David J Pecker

Mr. Pecker is best known for The Enquirer, but his media empire is wide-ranging. A.M.I.’s titles include Men’s Journal, Hers, Flex and Muscle & Fitness. A.M.I. has struggled financially. It went through a series of restructurings in the last decade, including a bankruptcy in 2010 in which the company reported up to $1 billion in debts, before being acquired four years ago by two private equity funds. Mr. Pecker has continued to hunt for new acquisitions. Last year, he bought Us Weekly from Wenner Media. But money remained scarce, according to A.M.I.’s financial advisers. In June 2018, AMI acquired In Touch, Life & Style, Closer and 10 other titles from Bauer Media, expanding a celebrity-news portfolio that already included The National Enquirer, Us Weekly, Globe, OK!, Star and Radar Online. Mr. Pecker has described his vision for expanding his events business, which includes the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding competition.