{{Short description|American businessman (1930–2022)}} {{refimprove|date=April 2026}} {{lead rewrite|reason = to make lead compliant with WP:LEAD and WP:VERIFY, summarising (fully) the main article, and not introducing new factual content not appearing later (net worth, DOB, etc. are unique to lead), and not presenting content that is unsourced (as is much of current article material)|date = April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2016}} {{Infobox person | image = | image_size = | name = Edward Johnson III | caption = | birth_name = Edward Crosby Johnson III | birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|6|29}}{{cn|date=April 2026}} | birth_place = Milton, Massachusetts, U.S.{{cn|date=April 2026}} | death_date = {{death date and age|2022|3|23|1930|6|29}} | death_place = Wellington, Florida, U.S.{{cn|date=April 2026}} | education = Milton Academy and Tabor Academy | alma_mater = Harvard College | occupation = Chairman Emeritus, Fidelity Investments
| spouse = Elizabeth B. "Lillie" Johnson | father = Edward C. Johnson II | children = 3; including Abigail | relatives = | website = }}
'''Edward Crosby "Ned" Johnson III''' (June 29, 1930{{citation needed lead|date=April 2026}} – March 23, 2022) was an American billionaire businessman who, along with daughter Abigail Johnson, owned and ran Fidelity Investments and Fidelity International until his death in March 2022. As of 2019, his net worth was estimated at US$8.2 billion.<ref name=Forbes>{{cite web |title=Forbes profile: Edward Johnson III |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/edward-johnson-iii/ |website=Forbes |access-date=March 23, 2019}}</ref>{{verification needed|date=April 2026}}<!--Date originally offered said as of 2021, but the source date is March 2019.-->
== Early life == Johnson was born in Milton, Massachusetts, the son of Elsie Livingston Johnson and Edward C. Johnson II.{{cn|date=April 2026}} He attended prep school at Milton Academy before transferring to Tabor Academy,{{cn|date=April 2026}} and graduated with a bachelor of arts and sciences degree from Harvard College in 1954.<ref name=Forbes/>{{failed verification|date=April 2026}}<!--Only BAS Harvard are in the Forbes citation, none of the rest.-->
==Career== {{refimprove|section|date=April 2026}} Following service in the United States Army,{{what|date=April 2026}}{{when|date=April 2026}}{{cn|date=April 2026}} Johnson became a research analyst at Fidelity Investments in 1957, the company founded by his father in 1949.{{cn|date=April 2026}} He later became the portfolio manager for the Fidelity Trend Fund in 1960,{{cn|date=April 2026}} and ran the famous Fidelity Magellan Fund from 1963 to 1977.{{cn|date=April 2026}} He then became president of the company in 1972, and chairman and CEO in 1977.{{cn|date=April 2026}}
Johnson was the first to begin the practice of permitting check writing on money market funds.{{cn|date=April 2026}} He was also the first to sell discount brokerage services to banks, insurance companies, and consumers.{{cn|date=April 2026}} He supported and invested in automation of brokerage sales and operations.{{cn|date=April 2026}}
In a November 2016, memo to Fidelity employees, Johnson announced he would retire in December and turn over the chairmanship to his daughter Abigail. Although he would no longer be a member of the board of directors, Johnson planned to "maintain office hours ... and continue to consult periodically with Abby."<ref name="retire">{{cite news|last1=Healy|first1=Beth|title='Ned' Johnson stepping down as Fidelity chairman|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/11/21/ned-johnson-stepping-down-fidelity-chairman/PFFyKuse3NLREeiZL3WiyL/story.html|access-date=26 December 2016|publisher=The Boston Globe|date=November 21, 2016}}</ref>
== Society memberships, awards, and honors == Johnson was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a trustee of the Beth Israel Hospital and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and a member of the Boston Society of Security Analysts.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
He has been given honorary doctorates by Boston University, Bentley College and the Hobart and William Smith Colleges.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} He was an honorary fellow of London Business School.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}}
==Wealth and philanthropy== Ned Johnson III was a descendent of loyalist merchant and slaveholder Robert Gilbert Livingston (1712–1789) and Catharina Johnson McPheadres Livingston.{{cn|date=April 2026}} Livingston had over a hundred thousand acres in New York on the Hudson River Valley, Brooklyn, Long Island and Harlem.{{cn|date=April 2026}} By royal charter of George I of Great Britain in 1686, Robert "The Elder" Livingston (1654–1728) was granted a patent to 160,000 acres along the Hudson River.{{cn|date=April 2026}}
With an estimated {{As of|2013|alt=current}} net worth of around $8.4 billion, he was ranked by ''Forbes'' as the 57th richest person in America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes-400/|title=Forbes 400 2018|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-04-08}}</ref>
In 1965, the US{{endash}}based Fidelity Foundation was founded by Edward C. Johnson III and his father.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fidelityfoundation.org/documents/FidFoundationOverview.pdf |title=Fidelity Foundation overview |publisher=Fidelity Foundation |access-date=September 4, 2012 |page=1 |archive-date=March 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324070152/http://www.fidelityfoundation.org/documents/FidFoundationOverview.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Edward C. Johnson Fund, a $334 million charitable fund,<ref name="bostonglobe.com">Beth Healy, [https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/12/05/abigail-johnson-after-years-training-gets-put-her-stamp-fidelity/Unb5tRwrL8iby2mTHoqMGN/story.html "Abigail Johnson, after years of training, gets to put her stamp on Fidelity"], ''The Boston Globe'', December 5, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2015.</ref> contributes to institutions in the Boston area and beyond.<ref>[http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/fundraising-for-the-fine-arts/edward-c-johnson-fund-grants-for-visual-arts.html "Edward C. Johnson Fund: Grants for Visual Arts"], ''Inside Philanthropy'', September 26, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2015.</ref>
==Personal life== His wife was Elizabeth B. "Lillie" Johnson, a trustee of the Museum of Fine Arts<ref name="bostonglobe.com" /> and Winterthur Museum. They resided in Boston.<ref name=Forbes/>
His daughter Abigail Johnson took over the role of CEO of Fidelity Investments and chairman of Fidelity International in 2014.{{cn|date=April 2026}}{{update inline|date=April 2026}} {{As of|2012}}, Abigail owned up to 24% of the shares in Fidelity, had a net worth of $10.3 billion and was ranked 29th on the ''Forbes 400'' list of richest Americans.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/abigail-johnson/ |date=March 2012 |work=Forbes |title=Forbes 400: Abigail Johnson |access-date=September 4, 2012}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=April 2026}}
His other daughter is Elizabeth L. Johnson. In 2012, it was estimated that Elizabeth had a net worth of roughly $2.5 billion.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.investmentnews.com/hidden-johnson-billionaires-found-in-fidelity-fund-empire-46942|title=Hidden Johnson billionaires found in Fidelity fund empire|date=2012-11-01|website=InvestmentNews|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-26}}</ref>
His son, Edward Johnson IV, is president of family-owned Pembroke Real Estate. The firm manages 6.5 million square feet of office and residential real estate, including the Boston Seaport.<ref>[http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/grants-for-conservation/edward-c-johnson-fund-grants-for-conservation.html "Edward C. Johnson Fund: Grants for Conservation"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009122002/http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/grants-for-conservation/edward-c-johnson-fund-grants-for-conservation.html |date=October 9, 2015 }}, ''Inside Philanthropy'', May 10, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.</ref> In 2012, Edward's net worth was estimated at $2.5 billion.<ref name=":0" />
On March 23, 2022, Johnson died "peacefully at his home in Florida surrounded by much of his family," according to his daughter Abby Johnson.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Edward Johnson III fund pioneer who led fidelity dies at 91 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-24/edward-johnson-iii-fund-pioneer-who-led-fidelity-dies-at-91 |access-date=2022-03-29 |newspaper=Bloomberg|date=March 24, 2022 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreamurphy/2022/03/24/mutual-fund-billionaire-edward-ned-johnson-iii-dies-at-91/?sh=7939d9f450df Mutual Fund Billionaire Edward "Ned" Johnson III Dies At 91]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.babson.edu/academics/centers/blank-center/academy-of-distinguished-entrepreneurs/pages/johnson-edward.aspx Babson College Profile] * [http://www.eri-nonprofit-salaries.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=NPO.Summary&EIN=046108344&Cobrandid=0 IRS Form 990, Edward C. Johnson Fund, 82 Devonshire Street S3, Boston, MA, 020109, Anne Marie Soulli, Director.]
{{Fidelity Investments|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Edward}} Category:1930 births Category:2022 deaths Category:People from Milton, Massachusetts Category:Businesspeople from Massachusetts Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts Category:American money managers Category:American financial analysts Category:Harvard College alumni Category:Stock and commodity market managers Category:American philanthropists Category:American billionaires Category:United States Army soldiers Category:American chief executives of financial services companies Category:Milton Academy alumni Category:Fidelity International Category:20th-century American businesspeople Category:Tabor Academy (Massachusetts) alumni