Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Erik Prince is a genuinely polarizing figure, and any honest take has to acknowledge that. As the founder of Blackwater he became the face of the privatized-war era, and the 2007 Nisour Square shooting attached lasting controversy to his name. Whatever one thinks of his politics, he is undeniably a consequential player in the modern security-contracting industry, with a heir-to-an-auto-parts-fortune background and a Navy SEAL pedigree that fed a certain mystique. I find him a fascinating case study in where private capital, military force, and foreign policy blur together, a figure who provokes strong reactions for understandable reasons.
Overview
Erik Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and entrepreneur from Holland, Michigan. He is best known as the founder of the private military company Blackwater (later Xe Services and Academi), which became a major and controversial government contractor during the Iraq War. He has since been involved in various private security and business ventures internationally.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Erik Prince
- Name (Japanese)
- エリック・プリンス
- Reading
- えりっく・ぷりんす
- Born
- June 6, 1969 (age 57)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Rooster
- Origin
- Holland, Michigan, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- Military officer / Financier / Businessman / Aviator / Entrepreneur
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Military officer — see all → · Financier — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.