Bill Johnson won’t identify his “genius”

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The head of the state’s economic development agency told lawmakers Wednesday he was on the cusp of a big deal with a certain “genius.”

Bill Johnson, who leads Enterprise Florida, said he’s talking to a technology guru who lives in London, but also has a house in Florida, about doing a big project here.

He didn’t name names, but at first blush the description sounded like Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

Wales, who now lives in London, first ran Wikipedia out of a St. Petersburg office building. He has a teenage daughter who still lives in Florida.

“I don’t confirm or deny anything in that regard,” Johnson said after a meeting of the Senate Commerce and Tourism committee. “But I’ll tell you, the guy flew in, we spent three and a half hours together. I had a Scotch; he had a water.”

When asked what they talked about, Johnson answered: “How great the state of Florida is.”

“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “We’ve been in contact two or three times this week … I’m hoping we can do a huge announcement. This would be great for Florida.”
According to a 2013 New York Times Magazine profile, Wales visited his daughter “a couple times a month,” flying into Tampa International Airport.
Wales now lives with third wife Kate Garvey in England. She was an aide and scheduler for former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Jim Rosica

Jim Rosica is the Tallahassee-based Senior Editor for Florida Politics. He previously was the Tampa Tribune’s statehouse reporter. Before that, he covered three legislative sessions in Florida for The Associated Press. Jim graduated from law school in 2009 after spending nearly a decade covering courts for the Tallahassee Democrat, including reporting on the 2000 presidential recount. He can be reached at [email protected].



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