Brian L. Roberts

Roberts was born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Ralph J. Roberts, the founder of Comcast Corporation, and Suzanne (née Fleisher), a former actress and playwright.[2][3] His maternal grandfather, Alfred W. Fleisher, was a real estate investor and philanthropist who supported prison reform. Roberts graduated from the Germantown Academy and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1981, and immediately began working for Comcast.[4]

Roberts is chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation, and personally controls 33 1/3% of the voting rights of the company.[5] He was named President of Comcast Corporation in 1990 at only 31 years of age when the company had $657 million in annual revenue. Comcast Corporation’s annual revenue has since grown to $94.5 billion.[6]

Roberts is chairman of the board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and a former treasurer.[7] Roberts served as Chairman of NCTA from 1995 to 1996, when the landmark deregulatory 1996 Telecommunications Act became law.

In 2000, Roberts made a leadership move and acquired AT&T Broadband for $53.2 billion in stock and assumed debt. "The deal allowed Comcast to become the largest cable operator in the world." In 2009, NBCUniversal was also acquired by Comcast.[8]

In 2016, Roberts received US$28.6 million in compensation,[9] and in 2020, his net worth was US$1.7 billion.[1]

Institutional Investor Magazine named Roberts as its top vote-getter for three years in a row (2004–06) in the Cable & Satellite category of their America's Best CEOs annual survey; and named Comcast as one of America's Most Shareholder-Friendly Companies in 2006.

Roberts was the recipient of the 1994 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement,[10] the 2004 Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and was the 2002 Walter Kaitz Foundation Honoree of the Year for his commitment to diversity in the cable industry. The Police Athletic League of Philadelphia honored Roberts with their 2002 award for his commitment to youth programs and community partnerships.[11]

In 2001, Roberts was awarded the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's 2011 Ambassador for Humanity Award.[12]

The Aileen K. and Brian L. Roberts Foundation was one of the largest contributors to the restoration of the Alfred W. Fleisher Memorial Synagogue at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, named in the honor of his maternal grandfather.[13]

Being an All-American squash player, Roberts participated in the Maccabiah Games in Israel, earning a Gold Medal with the U.S. Squash team in 2005, and Silver Medals in 1981, 1985, 1997, and 2009.[11][14] On October 21, 2012, Roberts was honored by Maccabi USA as a 'Legend of the Maccabiah.'[15]

Roberts was a founding co-chair of Philadelphia 2000, the nonpartisan host committee for the 2000 Republican National Convention. The Pennsylvania Report named Roberts to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics, calling him "Pennsylvania’s most powerful businessman", and noted his influence with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.[16]

In 2003, Roberts was named to the PoliticsPA list of politically influential individuals.[17]

Since 2006, Roberts has donated more than $76,000 to Democratic candidates, and $13,500 to Republican candidates.[18]

In December 2009, Roberts wrote a letter to President Barack Obama, endorsing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[19]

Roberts is considered a supporter of the Democratic Party and supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election.[20]

Roberts and his wife, Aileen Kennedy Roberts, live in Philadelphia and have three children, Sarah, Tucker and Amanda. Aileen is the director of the Barnes Foundation.[21][22]

In 2010, Roberts presented his mother, along with his brother Douglas and his father, Women's Image Network Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.[23][24]

Roberts owns a 48 ft sloop and a 65 ft sloop, both designed by Sparkman & Stephens and named Aileen after his wife, which he sails while on vacation in his seasonal home on Martha's Vineyard.[25] Roberts' son, Tucker, was appointed president of Overwatch League esports team Philadelphia Fusion in January 2018,[26] after Comcast and its sporting arm Comcast Spectacor paid a reported $20 million in franchise fees to participate in that league.[27]

• Appearances on C-SPAN