After a hiatus recovering from a leg injury, I have a new project in response to two prevailing mantras: "The Horatio Alger story is a myth. There are no rags to riches stories in America" and "The rich aren't doing their fair share." My project? Celebrating the rich. The first installment: John Paul Jones DeJoria hair products billionaire.

          John Paul Jones DeJoria was the second son of an Italian immigrant father and a Greek immigrant mother in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. When he was two his parents divorced and by the time he was nine he began selling Christmas cards and newspapers with his older brother to support his family. Eventually they were both sent to an East Los Angeles foster home.
           DeJoria, troubled and tough, spent much of his youth in a street gang in East Los Angeles. When his math teacher at John Marshall High School told him he would "never succeed at anything.” He made a conscious decision to change the direction of his life.
          Jo

hn Paul graduated high school, served honorably in the U.S. Navy, and then worked in a variety of jobs: selling encyclopedias, photocopying machines, dictating equipment, and insurance, working as a janitor, pumping gasoline, driving a tow truck, and repairing bicycles. At times he was homeless living in his car and he collected bottles to stay afloat.
          Finally he began to climb through the ranks, first securing a marketing position with Time magazine and quickly promoted to Circulation Manager. Then he found his passion, securing a position in a hair product company. Within months he was promoted to National Manager. Eventually, with a $700 investment, he teamed up with Paul Mitchell to launch the shampoo company that made him a millionaire. He earned his second fortune with Patron Spirits, a tequila maker.
         DeJoria is a pillar of the Austin community whose philanthropic efforts are legend: Grow Appalachia which helps families fight obesity and poverty by creating gardens, Mineseekers, Food4Africa and Blazer House. a patron-level sponsor of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Nelson Mandela’s Aids Awareness Project ‘46664.
           Join me in celebrating John Paul Jones DeJoria.