Jay Penske

Born in New York City, Penske is the youngest son of Kathy, an English school teacher and Roger Penske, the founder and chairman of the Penske Corporation and former race car driver. Penske is an alumnus of St. Mary's Preparatory, in Detroit, Michigan, after having attended Cranbrook, Tabor Academy, and Lawrenceville.

Penske graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School with a Bachelor of Science in Management of Information Systems and Finance. He is on the board of the Entrepreneurial School at the Wharton School as of 2007, and is also a member of the University of Pennsylvania Library's board of directors.

Penske co-founded Firefly Mobile, Inc., a wireless company that developed the Firefly mobile phone for children, and other youth targeted mobile devices and products.

Penske also founded and owned Dragon Books, Ltd., a Los Angeles-based antiquarian and used bookstore which sold rare and collectible books which opened for business in 1999, and closed fifteen years later in 2014. It was named after Penske's favorite childhood book, “Dragon, Dragon,” written by John Gardner.

Penske is the chairman and CEO of Penske Media Corporation (PMC), a digital media and publishing company that owns and operates a number of media brands, data services, and live events, including Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and South by Southwest festival (SXSW). Prior to being named Penske Media Corporation, it began as an affinity marketing and internet services company called Velocity Services, Inc. The company acquired the Mail.com domain which was renamed to the Mail.com Media Corporation (MMC).

Penske joined the board of Vox Media in 2023, after PMC became the largest shareholder of the company.

Penske in 2023 was described by the Los Angeles Magazine on its cover to be “one of the most powerful publishers in the world”, and has been compared to William Randolph Hearst, S.I. Newhouse, and Rupert Murdoch for his acquisition and portfolio of media brands.

Penske married model Elaine Irwin in 2012. They separated in 2023 and divorced in 2024.

In August 2012, Penske and his brother Mark were arrested in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and charged with breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a misdemeanor following an incident at the Nantucket Yacht Club. Contemporary reports citing police said that a woman alleged that, after she confronted the brothers while they were urinating in the club's parking lot, Jay Penske continued urinating on her boots and pushed her; the women later declined to pursue assault-and-battery charges. In October 2012, the brothers were placed on one year of pretrial probation and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service; the misdemeanor breaking-and-entering charges were to be dismissed if they completed the probation period without further legal trouble.

Penske Media’s acquisition of the Golden Globe Awards as well as its ownership of Hollywood publications including The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Deadline has been a source of controversy. In July 2026, Jay Penske and Penske Media were sued by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) which presented the Golden Globes prior to the acquisition by the Penske Media-owned Dick Clark Productions. The federal suit alleges violations of federal and state antitrust laws. It is alleged that this acquisition was done by Penske to influence awards season races. The HFPA is seeking $150 million in damages and the overturning of the agreement which transferred ownership of the Golden Globes to Penske Media.