Aged Out, Broke, Homeless at 50: How Ron King Became “Donkey King”

He ran Southern Living and top Time Inc. titles with no college degree — then got fired, and calls it a gift. What followed was darker: broke, aged out of media at 50, and homeless. Ron King, now known as "Donkey King," rebuilt his life running a sanctuary that rescues donkeys from slaughter — 220 of them and counting. In this episode of The Messy Parts, Ron opens up to Maryam about hitting rock bottom twice, the hustle that built (and rebuilt) his career, and the simple mindset shift — "things could always be worse" — that carried him through it. A wild, honest conversation about reinvention, gratitude, and starting over at any age. Key Moments: 00:00:00 - "Homeless at 50 — And It Was Worse Than 26" 😔 Ron opens on his lowest moment: sitting in his car on Mulholland Drive with no job, no savings, and no plan. 00:04:16 - "I Charmed My Way In. I Never Even Read a Magazine." 💫 Ron explains how he landed his first publishing job at 32 with no industry experience and no college degree. 00:07:48 - "I Didn't Lie. I Just Never Graduated." 🎓 Ron recounts confessing to his CEO that he flunked out of college and getting promoted anyway. 00:08:47 - The Diamond Earring That Landed the Impossible Meeting 💎 How Ron got a notoriously unreachable Estée Lauder exec to give him 15 minutes and a beauty section deal. 00:09:24 - Fired at the Top — "It Was a Gift" 🎁 Ron describes getting pushed out of Time Inc. and smiling all the way home. 00:13:01 - "I'd Aged Out. I Was an Old, Print, White Guy." ⏳ Ron on the moment he realized age — not talent — was closing doors after his fall from the top. 00:14:45 - Rock Bottom, Round Two 🚗 Losing his apartment, his car, and nearly his will to keep going at 50, with nowhere left to fall back on. 00:16:13 - "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" 🦶 Ron's advice for anyone in a crisis of confidence: sometimes surviving the day is the whole plan. 00:19:18 - A Random TikTok Video Changed Everything 🐴 How a video about a donkey auction became the spark for Oscar's Place. 00:25:05 - "I Decide Who Lives and Who Goes to Slaughter" 💔 The hardest part of running a donkey rescue: choosing which animals he can afford to save. 00:34:09 - "Things Could Be So Much Worse" 🙏 Ron's tactical approach to gratitude and why he thinks about everything that isn't going wrong. Send us Fan Mail Email us: [email protected] To stay up to date with The Messy Parts and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts. Thank you for listening.