John Malone can be considered a modern Godot, widely talked about, but rarely or ever seen. Indeed, in a memorable New York Times interview — published in the August 31, 2025 edition — he’s quoted as saying “I would pay a lot of money to avoid a cocktail party.” Malone, who’s 84 years old, is now becoming visible to the public to promote his memoir, Born to Be Wired (a book published by Simon & Schuster).
The book recalls his days at TCI, a large cable company that at one point served 20 percent of U.S. households (and was sold to AT&T for $43 billion), and his subsequent tenure at Liberty Global, now one of the largest broadband providers in the world.
The book also describes his influence over media moguls such as Ted Turner, Rupert Murdoch, Bill Gates, Barry Diller, David Zaslav, and today, David Ellison, the new owner of Paramount.
Malone’s greatest regret? To have “consistently underestimated” Netflix.
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