filing; no second outlet has independently reported the share purchase itself.
Editor’s note: This article is based on Variety’s reporting of an SEC filing disclosing the investment. The share purchase itself has not been independently confirmed by a second outlet.
