News > Newsmakers
    SAVE   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT   |   RSS  
Report: Steve Case invests in yoga
Newspaper says former AOL chief invests $20M in firm that produces yoga and Pilates videos.
August 9, 2005: 8:42 AM EDT
Former AOL chief Steve Case is reportedly investing $20M in a yoga firm.
Former AOL chief Steve Case is reportedly investing $20M in a yoga firm.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Former America Online Chairman Steve Case is investing $20 million in a producer and distributor of yoga and Pilates videos, according to a published report.

The Washington Post reports that Case is going into business with Jirka Rysavy, chief executive of Gaiam Inc., who the paper reports lives in a cabin in Colorado without indoor plumbing. The newspaper said the investment is the latest one by Case associated with a new-age lifestyle in the belief they are going mainstream.

"We believe we're nearing a tipping point as more and more people seek healthier, more balanced lives," said a statement from the vacationing Case, according to the Post report.

The market that Case and Rysavy are going after is known as "lifestyles of health and sustainability," or LOHAS. According to the LOHAS Journal, which is published by Gaiam, buyers in the market will spend $226.8 billion a year on products such as organic produce, hybrid cars and acupuncture sessions.

Case met Rysavy at the annual LOHAS conference, Rysavy told the Post.

Earlier this year, Case launched Revolution LLC, an investment firm, using $500 million of his own money, according to the report. To date, Revolution has invested roughly $145 million in the health and wellness field, buying controlling stakes in Miraval -- Life in Balance, a Tucson, Ariz., resort and spa company, and a radio and television company focused on health and wellness that was recently relaunched under the name Lime: Healthy Living With a Twist.

Case led America Online to become the world's largest Internet service provider, using its stock to purchase old-line media conglomerate Time Warner in a deal that closed in January 2001.

But the stock of the combined company soon plunged and Case resigned as chairman under fire from major shareholders in January 2003, although he remains on the board of directors. CNN/Money is a unit of Time Warner.

For more on Steve Case's new business focus, click here.  Top of page

graphic


YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Steve Case
Manage alerts | What is this?