What is Dov Charney’s Net Worth?
Dov Charney is a Canadian businessman and entrepreneur with a net worth of $500 thousand. He is known for founding American Apparel, which gained attention for its provocative ad campaigns and promotion of social causes like immigration and gay rights.
In 2014, Charney was dismissed as CEO of American Apparel due to legal issues, and the company filed for bankruptcy the following year. It was eventually purchased by Gildan Activewear in 2017.
In 2016, Charney launched Los Angeles Apparel, which also manufactures its products in the United States.
Charney has received numerous accolades, including being named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year and “Apparel Magazine’s” Man of the Year. He has also been recognized by the “Los Angeles Times” as one of the Top 100 powerful people in Southern California.
Dov Charney’s Declining Net Worth
In 2007, Dov Charney’s stake in American Apparel was worth $480 million. However, in the following years, the company’s stock price dropped dramatically, causing Charney’s personal stake to sink to less than $18 million.
Despite the plummeting stock price, Charney never sold any of his shares. In 2014, he handed over his remaining 47.2 million shares (approximately 27% of outstanding stock) to hedge fund Standard General in an attempt to regain control of the company. Charney used these shares as collateral to receive a loan from Standard General to buy an even larger stake in American Apparel.
In December 2014, Charney claimed that Standard General had double-crossed him on their deal. He also stated that he was worth less than $100,000 and was sleeping on a friend’s couch.
Early Life and Education
Dov Charney was born on January 31, 1969, in Montreal, Quebec. He attended Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut and St. George’s School of Montreal. While studying in the U.S., Charney imported Fruit of the Loom and Hanes t-shirts to his friends in Canada. After graduating from high school, Dov enrolled at Tufts University, but he dropped out in 1990.
Charney’s mother, Sylvia, is an artist, and his father, Morris, is an architect, as is his maternal uncle, Moshe Safdie.
Source: The New York Times
From American Apparel to Los Angeles Apparel
Dov Charney dropped out of Tufts and launched American Apparel in South Carolina with a $10,000 loan from his parents. After moving to Los Angeles in 1997, the company saw massive growth, with more than 60 stores in the U.S. and Europe by 2003 and 281 retail locations by 2009. In 2016, Charney founded Los Angeles Apparel, which began manufacturing medical gowns and face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and donated them to healthcare workers and law enforcement. However, the company was temporarily shut down in 2020 after more than 300 employees tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in four deaths.
Dov Charney’s Sexual Harassment Allegations and Lawsuits
Dov Charney, the founder of American Apparel, has been sued multiple times for sexual harassment. Each lawsuit was either dismissed, settled, or sent to private arbitration. His lawyer, Keith Fink, stated that some cases were defeated or dismissed, while others were settled because the insurance company wanted to save money.
In 2004, Claudine Ko from “Jane” magazine published an essay revealing that Charney began pleasuring himself during an interview with her. Charney later stated that he took Ko seriously as a reporter, but the lines between personal and professional got blurry.
In 2011, former American Apparel employee Irene Morales sued Charney, alleging that he kept her as a sex slave when she was a teenager. Morales claimed that Charney had posted nude photos of her on the internet and forced her to perform sexual acts under the threat of losing her job. The lawsuit was sent to arbitration in 2012 after Morales allegedly sent Charney nude photos of herself accompanied by suggestive messages when she was no longer working for the company. Morales’ allegations reportedly led to Charney’s ousting from American Apparel.
Charney’s Awards and Accolades
Dov Charney was the recipient of the Marketing Excellence Award at the 2005 LA Fashion Awards. Three years later, he was named Retailer of the Year at the Michael Awards for the Fashion Industry. In 2009, Charney was a finalist for “Time” magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world list.
Dov Charney’s $4.1 Million Garbutt House
In 2006, Dov Charney purchased the Garbutt House in Los Angeles’ Silver Lake neighborhood for $4.1 million. The home was originally built in 1923 by Frank A. Garbutt, who constructed it entirely out of concrete due to his fear of natural disasters such as fires, floods, and earthquakes. Even the roof is made of concrete.
The Garbutt House boasts more than 20 rooms, including steel doors, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
