Tony Robbins

Early life and education

Robbins was born Anthony J. Mahavoric in North Hollywood, California, on February 29, 1960. The eldest of three children, his parents divorced when he was seven. He is of Croatian descent from both sides of his family. 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.

Robbins attended Glendora High School. During high school, he grew 10 in in one year, a growth spurt later attributed to a pituitary tumor. He has said his home life was "chaotic" and "abusive". When he was 17, he left home and never returned. He later worked as a janitor, and did not attend college. 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. He subsequently learned to firewalk and incorporated it into his seminars.

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. 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 judgment, which was appealed. Cook and Robbins settled for an undisclosed amount.

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. NBC canceled the show after airing two of the planned six episodes due to low viewership of 2.8 million. 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. In April 2012, Robbins began co-hosting Oprah's Lifeclass on the OWN Network.

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. Aspects of these reports were later challenged by Robbins himself along with some of the on-site medical professionals. 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". 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."

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.

Tony Robbins' 2014 event "Date with Destiny" in Boca Raton, Florida was the basis for the documentary Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru, directed and produced by Joe Berlinger. It premiered at the South by Southwest film festival in March 2016 and was released by Netflix on July 15, 2016.

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.

Robbins has worked on an individual basis with Bill Clinton, Justin Tuck, Hugh Jackman, and Pitbull. He has counseled businessmen Peter Guber, Steve Wynn, and Marc Benioff.

Philanthropy

In 1991, Robbins founded the Anthony Robbins Foundation, to help young people, homeless people, hungry people, elderly people, and imprisoned people. The foundation is said to deliver food baskets and household essentials to approximately 2 million people each year across various countries. Additionally, its products and programs are reportedly present in over 2,000 schools, 700 prisons, and 100,000 health and human service organizations.

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.

Robbins helped raise money for Operation Underground Railroad.

Personal life

Robbins' first child was with girlfriend Liz Acosta. Their son, Jairek Robbins, born in 1984, is also a personal empowerment coach and trainer.

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

In October 2001, Robbins married Bonnie Sage Humphrey Robbins. They live in Manalapan, Florida, and had a daughter in 2021.

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

Robbins' net worth is estimated to be around $600 million. He owns the Namale Resort and Spa which is located in Fiji. Robbins is a licensed helicopter pilot.

In a 2013 interview with Playboy magazine, Robbins disclosed that he had been diagnosed with acromegaly at age 31, but refused his doctor's recommendation to undergo brain surgery. Robbins is 6 ft tall.

Sexual harassment allegations

In May 2019, an investigation by BuzzFeed News detailed accusations against Robbins of the sexual harassment of fans and staff members, such as groping fans at events and exposing his genitals to his assistants. 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." 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 states that the events took place in 1985 when Robbins was 25, and that there were at least two eyewitnesses.

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. Robbins's lawyers filed a notice of discontinuance in 2025.

Select bibliography

• Unlimited Power: The New Science of Personal Achievement (1986). Free Press. .
• Awaken the Giant Within (1991). Free Press. .
• Giant Steps (1994). Touchstone. .
• Money: Master the Game (2014). Simon & Schuster. .
• Co-authored with Peter Mallouk (2017). Unshakeable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook. Simon & Schuster. .
• Co-authored with Peter Mallouk (2020). The Path: Accelerating Your Journey to Financial Freedom. Post Hill Press. .
• 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. .

References

References

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48. (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 …".
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54. Robbins, Tony. (May 17, 2019). "An Open Letter to BuzzFeed Editors and Board of Directors from Tony Robbins".
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