Charles W. "Charlie" Ergen (born March 1, 1953) is the founder and CEO of EchoStar Communications Corporation, the former parent company of Dish Network.
Born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Ergen's father William Ergen was a nuclear physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and his mother Viola Ergen is the retired business manager of the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge. After graduating from Oak Ridge High School in 1971, he graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (BA) and Wake Forest University (MBA). While at the University of Tennessee he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He worked as a financial analyst for Frito Lay.
In 1980, he founded EchoStar with his wife Cantey ("Candy") and Jim DeFranco, targeting rural audiences for satellite dish service. [1] He hosts a show called Charlie Chat on Dish Network customer service channel 101.
Ergen is the 146th richest person in the world with a net worth of $3.9 Billion. [2]
   | Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People - Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 2004 |
| | Forbes.com: Forbes Executive Pay - Forbes.com: Forbes Executive Pay 2004 |
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