Kennedy is the chairman emeritus of Cox Enterprises, a telecommunications and automotive services conglomerate. The Atlanta-based company controls the third-biggest US cable operator, serving more than 6 million homes and businesses. He owns almost one-quarter of the group, which had revenue of $20.9 billion in 2021.
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Kennedy is a grandson of James Cox, who founded Cox Enterprises. He owns almost 25% of the company; his sister, Blair Parry-Okeden, owns an equivalent share. They inherited their stake from their mother, Barbara Cox Anthony. Ownership is based on court documents and Cox's disclosure to Bloomberg that internal transactions resulted in equal stakes among the two owner families.
Cox Enterprises had revenue of $20.9 billion in 2021, according to information provided by the company. It has two main business units: Cox Communications and Cox Automotive.
Cox Communications is the third-largest cable operator in the US, according to the company's website. It had revenue of $13.1 billion in 2021 and is valued using the average enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiple of three publicly traded peer companies: Comcast, Verizon, and Rogers Communications.
Cox Automotive is a provider of car sales software technology. It had revenue of $7.6 billion in 2021 and is valued based on the average enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiples of KAR Auction Services, CarMax and Penske Automotive.
Kennedy's 25% share of corporate-level debt is included as a liability.
Natalie Giurato, a Cox group spokesperson, provided revenue figures without further comment.
James Cox Kennedy is the grandson of James M. Cox, who founded Cox Enterprises after buying the Dayton Evening News in 1898. Cox became a politician, serving first as an Ohio state representative, then as governor. In 1920, he ran for the U.S. presidency as a Democrat, losing to fellow newspaper publisher Warren G. Harding.
Following his death in 1957, Cox's two daughters, Anne Cox Chambers and Barbara Cox Anthony -- Kennedy's mother -- took control of Cox Enterprises, which had diversified into television and radio. Chambers became the chairwoman of the company's Atlanta newspapers division, which owned the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Anthony was chairwoman of the Dayton Newspapers division.
Kennedy began working at Cox Enterprises in 1972, two years after graduating from the University of Denver. He started out as a newspaper production assistant and worked his way up to general manager. In 1985, he was made vice president of Cox Newspapers. He was appointed chairman and CEO three years later. Today, Cox Enterprises operates newspapers as well as one of largest cable systems in the U.S. and automotive services brands.