Charles W. 'Charlie' Ergen is an American self-made billionaire, the co-founder and former CEO of Dish Network and EchoStar Communications Corporation, pioneers of the satellite TV industry. Born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in 1953, he received a strong financial education, graduating from the University of Tennessee in 1975 and earning an MBA from Wake Forest University in 1976.

His career began in the highly organized world of accounting, serving as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for Frito-Lay. However, his true passion was high-stakes probability: Ergen was, at one point, a professional gambler and card counter in Las Vegas. This experience instilled in him the discipline, tactical thinking, and daring required to take massive risks—a personality trait his employees later described as 'Elvis' (behind his back) for his ability to sway an audience.

Charles Ergen's entrepreneurial journey was born from a pivotal, unexpected moment: after he and his gambling buddy, Jim DeFranco, were ejected from all casinos in Las Vegas for card counting, they impulsively decided to enter the new business of satellite television after spotting a truck carrying a large satellite dish. In 1980, Ergen, DeFranco, and Ergen's future wife, Cantey, pooled their savings of $60,000 and founded EchoStar Communications Corporation.

Ergen's strategy was aggressive and contrarian. He started by selling large, C-band satellite dishes in rural areas, leveraging the poor TV reception in mountainous regions like Colorado. In the 1990s, he successfully pivoted to the smaller, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) business, raising $335 million in junk bonds to buy orbital slots. The launch of the company's first satellite, EchoStar I, in 1995, enabled the launch of DISH Network. Ergen's relentless, scrappy competitive style ensured Dish became the fastest-growing DBS service and a dominant force in American entertainment and communications.

Charles Ergen's social impact is structural, stemming from the democratization of television access through satellite technology. Dish Network provided millions of Americans, particularly those in rural areas with poor terrestrial reception, with access to diverse television programming.

His personal philanthropy often supports educational and political causes. His structural contribution to the satellite industry included helping to pass the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999, which permitted the satellite broadcast of local TV channels, a major regulatory victory that benefitted consumers.

Charles Ergen maintains a notoriously humble and eccentric style for a man of his wealth, often favoring functional, simple clothing. His public persona is defined by his intense competitive nature and his reputation as a ferocious negotiator.

His luxury is the immense financial security of his multi-billion dollar fortune. His life is dedicated to the complex, technical challenges of the satellite and telecommunications industry, which he entered on a massive, impulsive gamble after being ejected from casinos—a true reflection of his daring, risk-taking personality.