McMahon family should not be confused with MacMahon family.
| McMahon | |
| Region: | Connecticut and New York, U.S. |
| Origin: | County Galway, Ireland |
| Members: | Vincent K. McMahon Linda McMahon Shane McMahon Stephanie McMahon Triple H (via marriage to Stephanie McMahon) |
| Connectedmembers: | Jess McMahon Vincent J. McMahon |
The McMahon family is an Irish-American family primarily known for their proprietorship of the world's largest professional wrestling company, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE.) Vince McMahon, a third-generation wrestling promoter, was the chairman and chief executive officer of WWE between 1982 and 2024. McMahon's son-in-law, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, currently serves as the company's chief content officer. His daughter Stephanie held various positions in the company until her retirement in 2023.
The family's involvement in wrestling dates back to 1915 when Jess McMahon began promoting competitions. Before his death in 1954, Jess and his son, Vincent J. McMahon, formed the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). In 1953 it became a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA.) Following a dispute in early 1963, CWC left the NWA and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). Vincent's son, Vince, joined the WWWF in 1969. Purchasing the promotion thirteen years later, it was renamed to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979. The company went public in 1999 and was then renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002, with WWE becoming its public trade name in 2011.
Today, WWE's programs are broadcast in 150 countries and more than thirty languages.[1] In April 2023, Vince McMahon sold the company to Endeavor, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC.) The sale was finalized in September 2023. WWE and UFC merged to become divisions of TKO; McMahon eventually retired in January 2024 amidst an ongoing sex trafficking scandal. The McMahon family has also branched out into movie production and American football via the XFL.
The family's involvement in wrestling started when Jess McMahon, a descendant of the Thomond McMahon clan of Western Ireland,[2] began promoting wrestling shows in 1915. He died in 1954. Jess and his son, Vincent J. McMahon, formed the Capitol Wrestling Corporation in 1953, which would subsequently be renamed twice during his tenure from the World Wide Wrestling Federation to the World Wrestling Federation. Vince Sr. married twice, first to Victoria Askew and then Juanita Johnston.[3] [4] [5] When he retired in 1982, his son from his first marriage, Vince McMahon, purchased the business and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company until July 2022, when he retired during a sex scandal investigation.[6] The company is now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) since 2002 and Alpha Entertainment, LLC since 2017.[7] [8] [9]
Vince and Linda's children are Shane and Stephanie. Shane is married to Marissa Mazzola,[10] and Stephanie is married to Paul Levesque, best known by his wrestling moniker Triple H.[11] Stephanie and Paul have three daughters named Aurora Rose, Murphy Claire, and Vaughn Evelyn.[12] Shane and Marissa have three sons, Declan James, Kenyon Jesse, and Rogan Henry. Linda stepped down as CEO to run for United States Senate in Connecticut. Their son, Shane also departed WWE at the beginning of 2010 to become Chairman and Principal executive officer of YOU On Demand Inc., a New York City-based company that primarily operates in China, but would later return to the WWE in 2016 as an on-screen talent. Vince, Stephanie, and Shane were the only three members born into the McMahon family working under the brand as of 2021. Every member holds a collective 90% of WWE stock through WWE's Class B shares, which the family controls completely. As of June 2016, the WWE has a market cap of over $1.38 billion.[13]
In December 2016, Linda was nominated to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration by President Donald Trump, and she served from 2017 through 2019.[14]
Since January 2023, there had been speculation that WWE had been placed up for sale.[15] Hours before WrestleMania 39 Night 2 began, CNBC reported via multiple sources that a deal between WWE and Endeavor, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was imminent. The deal involved a merger of WWE with the UFC into a new publicly-traded company with Endeavor holding a 51% stake.[16] The sale was confirmed the next day on April 3, 2023. WrestleMania 39 subsequently became the final WrestleMania in which WWE was owned and controlled by the McMahon family, but Vince maintained his position as executive chairman of WWE.[17] The sale was finalized on September 12, with the 2023 Payback the final major event produced by WWE under the McMahon family's ownership. WWE and UFC subsequently became divisions under a new entity called TKO Group Holdings.[18] By start of 2024, Vince, who was by now no longer the majority WWE stockholder, ended his ties with the company amid a sex trafficking scandal involving a former WWE employee.[19]