Abigail Johnson

Johnson was born in Boston, Massachusetts on December 19, 1961. Although neither Johnson nor her younger siblings felt pressured to join the family business, as a child, Johnson was attracted to her father’s work.

Johnson attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then graduated from William Smith College with a bachelor's degree in art history in 1984. In 1985, she began working as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she met her husband. She completed an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1988.

Upon graduating from Harvard Business School in 1988, Johnson joined Fidelity Investments, which her grandfather Edward C. Johnson II founded in 1946 and of which her father Edward Johnson III was then the CEO. She began as an analyst and portfolio manager.

In 2001, she was promoted to president of Fidelity Asset Management. During her time in that position, Johnson unsuccessfully attempted to orchestrate a vote to remove her father as CEO over disagreements about his business decisions.

In 2005, she became Head of Retail, Workplace, and Institutional Business. She was named president in 2012. In 2014, she became CEO, and in 2016 she also became chairman.

In 2018, Johnson introduced cryptocurrency investment at Fidelity, making it possible for institutional investors to trade Bitcoin and Ether. In November 2018, she was named head of Fidelity Financial Services.

As Chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments,she has guided the firm’s expansion into digital assets and new investment products.

During this period, Fidelity launched the Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and broadened the services of Fidelity Digital Assets, strengthening the company’s position in cryptocurrency custody and trading. She also oversaw growth in Fidelity’s technology and client-service operations. She reduced dependence on open-ended mutual funds, instead having the company focus on financial advice, brokerage services, and venture capital.

Johnson is married to Christopher J. McKown. They have two daughters.

In 2002, she bought a seaside house in Nantucket Island for $9.72 million. As of 2006, she owned an estate in Milton, Massachusetts. She also owns an office building in London.

Political contributions

In 2015, Johnson donated $2,700, the maximum amount legally allowed for presidential primary campaigns, to Republican candidate Jeb Bush. In 2016, she donated about $330,000 to Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

In 2024, Johnson was reported to have attended a fundraising event for President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.