Morgan was born in Lexington, Kentucky, the eldest of five children. In 1971, his family moved to Winter Park, Florida. From 1974 to 1982, he attended the University of Florida and the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin School of Law, where he attained his Juris Doctor. Morgan met his wife, Ultima Degnan, while studying law. They were married in May 1982. In July 2019, Orlando magazine named Morgan the Most Powerful Person in Orlando. Morgan has been involved in efforts to legalize medical marijuana in Florida. Medical marijuana appeared again as Amendment 2 on the November 2016 ballot. Morgan contributed to the Yes efforts by donating $6.5 million along with television and radio advertisements personally supporting the measure.
Political activity
Morgan stated in November 2016 that he was considering running for Governor of Florida in the 2018 election. On November 24, 2017, he announced on Twitter that he was disillusioned with the current state of American politics and was leaving the Democratic Party to register as an independent. Morgan has pledged he would spend $1 million to raise Florida’s minimum wage to $15. Since December 2017, Morgan & Morgan has donated $478,158 to the political committee Florida for a Fair Wage. As of August 2019, Morgan & Morgan had donated the bulk of the $4.15 million raised by the political committee Florida for a Fair Wage. In October 2019, Morgan announced that he had acquired enough signatures to get the minimum wage amendment on the ballot in November 2020. Morgan donated to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
Philanthropy
In March 2013, John Morgan and his wife Ultima donated $2 million to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, money that went toward a 100,000-square-foot facility. Second Harvest estimated that the value of the food stored in the facility would exceed $1.4 billion. John Morgan called the donation “one of the best things we’ve ever done.” In 2015, the Morgans pledged $1 million toward a $7.4 million Harbor House domestic abuse shelter. The 119-bed, 27,500-square-foot facility will be called the Morgan & Morgan Home — A Safe Haven for Families. In 2017, the Morgans donated $1 million to Joel Hunter’s Community Resource Network, whose mission is to provide resources and support “for families and individuals experiencing homelessness who do not qualify for government funded housing programs.” After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017, John Morgan let aid groups use his private plane to fly doctors and supplies to the territory. The plane transported more than 2,000 pounds of supplies, which the doctors used to help people in need of urgent medical care. Since 2017, Morgan & Morgan has awarded an annual For The People Scholarship to a law student who “is driven to fight for those who need it most.” The scholarship award is several thousand dollars in tuition. The winners by year:
In 2019, John and Ultima Morgan donated $1 million to the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law, in honor of their friend and the college’s namesake, Fredric G. Levin. The money will be used to fund student scholarships.
Other business ventures
In addition to Morgan & Morgan, John Morgan is the founder of WonderWorks Attraction, PMP Marketing Group, ClassAction.com, Abogados.com, and other business ventures. He is also a partner in the legal software company Litify, which raised $50 million in funding in June 2019, and he is a real estate investor who has purchased land, hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers. Morgan’s estimated net worth ranges from $500 million to $730 million. He told Orlando Magazine that one of his professional goals is to be a billionaire, and that “I think I have a shot.”
