John Powers Middleton

Middleton grew up along the Main Line, Philadelphia's old-money bastion, the son of John S. Middleton, an ambitious Harvard Business School graduate who transformed his family's eponymous tobacco shop into the world's third-largest cigar maker. In 2007, the company, best known for its Black & Mild brand, sold to Altria (the corporate parent of Philip Morris USA) for $2.9 billion. The father, who like his son has an affinity for skiing and baseball, is now a part-owner and public face of MLB's Philadelphia Phillies. Forbes pegs Middleton senior's wealth at $3.4 billion. Middleton followed his father to the Haverford School, a local prep institute, then dropped out of both Duke and Penn before pursuing his Hollywood dream in his 20s, beginning with a series of internships at production companies, including those run by Nick Wechsler and Mark Cuban. Lee ended up as Middleton's partner through a mutual connection, the late well-known talent manager J.C. Spink. Middleton has been involved in right-wing activism. In 2010, when he was 26 and a co-chair of the Republican National Committee's Young Eagles program, which sought to cultivate junior donors. In 2016 Middleton was a key contributor to a Trump PAC formed by Roger Stone, the veteran GOP operative. Sunlight Foundation records show Middleton ultimately donated $477,000 to Stone's group, the Committee to Restore America's Greatness. Middleton also donated $5,000 to President Donald Trump's transition efforts, paid for by a production entity Middleton had set up three years earlier with actor Casey Affleck. Former President Barack Obama's onetime aide Reggie Love, who now works for the owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, has been a friend of Middleton's since their time at Duke. The Middleton Media Group recently laid off its staff, citing Hollywood's pandemic-forced production stoppage, and moved on May 4 to Carson City, Nevada, a tax haven.