Jake Burton Carpenter, also known as the godfather of snowboarding, was an American snowboarder. In 1977 he founded the snowboard manufacturer Burton Snowboards. Jake was one of the inventors who invented the modern snowboard. Jake Burton Carpenter’s fortune at the time of his death is estimated at approximately $300 million.
Full Name | Jake Burton Carpenter |
Birth Date | April 29, 1954 |
Birth Place | Manhattan, New York City, United States |
Profession | Snowboarder |
Wife | Donna Gaston |
Net Worth | $300 million |
Early life
Jake Burton Carpenter was born on April 29, 1954 in Manhattan, New York, United States. He lost his mother, Katherine, to leukemia in 1971. Jake had a brother, Corporal George Carpenter, who died on February 17, 1967 while serving in Vietnam. He grew up with his father and two sisters.
Regarding his education, he attended Brooks School North Andover. He later attended Marvelwood School. After high school, he entered the University of Colorado at Boulder. He wanted to join the varsity ski team but was unable to join the team after being involved in a car accident.
He subsequently did not attend college for several years before continuing his studies at New York University, where he majored in economics.
Jake Burton Carpenter Net Worth and Career
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After graduating, he started working at a small investment bank. He had to work 12 hours a day in the banking sector, so he finally decided to quit his job. He then went to work inventing a simple rope-controlled toy snowboard.
In his early years, Jake struggled to sell his snowboards. In one of his old interviews, he shared that during a trip to upstate New York to sell his 38 snowboards to local vendors, he came back with 40 snowboards. Both snowboards were returned by the customer, who handed over two purchased snowboards. Later in the 1970s, Jake partnered with a small group of manufacturers who began selling snowboards with distinctive design features.
In 1979, he competed in the Michigan National Surfing Competition, where he won the open division and received a $300 prize. Since the 1980s, the company has been one of the largest snowboard equipment manufacturers in the world. It is also known for developing an economic ecosystem that includes snowboarding as a sport, lifestyle, and culture.
HBO and Red Bull Media House recently produced a documentary called Dear Rider based on Jack’s life and snowboarding story. The document was broadcast on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 9:30 p.m. m. on HBO  and HBO Max MET/PT. The documentary follows more than four decades of snowboarding and the story of Jake, who founded Burton Snowboards in 1977.
The HBO documentary Dear Ryder also chronicles Jack’s early struggles and how his snowboarding business grew. However, the documentary did not feature Carpenter as a key figure in the growth of the snowboarding business, as it also showed the rivalry between Jack of the Sims Snowboards and Tom Sims.
Personal Life
Jake Burton Carpenter was married to Donna Gaston. He met Donna in 1982 at a New Year’s party. They exchanged vows in 1983. Two years later, the couple moved to Austria, where they settled in Europe. The couple had three children: George, Taylor Gaston, and Timmy Eaton Burton Carpenter. He died on November 20, 2019 after a recurrence of cancer.
The Luck of Carpenter Jake Burton
Jake Burton Carpenter was worth $300 million before his death on November 20, 2019. Jake’s company, Burton Snowboards, not only made snowboards, but also sportswear and other accessories. The company currently has approximately 600 employees and annual sales of hundreds of millions of dollars.