The wealthy creator of the Papa John’s pizza chain was criticized for claiming he ‘lost a home’ in Florida during Hurricane Ian, a monstrous storm that killed more than a hundred people.
In an interview with OAN, John Schnatter, a property magnate reported to be worth a billion dollars, revealed the loss he had sustained while speaking from another of his Utah estates.
His $6 million condominium in Naples, Florida, was flooded and destroyed by the hurricane – misspelled ‘hurricane’ on OAN’s news strap – but Schnatter expressed compassion for people who had “lost everything.”
In 2018, the pizza and real estate magnate was forced to resign as the chairman of his own company after using the n-word during a conference call.
Stella Inger Escobedo told Schnatter, “Of course, you’re currently in Utah, but we’re seeing photographs of your home in Naples,” describing the scenario as “heartbreaking.”
It appears to be entirely submerged.
The photographs of the wreckage in the aftermath of the hurricane “give you a little bit of perspective” on how destructive this storm is, according to the pizza magnate.
John Schnatter, founder of Papa John’s and a property mogul believed to be worth between $500 million and $1 billion, admitted that he ‘lost a home’ during Hurricane Ian in Florida.
Schnatter responded, “My heart goes out to people who have lost everything,” when OAN news anchor Stella Inger Escobedo inquired about the damage to his $6 million condo.
“I’m not afraid about myself because I have the resources, the staff, and the institutional expertise, but you have no idea how dire this situation is.”
“My heart goes out to the Floridians – I may have lost a house, but they’ve lost everything,” he said.
In addition to the $6 million condo in Naples that was damaged by Hurricane Ian, Schnatter is said to own more than 20 other properties.
His revelation that he had lost ‘a’ home was ridiculed by social media users, who also attacked OAN, a notoriously conservative news network.
‘Waaaaaa he lost a house In the end, he will purchase the neighboring homes and construct yet another garish mansion,’ said one indifferent user.
I am not concerned because I have $600,000,000 and can purchase adequate insurance. OAN is ludicrous, remarked a second individual.
“Institutional expertise? To not be affected by a hurricane?’ wrote a third user with skepticism.
Others ridiculed the news network relentlessly for misspelling the word “hurricane.”
Throughout the interview with John Schnatter, backed by footage of his flooded home, the term ‘hurricane’ was misspelled on OAN’s strapline.
It is a hurricane, not a hurricane’t!
According to CNN, the death toll from the storm that devastated Florida and South Carolina last week stood at 109 as of yesterday, but is anticipated to grow.
Schnatter has previously courted controversy, despite his well-intentioned gaffe in this instance.
In 2018, he was forced to resign as chairman of the firm he started in 1984, Papa John’s, after using the n-word on a conference call with company directors.
He later stated that he was attempting to “get rid of this N-word” from his lexicon, but he also claimed that his Papa John’s coworkers and an ad agency were conspiring to wrongly portray him as a racist.
Schnatter has not shied away from openly associating his face with the Papa John’s brand, appearing on the restaurant’s pizza boxes smiling and wearing an apron.
It was also stated that he has previously criticized the NFL for failing to discipline black players who kneeled during the national anthem.
Forbes assessed Schnatter’s net worth to be one billion dollars in 2017, when he owned 31% of Papa John’s stock.
Since then, though, Schnatter apparently sold half of his shares, and Celebritynetworth.com estimates his net worth to be $500 million.
In 1984, he founded the company, which swiftly expanded to many sites.
In 1993, when he took the company public, there were 254 stores; as of 2020, there were 5,400 sites globally, including 3,134 in the United States.
Schnatter has not been reluctant to publicly identify his face with the Papa John’s brand, since he appears on the restaurant’s pizza boxes smiling and wearing an apron.
</ad-slot