Tony Robbins
Robbins in 2009
Born
Anthony J. Mahavoric

(1960-02-29) February 29, 1960
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Author
  • motivational speaker
Years active1977–present
Known forMotivational speaking
Spouses
Becky Robbins
​
(m. 1984⁠–⁠1998)​
    Sage Robbins
    ​
    (m. 2001)​
    Children5
    Signature

    Anthony Jay Robbins (né Mahavoric, born February 29, 1960) is an American author, coach and speaker.[1] He is known for his infomercials, seminars, and self-help books including the books Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within.[2]

    Early life

    Robbins was born Anthony J. Mahavoric in North Hollywood, California on February 29, 1960.[3] The eldest of three children, his parents divorced when he was seven. He is of Croatian descent from both sides of his family.[4] His mother remarried several times, including a marriage with Jim Robbins, a former semi-professional baseball player who legally adopted Anthony when he was 12.[3]

    Robbins attended Glendora High School.[5] During high school, he grew 10 inches (25 cm) in one year, a growth spurt later attributed to a pituitary tumor.[3] He has said his home life was "chaotic" and "abusive". When he was 17, he left home and never returned.[3] He later worked as a janitor, and did not attend college.[3] One day he asked his landlord, a family friend, how he became so successful, and the landlord told him that he started to turn his life around after attending a Jim Rohn seminar.

    Career

    Robbins began promoting seminars for motivational speaker and author Jim Rohn when he was 17 years old.[6] He subsequently learned to firewalk and incorporated it into his seminars.[7]

    In July 2010, NBC debuted Breakthrough with Tony Robbins, a reality show that followed Robbins as he helped the show's participants face their personal challenges.[8][9] NBC canceled the show after airing two of the planned six episodes due to low viewership of 2.8 million.[10] In March 2012, the OWN Network picked up the show for another season beginning with the original first season set to re-run and thereafter leading directly into the new 2012 season.[11][12] In April 2012, Robbins began cohosting Oprah's Lifeclass on the OWN Network.[13]

    Robbins in 2009

    In July 2012, the San Jose Mercury News published a story reporting that several people had been burned and hospitalized during one of Robbins's fire-walking events on July 19, 2012. This story was picked up by other media outlets, including Fox News, The New York Times, and CNN.[14][15] Aspects of these reports were later challenged by Robbins himself along with some of the on-site medical professionals.[16][17] On June 24, 2016, it was reported that "dozens were burned and required medical attention after attempting to walk on hot coals during a fire-walking event at a Tony Robbins seminar in Dallas, Texas".[18] A spokeswoman for the Robbins organization stated, "Someone unfamiliar with the process of the fire-walk called 911 reporting the need for emergency service vehicles […] there was no need for emergency personnel […] only 5 of 7,000 participants requested an examination beyond what was readily available on site."[19]

    In 2014, Robbins joined a group of investors to acquire rights to launch a Major League Soccer franchise in Los Angeles referred to as the Los Angeles Football Club. The team entered competition in 2018.[20][21][22]

    In 2015, filmmaker Joe Berlinger directed and produced the documentary Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru, about the Tony Robbins event "Date with Destiny" after filming it in Boca Raton, Florida, in December 2014.[23] It premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in March 2016[24] and was released by Netflix on July 15, 2016.[23][25]

    In 2016, Robbins partnered with Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and Washington Wizards co-owner Ted Leonsis to purchase Team Liquid, an eSports professional gaming organization.[26]

    Robbins has worked on an individual basis with Bill Clinton,[27] Justin Tuck,[28] Hugh Jackman,[29] and Pitbull.[30] He has counseled businessmen Peter Guber, Steve Wynn, and Marc Benioff.[31]

    Philanthropy

    In 1991, Robbins founded the Anthony Robbins Foundation,[32] to help young people, homeless people, hungry people, elderly people, and imprisoned people.[33] Independent charity watchdog Charity Navigator gave the foundation a rating of four out of four stars in 2017.[34]

    In 2014, he donated the profits of his book, Money: Master the Game, along with an additional personal donation, through Feeding America to provide meals to people in need.[35][36][37] Robbins works with a water company called Spring Health, which provides fresh water to parts of rural eastern India to prevent waterborne diseases.[38]

    Robbins helped raise money for Operation Underground Railroad, a nonprofit organization that works with governments to fight against child trafficking and slavery with the assistance of former CIA, Navy SEALs, and special operations operatives.[39]

    Personal life

    In 1984, Robbins married Rebecca Jenkins after meeting her at a seminar.[40][41][42] Jenkins had three children from two former marriages, whom Robbins adopted. Robbins and Jenkins filed for divorce in 1998.[42]

    In 1984, Robbins fathered a child with former girlfriend Liz Acosta. Their son, Jairek Robbins, is also a personal empowerment coach and trainer.[43][44]

    In October 2001, Robbins married Bonnie Sage Humphrey Robbins.[45] They live in Manalapan, Florida.

    Robbins was a vegan for 12 years, he then reportedly added fish to his diet.[46] Whilst eating a fish-heavy diet he developed mercury poisoning and nearly died.[47] His diet now consists of mostly vegetables with a small amount of animal protein.[47][48]

    In May 1995, Robbins Research International (RRI) settled with the Federal Trade Commission over alleged violations of the agency's Franchise Rule. Under the settlement, RRI did not admit to having violated any law, but agreed to pay $221,260 in consumer redress.[49] In 2000, Wade Cook sued Robbins for allegedly using copyrighted terms from Cook's book Wall Street Money Machine in his seminars. A jury awarded Cook a $655,900 judgement, which was appealed. Cook and Robbins settled for an undisclosed amount.[50]

    2019 sexual harassment and abuse allegations

    In May 2019, an investigation by BuzzFeed News detailed accusations against Robbins of his sexual harassment of fans and staff members, such as groping fans at events and exposing his genitals to his assistants.[51][52] Robbins denied the allegations and said, "I have been the target of a year-long investigation by BuzzFeed. Unfortunately, your organization has made it clear to my team that you intend to move forward with publishing an inaccurate, agenda-driven version of the past, pierced with falsehoods."[53]

    In November 2019, BuzzFeed News published a six-part article accusing Robbins of molesting a teenage girl during his time as a "star speaker" at SuperCamp, an elite summer camp in southern California. The article claims the events took place in 1985 when Robbins was 25, and that there were at least two eyewitnesses.[54] Other media outlets also reported on these allegations.[55] Robbins denied wrongdoing and sued BuzzFeed News in Ireland. In response, BuzzFeed News said that it stood by its reporting and suggested that Robbins's decision to file the summons in Ireland was an "abuse" of the Irish court.[56]

    Select bibliography

    • Unlimited Power (1986). Free Press. ISBN 0-684-84577-6.
    • Awaken the Giant Within (1991). Free Press. ISBN 0671791540.
    • Giant Steps (1994). Touchstone. ISBN 0671891049.
    • Money: Master the Game (2014). Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1476757801.
    • Co-authored with Peter Mallouk (2017). Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1501164589.
    • Co-authored with Peter Diamandis and Robert Hariri (2022). Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life & Those You Love. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781982121709.

    References

    1. ↑ "How celebrity coach Tony Robbins spends his millions". Business Insider. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
    2. ↑ Schnall, Marianne (November 20, 2014). "Interview with Tony Robbins on His New Book, 'Money: Master the Game'". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Keefe, Brian (October 31, 2014). "Tony Robbins, The CEO Whisperer". Fortune. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
    4. ↑ "50 Famous People with Croatian Heritage | Croatia Week". Croatia Week | Croatian news portal in English. March 3, 2018.
    5. ↑ "A True Believer : Tony Robbins Has Attracted Converts--and Critics--to His Positive-Thinking Empire". Los Angeles Times. October 1991.
    6. ↑ Rolando Ponce de Leon. "Anthony Robbins: A true motivation life". MotivationLife. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
    7. ↑ Robbins, Tony (2007). Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-671-79154-4.
    8. ↑ Schneider, Michael (February 9, 2009). "Variety: "NBC Picks Up Breakthrough with Tony Robbins"". Variety.com. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
    9. ↑ "Breakthrough with Tony Robbins to Debut July 27". TVGuide.com.
    10. ↑ "Tony Robbins' series pulled from NBC schedule". sandiegouniontribune.com. Associated Press. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    11. ↑ "Tony Robbins, Parts 1 and 2". Oprah.com. February 19, 2012.
    12. ↑ "First Look: Breakthrough with Tony Robbins". Oprah.com. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    13. ↑ Gallo, Carmine (February 24, 2012). "How Tony Robbins Gets in Peak State for Presentations". Forbes.com.
    14. ↑ Pogash, Carol (July 22, 2012). "A Self-Improvement Quest That Led to Burned Feet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
    15. ↑ Page, Falyn (June 25, 2016). "Tony Robbins hot coal walk injures dozens". CNN. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
    16. ↑ Schnall, Marianne (July 31, 2012). "Tony Robbins Sets the Record Straight About Fire Walk 'Controversy'". Huffington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
    17. ↑ Kurhi, Eric; Gomez, Mark (July 21, 2012). "San Jose: 21 people treated for burns after firewalk at Tony Robbins appearance". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
    18. ↑ "Robbins Seminar Continues Despite Dozens Burned At Fire-Walking Event". CBS 21. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. June 24, 2016. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
    19. ↑ "False Alarm at Tony Robbins's Dallas Seminar". Inc.com. June 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
    20. ↑ Baxter, Kevin (October 30, 2014). "Magic Johnson, Mia Hamm among owners of new L.A. pro soccer team". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
    21. ↑ "Will Ferrell joins Magic Johnson and Mia Hamm as an owner of new MLS team LAFC". For The Win. January 8, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
    22. ↑ O'Keefe, Brian. "Deep-pocketed owners bet big on new MLS soccer team in Los Angeles". Fortune. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
    23. 1 2 Catsoulis, Jeannette (July 12, 2016). "Review: 'Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru' Depicts a Self-Help Prophet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    24. ↑ Gallo, Carmine. "How Tony Robbins Gets in Peak State for Presentations". Forbes. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    25. ↑ "Netflix Premiers New Joe Berlinger Documentary – Tony Robbins: I am Not Your Guru Exclusively to Members Worldwide on July 15". Netflix. March 9, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
    26. ↑ "eSports powerhouse Team Liquid picked up by new investor group". Engadget. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
    27. ↑ "Why Bill Clinton Has Tony Robbins on Speed Dial". Inc.com. March 19, 2015. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
    28. ↑ "Slump buster: Giants' Tuck walks on hot coals". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
    29. ↑ "Hugh Jackman on His Surprising Hollywood BFFs and Mother's Abandonment". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
    30. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Addicted2SuccessTV (May 26, 2013). "Pitbull Motivated For Success By Tony Robbins". YouTube. Retrieved October 18, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
    31. ↑ O'Keefe, Brian. "Tony Robbins, The CEO Whisperer". Fortune. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
    32. ↑ "Our History - Anthony Robbins Foundation". anthonyrobbinsfoundation.org. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
    33. ↑ "Our Mission". Anthony Robbins Foundation. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
    34. ↑ Charity Navigator (2016). "Anthony Robbins Foundation". Charity Navigator Ratings. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
    35. ↑ Hellmich, Nanci (December 10, 2014). "Tony Robbins' 7 steps to financial freedom in retirement". USA Today. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
    36. ↑ "Tony Robbins Provides Millions More Meals To Feeding America® To Help Families In Need". Feeding America. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
    37. ↑ "Tony Robbins on The Profound Moment That Inspired Him To End Hunger Nationwide". Woman's Day. August 8, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
    38. ↑ "Tony Robbins: The Day I Became (Truly) Wealthy – Thrive Global". Medium.com. November 30, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
    39. ↑ Shinneman, Shawn (March 21, 2017). "After a-ha moment, Dallas CEO leads charge against sex trafficking". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
    40. ↑ "Tony Robbins: An Awakened Giant Within… Life & Lessons". One Life Success. May 1, 2014. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
    41. ↑ Geoffrey Brewer (November 1993). "Is this guy for real?". Sales & Marketing Management. p. 92.
    42. 1 2 Robbins, Anthony J. (2002). "Business Leader Profiles for Students". pp. 390–394.
    43. ↑ "The 3 biggest lessons Jairek Robbins learned from his famous father". bizjournals.com. May 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
    44. ↑ "Tony Robbins, The CEO Whisperer". Fortune. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
    45. ↑ "Tony Robbins' True Love". Oprah.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
    46. ↑ @TonyRobbins (February 7, 2011). "to answer many of you who asked. I was vegan for 12 years now I eat fish. Eating Vegan great for environment … (cont) http://deck.ly/~Qu4dF" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    47. 1 2 Thorp, Charles (2015). "Help Yourself: Tony Robbins' Four Tips for Mental Fitness". Men's Journal. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
    48. ↑ "Tony Robbins follows a special diet he says gets him through 16-hour work days". Businessinsider.com. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
    49. ↑ "Robbins Research International, Inc". Federal Trade Commission. May 16, 1995. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
    50. ↑ "Casetext". casetext.com. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
    51. ↑ Bradley, Jane; Baker, Katie J.M. (May 17, 2019). "Unlimited Power, A BuzzFeed News Investigation". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
    52. ↑ Baker, Katie J.M.; Bradley, Jane (May 22, 2019). "Four More Women Have Accused Tony Robbins Of Sexual Misconduct". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
    53. ↑ Robbins, Tony (May 17, 2019). "An Open Letter to BuzzFeed Editors and Board of Directors from Tony Robbins". Medium. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
    54. ↑ "Tony Robbins Has Been Accused Of Sexually Assaulting A High Schooler At Summer Camp". BuzzFeed News. November 22, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
    55. ↑ Stephanie Toone, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Tony Robbins accused of molesting teen at California summer camp in 1985; he denies the claim". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
    56. ↑ Flood, Brian (November 26, 2019). "Tony Robbins starts legal actions against BuzzFeed over sexual assault report". Fox News. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
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