Martine Rothblatt Biography and Net Worth

Martine Rothblatt is an American entrepreneur, lawyer, and the founder of SiriusXM radio and United Therapeutics. She currently serves as chairman and CEO for United Therapeutics. 

Rothblatt’s career trajectory began during her undergraduate studies, when, while traveling abroad, she visited the NASA tracking station in the Seychelles. Inspired by the possibilities of uniting the world via satellite communications, she returned to school and completed an undergraduate thesis on international direct-broadcast satellites. 

She then went on to a four-year J.D. and M.B.A. program where she published articles on the law of satellite communications, prepared a business plan for the Hughes SPace and Communications Group, and was a regular contributor on the legal ramifications of space colonization for the OASIS newsletter.

Upon her graduation in 1981, she worked for the Washington D.C. law firm of Covington & Burling, representing the broadcasting industry before the Federal Communications Commission regarding direct broadcast satellites and spread spectrum communication. She was then retained by NASA and the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Radio Frequencies, and Geostar Systems to handle business and regulatory matters related to the FCC.

In 1990, she co-founded Sirius Satellite Radio, but left shortly after the company's 1993 initial public offering. Ater her daughter received a life-threatening pulmonary arterial hypertension diagnosis in 1994, she moved into the biotech space, hoping to find more treatment options—at the time, there was just one drug. She founded United Therapeutics in 1996 which now sells five FDA-approved drugs for people with PAH.

Now a public company, United Therapeutics is working on genetic modification and pig cloning, attempting to create a successful lung transplant for humans. 

Rothblatt is the co-inventor on six United Therapeutics patents related to treprostinil, and the inventor of our recently-awarded patent on a brain-computer interface device for patients with debilitating cognitive conditions.

Born Martin Rothblatt, she underwent gender reassignment surgery in 1994 and has since become a strong advocate for transgender rights. In 2019 she was recognized by Business Insider as one of the “Most Powerful LGBTQ+ People in Tech.” She was also recognized on Fast Company’s inaugural “Queer 50” list in 2020, recognizing LGBTQ women and nonbinary individuals who are leaders across industries including tech, finance, venture capital, media, and entertainment.

Rothblatt has received numerous other accolades for her roles, including recognition by Forbes in 2017 as one of the “100 Greates Living Business Minds of the Past Century.” In 2018, she received the UCLA Medal, the university’s highest award. 

Rothblatt earned her B.A. in communication studies, as well as her M.B.A. and J.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is married to realtor Bina Aspen, and the couple shares four children, one each from previous relationships and two together.