Holograms, special effects, artificial intelligence … Rich American John Textor, who is going to become the major shareholder of Olympique Lyon, is a pioneer of virtual reality. In 2016, Forbes magazine portrayed John Textor as “a virtual reality guru in Hollywood“, The nickname, which later came to sanctify the activities of the American businessman in this market.
In the 2000s, however, it was in the cinema that the former computer programmer stunned the audience. From 2006 to 2012, the businessman headed the board of directors of “Digital Domain” special effects studio, created by Canadian director James Cameron.
In addition to “Transformers”, “Tron. Legacy և Participating in the special effects of some of the films in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” saga, the studio got its name from the extremely realistic aging of Brad Pitt in “Benjamin’s Strange Case”. Button (2008). However, the company went bankrupt in 2012. John Textor then released Pulse Evolution, which develops holograms, specifically for dead stars.
In 2012, he managed to bring American rapper Tupac Shakur, who died in 1996, to the Coachella Festival in California. It was Michael Jackson’s turn to be reborn at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. These two performances are viewed millions of times on Youtube, contributing to the development of this technology.
After trying to recreate stars, the Missouri-born businessman takes this one step further by embarking on artificial intelligence. He creates EvolutionAI կայքում announces on his website that he will dedicate his career to “creating digital people to help improve humanity«.
Strengthened presence in football
A former professional skateboarder, the 56-year-old American also co-founded FuboTv, a streaming service focused on live streaming of sports events before switching to football.
In July 2021, he tried to take over Benfica for the first time, but in vain. The following month, he applied to England to acquire a 18% stake in Crystal Palace, a Premier League club in the southern suburbs of London.
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John Textor then captured Botafogo, a historic Brazilian club with 90% of its capital, then returned to Europe with an 80% stake in RWD Molenbeek, which aims to return to the elite of Belgian football. «John Textor is a football enthusiast who also wants to invest in our youth“, Recently explained the president of the club Thierry Dale.
His fiery tweets on Botafogo prove it, even if the American is first and foremost a businessman. «Football is no different from any other business. You have to win to be profitableHe told CNN in March.
Preparing to become a major shareholder in Olympique Lyonnais, John Textor is acquiring a club whose glorious past seems to be just a hologram in recent seasons as OL’s sporting results have been disappointing. His new task will be to make it a reality.
Source: Le Figaro
