What Was Norman Pattiz's Net Worth?
Norman Pattiz was an American executive who had a net worth of $350 million at the time of his death. Norman Pattiz earned his fortune as the founder of Westwood One, formerly known as Dial Global, Inc. The company is one of the largest radio organizations in the world. He founded Westwood One in 1976. He stepped down from his position as CEO in 1994 and from his position as Chairman of the Board in 2010.
In addition to his work with Westwood One, Pattiz was on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) from 2000-2006. He served as the chairman of BBG's Middle East committee. He was a former Regent of the University of California and a former President of the Broadcast Education Association, and he served on the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Norman was also the Director of the Office of Foreign Relations of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and serves on the Region 1 Homeland Security Advisory Council. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2009. Norman Pattiz owned four Lakers courtside seats and was a fixture at nearly every home game.
Norman Pattiz died on December 4, 2022, at the age of 79.
Early Life
Norman Pattiz was born on January 18, 1943, in Los Angeles, California. He attended Hamilton High School and graduated in 1961.
Westwood One
Pattiz worked in the sales department at KCOP-TV 13 in Hollywood from 1970 to 1974. He founded Westwood One, a radio syndication company, in 1976. The network grew to become America's largest radio network and one of the world's leading media companies. It became the leading company in live recordings and concert recordings for radio. By 1982, he was distributing his radio shows via satellite through an arrangement with a company in Culver City. The company held many exclusive radio rights for sporting events organized by the National Football League, the Olympic Games, the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Masters, among others.
In 1984, he took Westwood One public. With the money raised by the IPO, he purchased Mutual Broadcasting System the following year and then NBC Radio Network in 1987. Throughout the late 1980s, he purchased three more radio stations to make his company even larger. Control of the company shifted in the early 1990s, though he remained a major shareholder. He was not succeeded as chairman until August 2010 when Mark Stone took over. However, he remained involved as a consultant for the company. Westwood One announced its merger with Dial Global in August 2011. Some of the most notable radio personalities distributed by Westwood One include Don and Mike, Phil Valentine, Dennis Miller, Jim Bohannon, Billy Bush, Drew Pinsky, Adam Carolla, Joe Scarborough, and Kevin and Bean, among others.
Getty
Pattiz had a number of positions in various educational institutions and other organizations. He joined the Board of Regents of the University of California in 2001 and served as chair of the Board of Regents Oversight Committee of the Department of Energy Laboratories. He was reappointed to a second twelve-year term on the board of regents in 2014. Norman was also chairman of the board of Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos National Security LLC. Additionally, he was on the board of the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism. He was president of the Broadcast Education Association and was on the Council of Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy.
President Clinton appointed Pattiz to the United States Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees all U.S. non-military international broadcast services, in 2000. He was reappointed to the position by President Bush in 2002. He was also chairman of BBG's Middle East Committee. While in that position, he helped create the U.S. government's Arabic-language radio and TV services, which broadcast to the 22 Middle East countries.
In 2009, Pattiz was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. He also received the Giants of Broadcasting Award from the Library of American Broadcasting. In 2010, he founded Courtside Entertainment Group and became the company's CEO. In October 2012, he founded Launchpad, which then became PodcastOne in February 2013. In 2017, he worked with the Los Angeles Lakers and Jay Mohr to develop the "America's Lakers Podcast with Jay Mohr." He was inspired to create the podcast as he had been a lifelong Lakers fan.
Personal Life and Death
Pattiz was married to Mary Turner. Turner was also a radio personality and was the chairman of the board of the Betty Ford Center. They resided in Beverly Hills and Santa Barbara, California. Outside of his work in radio, he also served as a reserve deputy in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Additionally, he was a member of the Region 1 Homeland Security Advisory Council. He was a benefactor of the Academy of Music at Hamilton High School and was on the board of the Sheriff's Youth Foundation.
Later in his life, Pattiz was involved in some sexual harassment scandals. A number of recordings came out in which Norman can be heard making comments of a sexual nature while in his position as a board member of the University of California. Several employees of the University of California came forward to say that Pattiz had made them uncomfortable in the workplace. He ultimately stepped down from the position at the end of 2017 after the University of California Student Association called for his dismissal.
Norman died in December 2022 at the age of 79. The Norman J. Pattiz Concert Hall on the campus of Hamilton High School is named in his honor.
Real Estate
For over two decades, Norman owned a house in Beverly Hills that was formerly owned by David Geffen and, before that, Marlo Thomas. Pattiz sold this home in October 2006 for $18.5 million.
He also owned a home in Montecito, California, which he sold in November 2019 for $9.5 million. Here is a video of Pattiz's former Montecito estate:
