Charlie Ergen

{{short description|American businessman}} {{distinguish|Charlie Engen}} {{Infobox person | name = Charlie Ergen | image = | image_size = | caption = Charles Ergen collage | birth_name = Charles William Ergen | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|3|1|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Oak Ridge, Tennessee, US | alma_mater = University of Tennessee (BA)<br/> Wake Forest University (MBA) | occupation = Businessman | title = Chairman of Dish Network and EchoStar Corporation<ref name=steps>{{cite web |title=Dish co-founder Ergen steps down from CEO role to focus on wireless |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dish-network-ceo/dish-network-ceo-charlie-ergen-steps-down-to-focus-on-wireless-idUSKBN1DZ1ZX |website=Reuters |language=en |date=5 December 2017}}</ref> | term = 1998- | known_for = Co-founder, Dish Network | spouse = Candy Ergen | children = 5 | parents = | website = }}

'''Charles William Ergen''' (born March 1, 1953) is an American billionaire businessman, and the co-founder and chairman of Dish Network and EchoStar. He was CEO of Dish Network until May 2011, when he was succeeded by Joseph Clayton. Ergen resumed the role in March 2015 after Clayton's retirement, until December 2017, when Erik Carlson, then president and COO, was promoted to CEO.<ref name=steps/> Ergen remains chairman of the company.<ref name="Reuters17">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dish-network-ceo/dish-network-ceo-charlie-ergen-steps-down-to-focus-on-wireless-idUSKBN1DZ1ZX |title=Dish co-founder Ergen steps down from CEO role to focus on wireless |date=December 5, 2017 |access-date=March 10, 2020 |work=Reuters}}</ref> Ergen owns 48 percent of Dish<ref name=echo/>{{rp|6}} and 46 percent of EchoStar shares,<ref name=echo/>{{rp|8}} which gives him 78 percentage of Dish's<ref name=echo/>{{rp|6}} and 72 percent of EchoStar's<ref name=echo>{{cite web|title=Schedule 14A|url=http://ir.echostar.com/node/14741/html|website=SEC|access-date=29 May 2018|date=20 March 2018}}</ref>{{rp|8}} total voting power.

==Early career== After graduating with an M.B.A. from Wake Forest in 1976, Ergen worked as a financial analyst for Frito-Lay. He "retired" in 1978 in hopes of working for himself.<ref name=Cutthroat-84>{{cite book | last =Keating | first =Stephen | title =Cutthroat: High Stakes & Killer Moves on the Electronic Frontier | publisher =Johnson Books | date =1999 | location =Boulder, Colorado | pages =84–85 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=2dhM7xdI89EC | isbn = 9781555662486 }}</ref><ref name="gardner">{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Eriq |title=Dish Network's Charlie Ergen Is the Most Hated Man in Hollywood |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dish-networks-charlie-ergen-is-432288 |access-date=22 September 2020 |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2 April 2013}}</ref> Afterward, he was a professional gambler, playing poker and blackjack.<ref name=Cutthroat-84/><ref name="Ramachandran15">{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bets-are-placed-will-dishs-ergen-seal-a-deal-1433441530 |title=Dish's Finicky CEO Is Wild Card in T-Mobile Talks |last1=Ramachandran |first1=Shalini |date=June 4, 2015 |access-date=June 15, 2020 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

== EchoStar == {{main | EchoStar}} In 1980, Ergen, his future wife Candy, and Jim DeFranco started a new business called EchoSphere Corporation, investing $60,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westword.com/news/meet-colorados-ten-billionaires-8895174|title=Meet Colorado's Ten Billionaires|first=Michael|last=Roberts|date=21 March 2017|website=westword.com|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref> to purchase two C-Band antennas, targeting rural Colorado. They drove around the Denver metro area on a small budget, selling satellite dishes from the back of their truck.<ref name="Echostar">{{cite press release |title=Chairman and chief executive officer, EchoStar Communications Corporation |url=http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/biography/A-E/Ergen-Charlie-1953.html/}}</ref>

In 1990, Ergen elevated EchoStar's profile by raising $335 million in junk bonds and purchasing orbital slots for satellites. Two years later, EchoStar got a DBS license from the Federal Communications Commission, giving the company its own geostationary orbital slot. In 1993, EchoStar Communications was incorporated. Under Ergen, EchoStar's net income doubled to $20.4 million, in 1993.<ref name="Echostar"/>

== Dish == {{main | Dish Network}} Under Ergen, Dish was the first satellite television provider to offer two-way high-speed internet access as an investor in and dealer for StarBand Communications' geostationary Ku-band satellite internet access service in the United States and the first to introduce a Digital video recorder in a set-top box. He was also instrumental in making satellite receivers available for under $200. In 2012, the Big Four Broadcasters, NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox filed a suit against Dish after it launched AutoHop, a technology that records broadcasting programming and plays it back without commercials. Dish filed a suit seeking a declaratory judgment asserting the legality of the judgment. Preliminary injunction by Fox to block the service was denied. Ergen has stated that Dish's present focus is on acquiring a significant share of the spectrum for cellular wireless services. Dish is also looking for a partner to build a wireless network, with Google and AT&T speculated to be potential partners.<ref name="Dish">{{cite magazine |title=Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen, the TV Disrupter|url=http://adage.com/article/media/dish-network-ceo-charlie-ergen-tv-disrupter/238527/|magazine=Advertising Age|date = 4 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="Federal court">{{cite press release |title=Federal Court Won't Block Dish's 'AutoHop'|url=http://www.multichannel.com/distribution/federal-court-wont-block-dishs-%E2%80%98autohop%E2%80%99/144550|publisher=MultiChannel}}</ref><ref name="Autohop">{{cite news |title=Dish's AutoHop scores another legal win|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-autohop-dish-cbs-20130918,0,1354339.story#axzz2rsbi065y|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

Under Ergen, EchoStar and Dish Network acquired multiple companies, after an $8 million deal for 22 channel assignments of DBSC.<ref name="Hughes">{{cite press release |title=EchoStar to Acquire Hughes for About $1.32 Billion|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-14/echostar-to-purchase-hughes-communications-for-2-billion-including-debt.html|publisher=Bloomberg|date = 14 February 2011}}</ref><ref name="Alpha">{{cite press release |title=DISH Network's Intriguing 2011 Acquisitions|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/283851-dish-networks-intriguing-2011-acquisitions|date = 4 December 2012}}</ref>

==Litigation== Various lawsuits in which Ergen has been involved include:

* In 2013 and 2014, Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund managed by Philip Falcone, sued Dish Network and Charles Ergen personally in federal court in New York City, alleging racketeering and claiming that Dish Network had illegally tried to take away the hedge fund's control over LightSquared Inc. during its bankruptcy. In 2015, the federal court dismissed the suit.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stempel|first=Jonathan|title=Harbinger sues Dish, Ergen over LightSquared, seeks $1.5 billion |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dish-network-harbinger-lawsuit-idUSKCN0PV2B920150721 |website=Reuters |language=en |date=21 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dish, Ergen Escape Harbinger's $1.5B Suit Over LightSquared - Law360 |url=https://www.law360.com/media/articles/649158/dish-ergen-escape-harbinger-s-1-5b-suit-over-lightsquared |website=www.law360.com |language=en}}</ref> * The Iron Workers Mid-South Pension Fund filed suit against Ergen in federal court in Colorado in September 2013. Ergen bought large amounts of LightSquared's debt at deep discounts while it was in bankruptcy. Ergen then made a personal bid of $2 billion to acquire LightSquared's assets. This increased the price that Dish had to bid in order to acquire LightSquared's rights to wireless spectrum. Indeed, Ergen ordered Dish to bid $2.2 billion on these assets. The suit claims this was a breach of Ergen's fiduciary duties to Dish shareholders.<ref name="fraud">{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/shareholders-sue-dish-charlie-ergen-637535|title=Shareholders Sue Dish, Charlie Ergen Over $2.2 Billion Spectrum Bid|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=26 September 2013|access-date=19 September 2018}}</ref> Dish and Ergen prevailed in the litigation. * In 2005, a discrimination lawsuit was filed against EchoStar in federal court in Denver by an employee who said that EchoStar had engaged in "hostile conduct" against her after she had a baby in 2001.<ref name="SEXDISC">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Female EchoStar Executives Charge Ergen with 'Abusive Behavior' |newspaper=Denver Post |location=United States |date=6 April 2005|url=https://www.denverpost.com/2006/06/11/echostar-worker-suit-alleges-sex-misconduct/}}</ref> The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount in August 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_3925845 |title=EchoStar worker suit alleges sex misconduct |publisher=denverpost.com |date=2006-06-12 |access-date=2016-03-28}}</ref>

==Personal life== Ergen was born into an Episcopalian family<ref name=Viola>{{cite interview |title=Oral History of Viola Ergen, Interviewed by Keith McDaniel|url=http://cdm16107.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p15388coll1/id/143/rec/45|journal=Center for Oak Ridge Oral History|date = 18 July 2011|quotation=''"We joined the Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in '48 when we came here."''}}</ref> in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on March 1, 1953,<ref name="resume"/> the fourth of five children born to Viola (née Siebenthal) and William Krasny Ergen.<ref name=Cutthroat/><ref>[http://obit.weatherfordmortuary.com/obit_display.cgi?id=1210327 Weatherford Mortuary: "Viola Siebenthal Ergen"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925075237/http://obit.weatherfordmortuary.com/obit_display.cgi?id=1210327 |date=2015-09-25 }} May 21, 2013</ref> His mother was one of the first female accountants in the state of Minnesota.<ref name=Viola /> His father was an Austrian immigrant who was working in Sweden as a nuclear physicist, and left Europe prior to World War II.<ref name=Cutthroat/> His father coined the phrase "China syndrome".<ref name=Cutthroat>{{cite book |last1=Keating |first1=Stephen |title=Cutthroat: High Stakes & Killer Moves on the Electronic Frontier |date=1999 |publisher=Big Earth Publishing |isbn=9781555662486 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2dhM7xdI89EC&q=china&pg=PA83 |language=en}}</ref>{{rp|83}} His parents married in Minnesota in 1944 and then moved to Camden, New Jersey, before settling in Oak Ridge where his father accepted a position at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.<ref name=Viola /> Ergen graduated from Oak Ridge High School. He then received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity,<ref name="Yahoo">{{cite web |title=Dish Network, the Meanest Company in America|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dish-network-meanest-company-america-194008712.html?page=3|website=Yahoo.com| date=2 January 2013 }}</ref> and an M.B.A. from Wake Forest University.<ref name="dishboard">{{cite press release |title=Dish Network Board of Directors|url=http://www.dishnetwork.com/about/profile/exec_team/|publisher=Dish Network}}</ref> He was a professional blackjack and poker player.<ref name="Yahoo"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Shea|first=Dann|title=Charles Ergen: Meet America's Richest Media Mogul You've Never Heard Of |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/charles-ergen-meet-americ_n_127537 |website=HuffPost Canada |language=en |date=19 October 2008}}</ref>

Ergen is well known for his frugality. His office is furnished with second-hand couches and he does not fly first class.<ref name="Frugal">{{cite news |last=Iwatani |first=Yukari |date=30 October 2001 |title=Former gambler Ergen wins a big round: A career defying the odds |newspaper=National Post |location=Canada}}</ref> Ergen used to sign all the checks his company issued but currently signs only checks for $100,000 or more.<ref name="Yahoo"/> Ergen's supporters call his negotiating style "patient and prudent."<ref name="NegStyle">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/bets-are-placed-will-dishs-ergen-seal-a-deal-1433441530|title=Dish's Finicky CEO Is Wild Card in T-Mobile Talks|first=Shalini|last=Ramachandran|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=4 June 2015|access-date=19 September 2018|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref>

He is married to Cantey ("Candy") McAdam. They have five children, including entrepreneur Chase Ergen.<ref name=forbes>{{cite web|title=The World's Billionaires 2018|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/|website=Forbes.com|access-date=29 November 2019}}</ref> They live in The Village at Castle Pines, Colorado.<ref name="resume">{{cite magazine |title=BusinessWeek resume|url=http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2001-04-22/resume-charles-w-dot-ergen|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221053727/http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2001-04-22/resume-charles-w-dot-ergen|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 21, 2013|journal=Businessweek}}</ref>

== Wealth == Ergen first appeared in the Forbes 400 list in 1999 at the age of 46, with a net worth of US$4.8 billion and was ranked 36th in the list,<ref>{{cite web|title=Twelve Coloradans made the Forbes list of 400 richest Americans on Thursday. Here these Coloradans are listed by rank, name, age, hometown, net worth in dollars and source of wealth.|url=https://extras.denverpost.com/business/biz0924l.htm|website=denverpost.com|date=24 September 1999|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> as Dish share price rose more than 702.1% from 1 January 1999 to 31 December 1999.<ref>{{cite web|title=The closing price for DISH Network (DISH) in 1999 was $34.74, on December 31, 1999. It was up 702.1% for the year. The latest price is $3.44.|url=https://www.statmuse.com/money/ask/dish-stock-price-in-1999|website=statmuse.com|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> He was also the third richest person in Colorado at that time. In 2000, Ergen first appeared in The World's Billionaires by Forbes and having a net worth of $11.2 billion, making him the 21st richest person in the world.<ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2000|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx00xwor.htm|website=statmuse.com|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable float-left" style="text-align: right;" |+ Net worth and ranking of Charles Ergen from 2000 to 2023 according to The World's Billionaires. !Year !Net Worth !Rank |- | 2000 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2000|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx00xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | $11.2 billion | #21 |- | 2001 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2001|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx01xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $8.8 billion | {{decrease}} #35 |- | 2002 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2002|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx02xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $6.2 billion | {{decrease}} #42 |- | 2003 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2003|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx03xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $5.9 billion | {{decrease}} #45 |- | 2004 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2004|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx04xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $9.1 billion | {{increase}} #34 |- | 2005 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2005|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx05xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $7.2 billion | {{decrease}} #55 |- | 2006 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2006|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx06xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $6.7 billion | {{decrease}} #80 |- | 2007 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2007|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx07xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $10 billion | {{increase}} #62 |- | 2008 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2008|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx08xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $9.5 billion | {{decrease}} #87 |- | 2009 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2009|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx09xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $3.9 billion | {{decrease}} #146 |- | 2010 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2010|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx10xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $5.2 billion | {{decrease}} #148 |- | 2011 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2011|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx11xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $7 billion | {{increase}} #136 |- | 2012 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2012|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx12xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $8.3 billion | {{increase}} #106 |- | 2013 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2013|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx13xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $10.6 billion | {{increase}} #100 |- | 2014 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2014|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx14xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $15 billion | {{increase}} #65 |- | 2015 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2015|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx15xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $20.1 billion | {{increase}} #43 |- | 2016 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2016|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx16xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $12.2 billion | {{decrease}} #77 |- | 2017 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2017|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx17xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{increase}} $18.3 billion | {{increase}} #47 |- | 2018 <ref>{{cite web|title=The complete list of world's billionaires 2018|url=https://stats.areppim.com/listes/list_billionairesx18xwor.htm|access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $13.4 billion | {{decrease}} #106 |- | 2019 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Here Are Colorado's 11 Billionaires On Forbes 2019 List |url=https://patch.com/colorado/broomfield/here-are-colorados-11-billionaires-forbes-2019-list |publisher=Patch |date=March 5, 2019 |access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> | {{decrease}} $9.6 billion | {{decrease}} #143 |- | 2020 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Forbes Profile: Charles Ergen |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/?sh=27390efd1daf |work=Forbes |date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102184301/https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/?sh=27390efd1daf |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> | {{decrease}} $5.4 billion | {{decrease}} #304 |- | 2021 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Forbes Profile: Charles Ergen |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/ |work=Forbes |date=December 5, 2021 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=5 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205203319/https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> | {{increase}} $9.6 billion | {{increase}} #241 |- | 2022 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Forbes Profile: Charles Ergen |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/ |work=Forbes |date=December 17, 2022 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=17 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217130629/https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> | {{decrease}} $8.7 billion | {{steady}} #241 |- | 2023 <ref name=F2023>{{Cite web |title=Forbes Profile: Charles Ergen |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/ |work=Forbes |date=November 7, 2023 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107011207/https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> | {{decrease}} $3.2 billion | {{decrease}} #905 |}

Ergen appeared on the ''Forbes 400'' list every year from 1999 until 2022, but he was dropped in 2023.<ref name=F2023></ref> On November 6, 2023, Dish Network's and EchoStar share price plunged 37.43%<ref>{{Cite web |title=DISH Network Corporation Class A Common Stock (DISH) |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/dish |publisher=Nasdaq |date=6 November 2023 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107012351/https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/dish |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> and 31.28%<ref>{{Cite web |title=EchoStar Corporation Common Stock (SATS) |url=https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/sats |publisher=Nasdaq |date=6 November 2023 |access-date=7 November 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107043013/https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/sats |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> respectively after both companies reported earnings below analysts' expectations and a decline in subscriber numbers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Dish Network Stock Plunged Today |url=https://www.fool.com/investing/2023/11/06/why-dish-network-stock-plunged-today/ |publisher=The Motley Fool |date=6 November 2023 |access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref> As a result, Ergen lost $786 million in a day, causing his net worth to drop from $1.6 billion to $857.6 million, marking the first time in nearly 25 years that he lost his billionaire status.<ref name=F2023></ref> However, with series of corporate restructure of EchoStar in 2024, Ergen regained his billionaire status. As of September 2025, Forbes estimates his net worth at $11 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Ergen |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/ |access-date=2024-11-16 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

== Recognition == Ergen was recognized with a Rocky Mountain News' Business ''Person of the Year Award'' in 1996, and honored a second time in 2001.<ref name="Entrepreneurs">{{cite press release |title=Entrepreneurs Unplugged: Charlie Ergen, Chairman, DISH Network|url=http://lawweb.colorado.edu/events/mediaDetails.jsp?id=3866|journal=Lawweb.colorado.edu}}</ref><ref name="Unplugged">{{cite web|title=Silicon Flatirons: Charlie Ergen, Chairman, DISH Network|url=http://www.siliconflatirons.com/events.php?id=1067|date=17 April 2012|access-date=30 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929123959/http://www.siliconflatirons.com/events.php?id=1067|archive-date=29 September 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ergen co-founded the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association.<ref name="Entrepreneurs"/><ref name="Unplugged"/> In 2012, Ergen was inducted into the Consumer Electronics ''Hall of Fame''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Steve|title=CEA Inducts CE Hall Of Fame Class of 2012|url=https://www.twice.com/news/cea-inducts-ce-hall-fame-class-2012-50658|website=Twice.com|publisher=Twice Magazine|access-date=15 May 2018|date=17 October 2012|archive-date=15 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615032243/https://www.twice.com/news/cea-inducts-ce-hall-fame-class-2012-50658|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} *{{Wikiquote-inline}} {{Dish Network}}{{Current U.S. Richest People}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ergen, Charlie}} Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Episcopalians from Tennessee Category:American people of Austrian descent Category:American chief executives in the mass media industry Category:American chief executives in technology Category:American mass media owners Category:Dish Network Category:People from Oak Ridge, Tennessee Category:University of Tennessee alumni Category:Wake Forest University alumni Category:21st-century American philanthropists Category:American billionaires