C harles B. Johnson is an American billionaire who built his family's investment firm, Franklin Resources (better known as Franklin Templeton), into a global asset management giant. He is the son of the company's founder, Rupert Johnson Sr., who started the firm in 1947. Charles took over as president and CEO in 1957 at the young age of 24 and led the company for an incredible 56 years.

Under his decades of leadership, Franklin Templeton grew from a small, boutique firm into a massive, publicly traded global investment manager with trillions of dollars in assets under management. He grew the company both organically and through major acquisitions, most notably the 1992 purchase of the Templeton Funds, which gave the company a major international presence. He retired as chairman in 2013, passing leadership to his son, Greg Johnson. He is also the principal owner of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball team.