Richard Parsons, an American businessman, and Time Warner former CEO dies at 76. He helped Time Warner recover from the divorce with AOL, one of the worst takeovers of history. Lazard confirmed his death on 26 December 2024. In 2015, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and passed away because of cancer-related complications.
(Image credit: shutterstock )Parsons served as chairman of Citigroup after the financial crisis of 2008, marking one of the historical banking collapses in 2008. Later, he also served as interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers. David Zaslav, CEO and president of Warner Bros said, “Dick played both an enormous role in building Time Warner but was also one of the great problem solvers this industry has ever seen. It’s why so of us many looked up to him and sought his wise advice.”
Richard Parsons’ Leadership in the AOL-Time Warner Split
Richard Parsons has been vastly credited for Time Warner’s turnaround from the $165 billion merger with AOL. It is considered one of the worst turnovers in the history of the US. In 2002, he was appointed as CEO of AOL Time Warner replacing Gerald Levin, who stepped down after two years of disastrous merger with the internet company.
After becoming CEO, he dropped the AOL from the organization’s name. Later on, he reduced the company’s debt of $30 billion to $16.8 billion by selling music and other properties of Time Warner. In 2004, Parsons said, “The merger did not work out quite the way many of us expected. The internet bubble burst and we had to fix the leaks. It was not as monumental a task as many people thought, as the fundamental businesses of the old Time Warner — like publishing, the cable networks and movies — was running well.”
In 2007, Parsons stepped down from Time Warner marking his legacy.
Life of Richard “Dick” Parsons
Richard Dean Parsons was born in a middle-class family on April 4, 1948, in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section and grew up in South Ozone Park, Queens, as a middle child of five. He skipped two grades in school and, at 16, went to the University of Hawaii, where he played basketball and met his future wife. After graduating, he attended Albany Law School while working as a janitor, finishing at the top of his class.
During an internship at the New York state legislature, he connected with Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, who later became vice president under Gerald Ford.
Key Professional Milestones of Richard Parsons
Richard Parsons joined the Time Warner board in 1995, recommended by Laurance Rockefeller. As a Rockefeller Republican, he was fiscally conservative but socially liberal. He worked behind the scenes for Giuliani’s mayoral campaign and led his transition team in 1993. Parsons declined a deputy mayor role, and his relationship with Giuliani later soured over Fox News.
Two years after stepping down from Time Warner, Parsons became chairman of Citigroup in 2009, helping to stabilize the banking giant in the wake of the financial crisis. In May 2014, he was named interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers after the NBA banned owner Donald Sterling for life because he had made racist remains. “Like most Americans, I have
