Barry Diller

The Television Academy’s biography records that Barry Diller was born in San Francisco on February 2, 1942. BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopedia first published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768; the name also refers to its publisher, Chicago-based Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (which presents itself as The Britannica Group). The print edition ended in 2012, and the company’s main businesses since then have been the online encyclopedia Britannica.com, digital education products for schools and libraries, and Merriam-Webster dictionaries.Open the full entry says he attended UCLA but dropped out.⁠[1][2]

Britannica records that he took a job as a mail clerk at the William Morris Agency in 1961. The description of his 2025 memoir opens with the line “I want to work in the mail room at William Morris.”⁠[2][3]

He joined ABCABCABC (American Broadcasting Company) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It grew out of NBC’s Blue radio network, took its name after becoming independent in 1943, developed into a national television network after merging with United Paramount Theatres in 1953, was acquired by Capital Cities in 1985, and has been owned by The Walt Disney Company since 1996. With CBS and NBC it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks, and it is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry in 1966 as a programming assistant, launched ABC’s Movie of the Week at 27 and became vice president of prime-time television at ABC Entertainment. Britannica credits him with pioneering the television miniseries and championing Alex Haley’s Roots.⁠[2][3][4]

From 1974 he was chairman and chief executive of Paramount Pictures for ten years; his publisher notes that he ran Paramount at 32. In March 1983 he also became president of Paramount’s newly formed Entertainment and Communications Group, which included Simon & Schuster, Madison Square Garden and SEGA.⁠[1][3][4]

From October 1984 to April 1992 he was chairman and chief executive of Fox, Inc., where he created the Fox Broadcasting Company. Britannica records that the Fox network first broadcast on October 9, 1986 with a late-night show hosted by Joan Rivers, launching with 79 affiliates reaching 80% of U.S. homes; early shows included Married…with Children, The Simpsons and Cops.⁠[4][5]

From December 1992 to December 1994 he was chairman and chief executive of the shopping network QVC; Britannica says he lost a bid for Paramount Communications in 1994. That year he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.⁠[6][2][1]

From August 1995 he was chairman and chief executive of IAC’s predecessor, Silver King Communications. Britannica records that Silver King acquired HSN in 1996, became USA Networks, Inc. in 1998 after acquiring USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel from Universal, became InterActiveCorp in 2003 and IAC/InterActiveCorp in 2004.⁠[6][2]

Britannica says he served as interim co-chair and chief executive of Vivendi Universal in 2002–2003; Coca-Cola’s board materials show him as a director since 2002.⁠[2][7]

Expedia was spun off from IAC on August 9, 2005, and Diller has since served as its chairman and senior executive.⁠[6][8]

He stepped down as IAC’s chief executive in late 2010 and remained chairman; Expedia’s SEC filing gives November 2010 and Coca-Cola’s materials December 2010.⁠[4][6][7]

In 2020 IAC moved to separate from Match GroupMatch GroupMatch Group is a U.S. publicly traded online-dating company whose brands include Tinder, Hinge, Match and OkCupid. It developed from IAC’s dating businesses and completed its separation in 2020. Subscriptions and à-la-carte purchases are its principal revenue sources; its shares trade on Nasdaq under MTCH.Open the full entry. IAC Holdings’ Form S-1 showed that as of May 31, 2020 Diller, Diane von Furstenberg and Alexander von Furstenberg held about 42.4% of IAC’s total voting power.⁠[9]

IAC announced the completion of the Angi spin-off, calling it the 10th fully independent company born from IAC. Diller said it meant “IAC renews our focus on what’s next.”⁠[10]

Simon & Schuster published his memoir Who Knew on May 20, 2025. Kirkus Reviews called it “highly instructive for would-be tycoons.”⁠[3][11]

On April 28, 2026, IAC announced it would rename itself People Incorporated and cut staff, with Diller remaining chairman and senior executive and Neil VogelNeil VogelNeil Vogel is an American media executive who has run About.com since April 2013, leading its renaming as Dotdash, its acquisition of Meredith to form Dotdash Meredith and its 2025 rebrand as People Inc.; on August 5, 2026 he became chief executive of the parent company, People Incorporated.Open the full entry becoming chief executive. In his shareholder letter Diller described his future role as “advisor, instigator, stimulus, and sometimes irritant.”⁠[12]

On June 4 the name change took effect and the shares began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker PPLI.⁠[13]

On June 1, 2026 People Incorporated, which owned 26.1% of MGM Resorts, proposed in a letter signed by Diller to buy all remaining MGM shares for $48.30 each in cash.⁠[14]

On September 23 People Incorporated withdrew the proposal, saying it had decided not to pursue taking the company private, and kept its stake of about 27%, or 66.8 million shares.⁠[15]

People Incorporated’s website says Diller is chairman and senior executive of People Incorporated and Expedia Group and a director of MGM Resorts, a Broadway producer and Giving Pledge signatory, and that he created the New York park Little Island through his family foundation.⁠[4]

People Incorporated: Investor relations website: https://ir.people-incorporated.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[4]

Expedia Group: Official website: https://expediagroup.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[8]