Barry Diller

Who Is Barry Diller?

Barry Diller is the chair and senior executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC), a media and internet holding company. He was chief executive officer of IAC from 1995 to 2010.

Barry Diller Biography and Career

Barry Diller was born on Feb. 2, 1942, in San Francisco and attended the University of California, Los Angeles, though he did not graduate. He began his career in 1961 in the mailroom of Hollywood talent agency the William Morris Agency.

Television in the 1960s–1990s

Diller joined American Broadcast Corporation when he was hired by ABC head of programming Leonard Goldberg, who gave Diller the task of negotiating broadcasting rights for feature films.

In 1965, Diller was promoted to vice president of development at ABC. He helped ABC compete with rival networks by introducing ABC's Movie of the Week in 1969, working with talents such as producer Aaron Spelling and director Steven Spielberg. Made-for-TV movies became an industry practice because they were inexpensive and quick to produce.

In 1974, Diller became chair and CEO of Paramount Pictures. He served as chair and CEO of Fox from 1984 to 1992, where he launched the Fox Broadcasting Company to compete with ABC, CBS, and NBC. The network aired hit shows such as Married ... With Children, Beverly Hill 90210 and The Simpsons.

He left Fox in 1992 to become CEO of QVC Network. There, he made an unsuccessful hostile takeover bid to take over Paramount, losing to rival Viacom. After leaving QVC in 1995, he became chair CEO of Silver King Communications, the predecessor of IAC. He became chair of the Home Shopping Network in 1999 and co-CEO of Vivendi Universal Entertainment in 2002.

IAC operates Dotdash and Care.com, and is majority of owner of ANGI Homeservices, which includes HomeAdvisor, Angie's List, and Handy. Public companies IAC has created or operated include Expedia (EXPE), Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster Entertainment, LendingTree (TREE), TripAdvisor (TRIP), Match Group (MTCH), Trivago (TRVG), and ANGI Homeservices (ANGI).

Barry Diller Family and Personal Interests

Forbes estimated Diller's net worth at $5.2 billion as of Sept. 2021.

Diller is married to Diane von Furstenberg, owner of fashion company Diane von Furstenberg. Diller and Furstenberg are art collectors and have been influential in developing public properties in New York City, including the High Line Park and Little Island park.

Diller is also known for mentoring successful media professionals such as Michael Eisner, CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 to 2005; Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber (UBER); and Jeffrey Katzenberg, founder and CEO of DreamWorks SKG and DreamWorks Animation.

Disclosure

Barry Diller is chair of IAC Corporation, which owns Investopedia parent company Dotdash.