Jack Dangermond
American businessman; co-founder and president of the mapping software company Esri
| Jack Dangermond
| |
|---|---|
| Image | .jpg) Dangermond in 2012 |
| Born | 23 July 1945 (Forbes) Redlands, California (Forbes) |
| Nationality | American |
| Residence | Redlands, California (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder and president of Esri |
| Spouse(s) | Laura Dangermond |
| Education | California State Polytechnic University; Harvard University (MS); University of Minnesota (Forbes) |
Jack Dangermond (born 23 July 1945) is an American businessman who co-founded Esri, a maker of geographic information system (GIS) software used to create digital maps, with his wife Laura in 1969. He is the company's president.[1][2] Forbes says Esri has about 40% of the global GIS market.[1] On 12 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Dangermond 385th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$9.4 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as mapping software.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Dangermond 202nd, at US$14.3 billion.[4]
Esri
Forbes says Dangermond grew up in Redlands, California, where his first job was at his father's plant nursery.[1] He and Laura Dangermond started Esri in 1969 with US$1,100 of personal savings. Forbes calls him the "godfather" of digital mapping technology.[1] The couple still own the company and, according to Forbes, go to work together every morning.[1] Forbes reports that Esri has pledged US$1 billion of free GIS software to American K-12 schools. It says that during the Covid-19 pandemic the company donated more than US$60 million in software, services and hardware to government agencies, furloughed workers and educators.[1]
Philanthropy
In December 2017 a gift of US$165 million from Jack and Laura Dangermond allowed The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to buy the Cojo Jalama Ranches, also known as the Bixby Ranch, at Point Conception in Santa Barbara County. The 24,364-acre property was renamed the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve.[2][5] The Santa Barbara Independent reported that the price was negotiated between TNC and the Boston investment firm Baupost Group, which had owned the land since 2007.[2] TNC calls the donation the largest philanthropic gift in its history.[5]
Political activity
Itemised FEC records for the 2022–2026 cycles list contributions under his name with Esri as employer, nearly all with a Redlands, California address. They are summarised below as filed.[6]
Across the 62 non-memo records retrieved for the 2022–2026 cycles, the filtered total is US$293,100 (a lower bound). The largest recipient committees, as named in the filings, were DNC SERVICES CORP / DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE (US$100,000), NRCC (US$30,000), CA LUV PAC (CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP UNITED FOR VICTORY PAC) (US$30,000), EUREKA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (US$30,000), JAY OBERNOLTE FOR CONGRESS (US$19,000).[6]
| Cycle | Total (US$, lower bound) | Records | Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $68,600 | 24 | NRCC ($15,000); CA LUV PAC (CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP UNITED FOR VICTORY PAC) ($10,000); EUREKA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE ($10,000); PETE AGUILAR FOR CONGRESS ($5,800) |
| 2024 | $167,000 | 22 | DNC SERVICES CORP / DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE ($100,000); NRCC ($15,000); CA LUV PAC (CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP UNITED FOR VICTORY PAC) ($10,000); EUREKA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE ($10,000) |
| 2026 | $57,500 | 16 | EUREKA POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE ($10,000); JOBS AND THE ECONOMY PAC ($10,000); CA LUV PAC (CALIFORNIA LEADERSHIP UNITED FOR VICTORY PAC) ($10,000); KEN CALVERT FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE ($7,000) |
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 17 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2010. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | – | – | 158 | 2.0 |
| 2010 | 488 | 2.0 | 164 | 2.2 |
| 2011 | 540 | 2.2 | 188 | 2.2 |
| 2012 | 578 | 2.2 | 190 | 2.4 |
| 2013 | 554 | 2.6 | 222 | 2.5 |
| 2014 | 687 | 2.5 | 225 | 2.7 |
| 2015 | 628 | 2.9 | 234 | 2.8 |
| 2016 | 569 | 3.0 | 204 | 3.2 |
| 2017 | 603 | 3.2 | 200 | 3.7 |
| 2018 | 527 | 4.1 | 177 | 4.1 |
| 2019 | 504 | 4.0 | 154 | 4.4 |
| 2020 | 451 | 4.0 | 110 | 5.6 |
| 2021 | 496 | 5.6 | 98 | 8.4 |
| 2022 | 398 | 6.4 | 115 | 7.0 |
| 2023 | 332 | 7.0 | 108 | 8.1 |
| 2024 | 237 | 9.7 | 122 | 8.9 |
| 2025 | 337 | 8.9 | 77 | 14.1 |
| 2026 | 202 | 14.3 | 167 | 9.4 |
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
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Jack Dangermond (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/jack-dangermond/) Forbes, live record, read 12 November 2026, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Keith Hamm, With $165 Million Private Donation, The Nature Conservancy Purchases Cojo Jalama Ranches Santa Barbara Independent, 22 December 2017, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 12 November 2026 09:42 UTC, accessed 12 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 12 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Nature Conservancy, Saving The Last Perfect Place In California The Nature Conservancy, 11 September 2018, accessed 12 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "DANGERMOND, JACK"; 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 12 November 2026, accessed 12 November 2026.