Van Jones Profile, Wiki, Bio

Van Jones is an American Emmy Award-winning News Reporter/Host, author, and lawyer working for CNN in Atlanta, Georgia. He is thrilled to work with the CNN team.

Van Jones Education

Jones graduated from Jackson Central-Merry High School in the year 1986 and then attended the University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin). He graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Science in political science and communication. While at the university, he interned at the Associated Press (Nashville bureau), the Shreveport Times (Louisiana), and The Jackson Sun (Tennessee). He adopted the name Van while working at The Jackson Sun at 17 years of age.

Van Jones Career

Jones serves at CNN as a political commentator. He often appears across CNN’s programming and special political coverage. Jones also hosts his own podcast, “UncommonGround” which airs new episodes on @amazonmusic, every Wednesday. He has served as a host of “The Messy Truth with Van Jones,” “The Redemption Project with Van Jones,” and “The Van Jones Show,” on CNN International. Jones is a co-creator of “The Messy Truth VR Experience,” an Emmy Award-winning virtual reality series. 

He is the CEO of REFORM Alliance, which works on a dramatic reduction of the population of people who are unjustly under the control of the criminal justice system, beginning with parole and probation. He launched REFORM Alliance in January 2019 and is backed up by a bi-partisan and diverse group of business, entertainment, and sports leaders, such as Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter (entrepreneur and business mogul), Meek Mill (an award-winning recording artist), and others.

For over 2 and a half decades, Jones has served as a leader in the fight for criminal justice reform. He is also a founder and leader of numerous thriving social enterprises. Two of the social enterprises include Color of Change and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. 

Van Jones Political Affiliations

Jones was a human rights and environmental activist, before becoming a White House policy advisor. He served as a main advocate for the Green Jobs Act. In the year 2007, he was signed into law by former United States President, George W. Bush. The Green Jobs Act was the 1st piece of federal legislation to codify “green jobs,” which resulted in $500 million in national funding for green jobs training, at the time of Barrack Obama’s administration. He served as President Barack Obama’s Green Jobs advisor in the year 2009, where he assisted in leading the inter-agency process that was overseeing the multi-billion-dollar investment in jobs development and skills training within the environmental and green energy sectors.

Quick Facts About Jones

Van Jones Age, Birthday / How old is Van Jones?

Jones is 53 years old as of 2021. He was born on September 20, 1968, in Jackson, Tennessee, United States. He celebrates his birthday on the 20th of September every year.

Van Jones Height, Measurements

How tall is Van Jones? Jones stands at a height of approximately 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m).

Van Jones Family, Parents

Jones has a twin sister, Angela, both born on the same date. They were raised with their loving parents, Willie Anthony Jones (father) and Loretta Jean (mother). Their dad worked as a middle school principal and their mom as a high school teacher. Jone’s grandfather served as a leader in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and growing up, he would at times accompany him to religious conferences.

Van Jones’s Wife, Wedding / Van Jones Divorce

Jones is neither married nor engaged to anyone at the moment. He was previously married to Jana Carter. They tied the knot in the year 2005 and divorced in June 2019, due to unknown reasons. At the time of the divorce, Jana Carter filed for joint legal and physical custody in the divorce proceedings. This meant that the couple would continue to co-parent their children together. Jones once said that even though they ended their marriage, they still love each other very much. He said that they’ll continue raising their children and running their businesses together, as well as supporting the growth of each other.

Van Jones Children/Kids

Jones and his ex-wife took great pride in being mom and dad to their 2 sons; Cabral and Mattai.

Van Jones New Baby / Van Jones Noemi Zamacona

In February 2022, Jones and his friend, Noemi Zamacona, got a newly born baby daughter. The names of the daughter are currently under review. Jones said that upon COVID-19 lockdown, he got clear that he wanted another child, and also discovered that his friend, Noemi Zamacona, also wanted a kid. They joined forces and became conscious co-parents. Jones and Noemi Zamacona have been friends for a couple of years. They knew each other via a shared interest in criminal justice advocacy. However, they are not couples but they call themselves a team raising a kid together.

Van Jones Salary

Being one of the top journalists for CNN Jones earns an annual salary ranging from $ 20,000 – $ 100,000.

Van Jones’s Net Worth

How much does Van Jones make? Jones has an estimated net worth of between $1 Million – $5 Million which he has earned through his successful career as a News Reporter/Host.

Van Jones Kim Kardashian Dating

Has Kim Kardashian dated CNN Van Jones? In April 2022, Jones was once dubbed a “hero” by his college friends when there were rumors circulating about him dating Kim Kardashian. It was on his Wednesday podcast, “Uncommon Ground with Van Jones,” that he confessed to the Skims founder, who is his guest. In the introduction of his guest, that is Kim Kardashian, he said that many people asked him about dating Kim.

Come to think of it, in February 2021, Kim Kardashian filed a divorce from her ex-husband, Kanye West after 7 years of marriage and 4 children together. Jones, on the other hand, separated from his wife, Jana Carter, in May 2018 and they finalized their divorce in June 2019.

Fans and viewers were already advocating for Kim Kardashian to date Jones just before her divorce from Kanye West. In January 2021, “Miss Mash Jung,” a fan, tweeted that Kim Kardashian was trying to pass the California Bar to become a lawyer, and Jones was already a lawyer. However, in October 2021, Kim Kardashian hosted a show, “Saturday Night Live,” where she suddenly become very attracted to comedian Pete Davidson. The couple has been going strong ever since.

Van Jones Jeff Bezos

In July 2021, Jeff Bezos (the Amazon founder) lavished $100 million each on the inaugural recipients of the Courage & Civility Awards, CNN commentator Van Jones and philanthropic chef Jose Andrés. The money was for charitable causes. Jose Andrés works on feeding people during the aftermath of humanitarian disasters through his nonprofit World Central Kitchen.

He spent millions of money to provide help food and other basic needs to the people of Ukraine, during the Russian inversion of Ukraine. He also provides food to the Hungary, Moldova, and Romania refugees, and many other charitable actions. Jones, on the other side, was planning to establish a massive charity windfall. After The Daily Beast heard his plan, Jones posted on his official Facebook saying that he was “conducting due diligence” and “vetting opportunities.”

He added that the award provided him a 10-year window to disburse the funds. He also has a history in the nonprofit world, specifically in the sphere of criminal justice reform. He was the co-founder of Dream Corps, a nonprofit that supported the racial justice organization Color of Change and the reduction of the United States prison population. Jones was also the founding CEO of a nonprofit that concentrated on matching issues that launched following the incarceration of Meek Mill (a rapper).

Jeff Bezos’ lavishment to Jones and Jose Andrés was like an off guard to them. At the time, Jones had just informed CNN he had received a call from Jeff Bezos unexpectedly. After the call, he went to attend the press conference in Lone Star State, Texas, after Jeff Bezos’ space flight.

Awards and Honors

Throughout his career, he has earned numerous awards and honors and has been spotlighted on a number of lists of high achievers. Some of the awards and recognitions include;

• Emmy Award,
• NAACP President’s Award,
• Rolling Stone’s “12 Leaders Who Get Things Done,”
• the World Economic Forum’s “Young Global Leader” designation. 
• The Root’s “The Root 100,” and
• TIME’s 2009 “100 Most Influential People in The World.”

Van Jones Books

Other than being a journalist, Jones is also an author. He has authored 3 New York Times Best-selling books;

• “The Green Collar Economy” – in 2008
• “Rebuild the Dream” – in 2012
• “Beyond the Messy Truth: How We Came Apart, How We Come Together” – in 2017