How much is Lonnie Johnson worth?
| Net Worth: | $400 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Inventor |
| Date of Birth: | October 6, 1949 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.88 m |
About Lonnie Johnson
During his time at NASA (1979-1991), Johnson worked on a wide variety of projects. These projects included the Air Force missions Lab, the development of the nuclear power source for the Galileo mission to Jupiter, several projects related to the development of weapons, and working as an engineer on the Mariner Mark ll Spacecraft series for the Comet Rendezvous and Saturn Orbiter Probe missions. Johnson retired from NASA in 1991. In addition to it, he worked on the program for the stealth bomber.
Johnson was born in the city of Mobile in the state of Alabama. His mother, who earned her high school diploma, worked as a nurse’s aide, while his father, who did not earn his high school diploma, served in the military during World War II. Johnson received from his father, at a young age, an education in the fundamental concepts underlying electricity.
Johnson has stated that he has “always liked to tinker with things,” and as a result, the children in the neighborhood have given him the nickname “the Professor”. He once dismantled a doll belonging to his sister in order to figure out what caused the eyes to close. He also attempted to concoct rocket fuel in a saucepan, but he came dangerously close to setting the house on fire in the process.
Johnson launched his own business in 1991 under the name Johnson Research and Development Co., Inc., and he currently serves as the company’s president. After realizing that he had been improperly paid royalties for the Super Soaker and various Nerf line of toys, Johnson filed a lawsuit against Hasbro in February of 2013, shortly after he found out about the situation.
In the course of the arbitration that took place in November 2013, Johnson was granted almost $73 million in royalties from Hasbro Inc. According to Hasbro, sales of the Super Soaker are getting close to reaching a billion dollars.
In more recent years, he has collaborated with researchers from both Tulane University and Tuskegee University to develop a process for converting heat into electricity in order to reduce the cost of utilizing renewable energy sources.
During his time working for the United States Air Force, Johnson had his original idea for the Super Soaker. When it was first sold in retail toy stores in the year 1990, it was known as the “Power Drencher.” However, after a few modifications and rebranding efforts, it was eventually given its trademark name. The success of the Super Soaker, which ranged in price from ten dollars to sixty dollars depending on the model, led to sales of two hundred million dollars in the year 1991. Hasbro Inc. acquired Larami as a wholly owned subsidiary in February 1995, not long after reaching an agreement with the Larami Corporation on the purchase of the Super Soaker.
Excellatron Solid State, LLC and Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS) are the two technology development firms that Johnson has in operation as of the year 2017, and both of them are located in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter System (JTEC) was created by JEMS. Popular Mechanics ranked the JTEC as one of the top 10 inventions of 2009, and JEMS was featured in the article.
Johnson is “part of a small group of African-American inventors whose work accounts for 6 percent of all U.S. patent applications.” This statistic refers to the percentage of patent applications made in the United States.
Johnson is the owner of almost 250 patents, the vast majority of which are for his invention, the Super Soaker. Both the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal were presented to Johnson for his service. As a result of his contributions to the design of spacecraft systems at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA honored him with multiple accolades. In recognition of his contributions to JTEC, the prestigious scientific publication Popular Mechanics bestowed upon him the Breakthrough Award in 2008, and the following year, he was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. The Super Soaker was honored with induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame in the year 2015.
