Charles Ergen
American businessman; co-founder, chairman and chief executive of EchoStar
| Charles Ergen
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (Forbes) |
| Nationality | American |
| Residence | Denver, Colorado (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Chairman, president and chief executive, EchoStar |
| Known for | Dish Network; EchoStar; 2025 spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX |
| Children | 5 (Forbes) |
| Education | University of Tennessee Knoxville; Wake Forest University (MBA) (Forbes) |
Charles "Charlie" Ergen (born 1953) is an American businessman. He co-founded the satellite television and communications group EchoStar and its pay-TV arm Dish Network, and has chaired EchoStar since its formation in 2007.[1][2] In November 2025 he again became EchoStar's president and chief executive.[2] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Ergen 200th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$14.4 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as satellite tv.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Ergen 178th, at US$16.1 billion.[4] In 2025, after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) questioned whether EchoStar was meeting its 5G build-out obligations, Ergen met President Donald Trump. EchoStar then agreed to sell spectrum licences to AT&T for US$23 billion and to SpaceX for about US$17 billion, later raised to about US$19.6 billion.[5][6][2]
Early life and education
Forbes says Ergen is the son of an Austrian-born nuclear physicist who worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. It lists degrees from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and an MBA from Wake Forest University's business school.[1] A 2017 Forbes profile said that after college he was a professional gambler and "apparently got thrown out of a Vegas casino for counting cards".[1]
Business career
According to Forbes, Ergen began selling satellite dishes from the back of a truck in Colorado in 1980. EchoStar went public in 1995 and launched its first satellite that year, giving rise to the pay-TV subsidiary Dish Network.[1] Forbes's 2017 profile said Dish went public in 1996 and that Ergen owned 48% of it; the two Forbes accounts differ on the year.[1] Ergen spun Dish off as a separate company in 2008 and merged the businesses again in December 2023 under the EchoStar name.[1] EchoStar's November 2025 8-K filing states that Ergen has chaired its board since the company was formed in 2007, was chief executive from 2007 until November 2009, and has been executive chairman since November 2009. It says he chaired Dish Network from its formation and was Dish's chief executive from March 2015 to December 2017. He has also chaired CONX Corp. since August 2020.[2] Forbes adds that he returned as Dish chief executive in 2015, four years after leaving the chairman's role, and stepped down as chief executive for the second time in 2017.[1] Forbes says that, as a condition of the 2020 Sprint–T-Mobile merger, Dish set out to build a 5G network covering at least 70% of the United States.[1]
2025 spectrum sales
Reuters reported in August 2025 that in May the FCC had told EchoStar it was investigating whether the company was meeting its obligations to provide 5G service in the United States. In June, Trump "prodded" EchoStar and FCC chair Brendan Carr to reach an amicable deal. Trump met Ergen on 12 June and then called Carr to join the meeting.[5] On 26 August 2025 EchoStar agreed to sell spectrum licences to AT&T for US$23 billion. Reuters also noted that DirecTV had abandoned a planned purchase of EchoStar's satellite television business the previous year.[5] Democratic FCC commissioner Anna Gomez said the agency had "once again mounted a pressure campaign on a private company".[5] On 8 September 2025 CNBC reported that SpaceX would buy EchoStar's AWS-4 and H-block licences for about US$17 billion, paying up to US$8.5 billion in cash and up to US$8.5 billion in stock. SpaceX also agreed to cover about US$2 billion of interest on EchoStar's debt through late 2027. CNBC noted that SpaceX had told the FCC in April that EchoStar's 2 GHz spectrum was underused.[6] Under an amended agreement filed on 6 November 2025, EchoStar added further AWS spectrum in exchange for about US$2.6 billion in SpaceX Class A stock valued at US$212 a share. This raised the total consideration to US$19,616,737,853.[2] Light Reading reported that the deals would let EchoStar decommission its 5G network and run Boost Mobile as a hybrid virtual operator on AT&T's network. It also said the FCC had moved to drop its investigation.[7] Advanced Television put the AT&T payment at US$22.65 billion, against the US$23 billion headline figure reported by Reuters. It said EchoStar had 7.16 million pay-TV subscribers at the end of September 2025.[8][5]
Return as chief executive
On 6 November 2025 EchoStar created an investment division, EchoStar Capital, led by former chief executive Hamid Akhavan. Ergen was appointed chairman, president and chief executive of EchoStar.[2] Light Reading said EchoStar Capital would pursue investments, mergers and divestitures in areas including space communications, telecoms and defence.[7]
Wealth
Forbes classes Ergen as self-made, with his fortune coming from EchoStar and Dish.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 26 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2001. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | – | – | 370 | 0.5 |
| 1998 | – | – | 345 | 0.6 |
| 1999 | – | – | 36 | 4.8 |
| 2001 | 35 | 8.8 | 22 | 7.1 |
| 2002 | 42 | 6.2 | 33 | 4.4 |
| 2003 | 45 | 5.9 | 20 | 8.9 |
| 2004 | 34 | 9.1 | 23 | 7.3 |
| 2005 | 55 | 7.2 | 30 | 7.1 |
| 2006 | 80 | 6.7 | 34 | 7.6 |
| 2007 | 62 | 10.0 | 27 | 10.2 |
| 2008 | 87 | 9.5 | 35 | 8.1 |
| 2009 | 146 | 3.9 | 49 | 4.9 |
| 2010 | 148 | 5.2 | 51 | 5.2 |
| 2011 | 136 | 7.0 | 46 | 6.4 |
| 2012 | 106 | 8.3 | 39 | 9.0 |
| 2013 | 100 | 10.6 | 32 | 12.5 |
| 2014 | 65 | 15.0 | 26 | 17.2 |
| 2015 | 43 | 20.1 | 28 | 16.4 |
| 2016 | 77 | 12.2 | 28 | 14.7 |
| 2017 | 47 | 18.3 | 30 | 15.8 |
| 2018 | 106 | 13.4 | 44 | 10.8 |
| 2019 | 143 | 9.6 | 44 | 10.8 |
| 2020 | 304 | 5.4 | 54 | 9.3 |
| 2021 | 241 | 9.6 | 56 | 13.0 |
| 2022 | 241 | 8.7 | 214 | 4.8 |
| 2023 | 905 | 3.2 | – | – |
| 2024 | 2152 | 1.4 | – | – |
| 2025 | 1072 | 3.4 | 168 | 8.2 |
| 2026 | 178 | 16.1 | 101 | 12.8 |
Political activity
Ergen's itemised federal contributions in the 2022–2026 cycles, as filed with the FEC, are summarised below. They went to committees of both parties. The largest recipients were the Harris Victory Fund (US$50,000) and the Democratic National Committee (US$36,500), followed by the EchoStar–Dish Network PAC (US$25,000). Candidate committees for Democratic and Republican members of Congress, including Brett Guthrie, Kyrsten Sinema, Joe Neguse, Frank Pallone, Mike Lee and Chuck Grassley, also appear in the records.[9]
Across the 81 non-memo records retrieved for the 2022–2026 cycles, the filtered total is US$405,500 (a lower bound). The largest recipient committees, as named in the filings, were HARRIS VICTORY FUND (US$50,000), DNC SERVICES CORP / DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (US$36,500), ECHOSTAR CORPORATION AND DISH NETWORK CORPORATION PAC (ECHOSTAR DISH NETWORK PAC) (US$25,000), GUTHRIE FOR CONGRESS (US$16,100), SINEMA FOR ARIZONA (US$13,200).[9]
| Cycle | Total (US$, lower bound) | Records | Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $181,200 | 38 | DNC SERVICES CORP / DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE ($36,500); FRIENDS OF MIKE LEE INC ($11,600); GRASSLEY COMMITTEE, INC. ($11,600); ECHOSTAR CORPORATION AND DISH NETWORK CORPORATION PAC (ECHOSTAR DISH NETWORK PAC) ($10,000) |
| 2024 | $205,300 | 38 | HARRIS VICTORY FUND ($50,000); SINEMA FOR ARIZONA ($13,200); JOBS, FREEDOM, AND SECURITY PAC ($10,000); ECHOSTAR CORPORATION AND DISH NETWORK CORPORATION PAC (ECHOSTAR DISH NETWORK PAC) ($10,000) |
| 2026 | $19,000 | 5 | GUTHRIE FOR CONGRESS ($7,000); ECHOSTAR CORPORATION AND DISH NETWORK CORPORATION PAC (ECHOSTAR DISH NETWORK PAC) ($5,000); CAPITO FOR WEST VIRGINIA ($3,500); HUDSON FOR CONGRESS ($3,500) |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Ergen's 2025 meeting with Trump and the FCC's investigation preceded EchoStar's spectrum sales, as reported by Reuters.[5]
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Charles Ergen (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/charles-ergen/) Forbes, live record, read 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 EchoStar Corporation, Form 8-K (date of report 6 November 2025) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 6 November 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 10 November 2026 23:28 UTC, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 David Shepardson and Harshita Mary Varghese, EchoStar to sell wireless spectrum licenses to AT&T in $23 billion deal Reuters (via Yahoo Finance), 26 August 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 CNBC, SpaceX buys wireless spectrum from EchoStar in $17 billion deal CNBC, 8 September 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jeff Baumgartner, EchoStar sells more spectrum to SpaceX Light Reading, 6 November 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Advanced Television, Ergen returns as CEO at EchoStar Advanced Television, 7 November 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "ERGEN, CHARLES"; 2026 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried together with the same parameters; top 100 records by amount; records filtered by employer/occupation and name, memo entries excluded U.S. Federal Election Commission, data as filed; queried 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.