Jonathan M. Nelson

As of March 2019, Nelson is listed as a Fellow of Brown University, and has previously been a trustee. He has donated to the university, contributing to the construction of the Nelson Fitness Center and to establish two professorships at the university. In 2019 Brown University launched the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship.

The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art named Nelson the winner of the 2013 Arthur Ross Award for Excellence In The Classical Tradition (Patronage) for his guidance of the design and construction of the Nelson Fitness Center. In August 2014, Harvard Business School gave him an Alumni Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the school on its graduates.

In 2008, Nelson and other Providence principals launched Providence's credit investment arm with Thomas Gahan of Deutsche Bank. The unit is called Benefit Street Partners, which has US$9.16 billion (inflation-adjusted) under management.

In 1989, he founded Providence Equity Partners, a pioneering sector-focused private equity firm. It is the world's leading private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and information investments. He was dubbed the "stealth mogul" by The New York Times for keeping a low profile despite his firm's substantial media holdings.

In 1983, Nelson joined Narragansett Capital, a private equity firm, where he was a managing director. At Narragansett, he specialized in the broadcasting, cable television and publishing sectors.

Nelson grew up in Providence. He graduated from Brown University in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. After graduation, he managed the China division of Wellman, Inc. On returning to the United States, he earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1983.

Jonathan Milton Nelson (born 1956) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder of Providence Equity Partners, a global private equity firm based in Providence, Rhode Island, which manages funds with US$40.7 billion (inflation-adjusted) in commitments.