Cooper Hefner

Cooper Hefner
Born Cooper Bradford Hefner
(1991-09-04) September 4, 1991[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality American
Education Chapman University[2]
Occupation Chief creative officer, Playboy Enterprises
Political party Independent[3][4]
Partner(s) Scarlett Byrne (engaged)[5]
Parent(s) Hugh Hefner
Kimberley Conrad

Cooper Hefner (born September 4, 1991) is an American businessman and writer. He has been the chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, founded by his father Hugh Hefner, since July 2016.[6][7] Hefner was also founder and initial chief executive officer of the startup company, Hop.[8]

Early life

Hefner was born on September 4, 1991 in Los Angeles, California to Hugh Hefner (1926-2017) and Kimberley Conrad.[1][5] He grew up in a mansion adjacent to the Playboy Mansion, which was purchased by his father after his parents separated.[9] Hefner attended Ojai Valley School before receiving a bachelor's degree from Chapman University.[10]

Career

He started working for Playboy Enterprises when he was in college.[11] In early 2016, Hefner, who was board observer at the time, left the company due to disagreements with then CEO Scott Flanders about the direction the company was taking.[2] Cooper began editing, writing and publishing op-eds, which centered on politics, culture and philosophy.[1]

Hefner launched the media startup company Hop (Hefner Operations & Productions) focused on content and social events for millennials in 2016.[12] He was named the chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises in July 2016 when Hugh Hefner stepped down.[7][1] In February 2017, he announced nude images would return to the magazine stating that the problem had been the presentation of nude images rather than the nudity itself.[2] Hefner also oversaw the decision to feature Playboy's first transgender playmate in the centerfold for its November issue.[13] In spite of Hefner's decision for the return of nudity, according to the Alliance for Audited Media for the 6 month period ending December 31, 2017 the monthly circulation of Playboy Magazine has now fallen to 321,315.[14]

As stated in Forbes, Playboy's earnings increased by more than 39% year-over-year since Hefner's return to the company, where he has worked to develop strategic and lucrative partnerships to limit expenses at the company.[15] On January 1, 2018 the Wall Street Journal reported the controlling shareholder of Playboy Enterprises, Inc.—private-equity firm Rizvi Traverse—is considering ending the U.S. print edition of Playboy Magazine and quoted Ben Kohn, managing partner at Rizvi, as stating the magazine has lost as much as $7 million annually in recent years.[16] Hefner has been recognized on The Folio: 100 list for 2017 for his contributions to the magazine media industry as well as appearing on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2018.[15][17]

Personal life

In 2015, Hefner got engaged to British actress Scarlett Byrne.[5] He is a member of the California State Military Reserve. Hefner has been recognized for his activism and work with the LGBTQ+ community. In 2018, he received a British LGBT Award.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Millington, Alison (September 28, 2017). "The insane life of 26-year-old Cooper Hefner, son of the late Playboy millionaire". Business Insider. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Baum, Gary (August 24, 2017). "The Next Hef: Hugh's 25-Year-Old Son Reveals Plan to Remake Playboy 'For My Generation'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  3. ↑ Kari Hamanaka. "Cooper Hefner, Modern Day Playboy".
  4. ↑ Ziv, Stav (September 28, 2017). "Who Is Cooper Hefner? Hugh's Son Doesn't Respect Trump And Is Revamping 'Playboy' For New Generations". Newsweek. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Marquina, Sierra (August 6, 2015). "Cooper Hefner Engaged to Falling Skies Actress Scarlett Byrne – See Her Massive Ring!". Us Magazine. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ Wile, Rob (September 28, 2017). "Meet Cooper Hefner, the 26-Year-Old Heir to the Playboy Empire". Time. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Staff writer (September 29, 2017). "High Hefner's youngest son to take over million-dollar Playboy Empire". News Corp Australia Network. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  8. ↑ Tavana, Art (July 21, 2016). "Can Cooper Hefner Make Playboy Cool Again? We're About to Find Out". LA Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Hugh Hefner's son reveals what it was like growing up in the Playboy Mansion". Business Insider.
  10. ↑ Jackson, Katie (1 October 2017). "Echo of the Bunnyman". The Sun. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  11. ↑ Staff writer (November 29, 2012). "Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner Talks Life and Company". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  12. ↑ "A Speakeasy Night By Hop Media". Red Hot Retro.
  13. ↑ Salam, Maya (October 19, 2017). "Playboy to Feature Its First Transgender Playmate". The New York Times. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  14. ↑ http://abcas3.auditedmedia.com/ecirc/magtitlesearch.asp
  15. 1 2 "Cooper Hefner, 26". Forbes.
  16. ↑ https://www.wsj.com/articles/playboy-might-kill-magazine-to-focus-on-world-of-playboy-1514808003
  17. ↑ "The Folio: 100 Awards". Folio Magazine.
  18. ↑ Newman, Vicki (8 February 2018). "Hugh Hefner's son and Playboy heir Cooper Hefner "honoured" by British LGBT Awards nomination as he heads to London ceremony". Mirror. Retrieved 25 March 2018.

Further reading

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