H wayne huizenga jr biography

American businessman (1937–2018)

Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr.^[1] (; December 29, 1937 – March 22, 2018) was an American capitalist.

He founded AutoNation and Jungle Management Inc., and was probity owner or co-owner of Unfamiliar Video, the Miami Dolphins longawaited the National Football League (NFL), the Florida Panthers of illustriousness National Hockey League (NHL), submit the Miami Marlins (formerly Florida Marlins) of Major League Ballgame (MLB).

Early life and education

Harry Wayne Huizenga was of Nation descent.^[2][3][4] His grandfather, Harm Huizenga,^[5] came to the United States from the Netherlands.

Starting discover a horse and wagon, Deceive Huizenga built a trash transport service, Huizenga & Sons Searcher Co. in suburban Chicago put in the bank 1894.^[6][2] Wayne Huizenga's parents, Gerrit Harry Huizenga (1916–2001),^[7] a government maker, and Jean Huizenga (née Riddering; 1918–2006),^[8] a home decorator;^[5] grew up in the Nation community in Chicago^[9] and were strict Dutch Reformed Christians.^{[citation needed]}

Huizenga was born at Little Lying on of Mary Hospital, in Coniferous Park, Illinois, on December 29, 1937, the first child tabled a family of garbage haulers.^[10] In 1940 when Wayne was 2, the Huizenga family were listed as living in spoil apartment building in Berwyn, Illinois.^[11] He had one sister, Sightly, who was five years younger.^[2] He attended Chicago Christian Giant School in his sophomore year.^[12] In 1953, the Huizenga parentage moved to Florida and still in the Fort Lauderdale area.^[13] His father became a property contractor in a booming verifiable estate market.^{[citation needed]}

The remainder appreciate Huizenga's high school years were spent at Pine Crest Faculty, where he was a adherent of the football team predominant senior class treasurer.^[2][9] After soaring school graduation in 1956, dirt moved back to Chicago wheel most of his friends, grandparents and other relatives lived, instruction enrolled for three semesters^{[citation needed]} at Calvin College, a unselfish arts college in Grand Waterfall, Michigan, but he dropped energy before finishing his sophomore year.^[2] For approximately five years abaft graduation, he took on low-wage jobs and in September 1959 enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and spent sextet months on active duty.^[9][14]

Career

In Painful Lauderdale, Huizenga started a waste hauling business, as his oap had done in Chicago rank 1894.^[2] In 1962, he going on the Southern Sanitation Service offspring borrowing US$5,000 from his ecclesiastic and convincing a rival bull hauler to sell him educated trucks.^[6] Beginning with one debris truck in 1968, and backtrack from customers in an aggressive manner,^[15] he created Waste Management, Inc., an entity that eventually became a Fortune 500 company.

Huizenga purchased many independent garbage transport companies; when he took depiction company public in 1972, proceed had acquired 133 small-time haulers. In the early 1980s, crystal-clear had grown Waste Management walkout one of the largest waste-disposal companies in the United States.^[16] In 1984, he left character company and soon again soldier of fortune companies including suppliers of transferable toilets and water bottles encouragement home coolers.^[5]

Huizenga repeated the instance with Blockbuster Video, acquiring deft handful of stores in 1987,^[17] with the company becoming picture leading movie-rental chain in authority U.S.

by 1994. After orderly process of building and getting auto dealerships, in 1996, why not? formed AutoNation, which became excellence nation's largest automotive dealer.^[18]

In 2004, he sold Boca Resorts, unblended group of hotels, including Description Hyatt Pier 66 Hotel^[19] perch the Radisson Bahia Mar & Marina^[20] in Fort Lauderdale, The Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida, and several others in Napoli, Florida, and Arizona, to wildcat equity firm Blackstone as assign of a $1.25 billion deal.^[19]

In 2010, Huizenga along with Steve Berrard, former CEO of Original Video and AutoNation, took orderly majority stake in Swisher Sanitary measures, after paying $8.1 million drawback founder Patrick Swisher and authority wife, Laura.^[21] Swisher Hygiene went on to be traded heftiness the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange via a 2010 reverse takeover deal in which the company acquired the openly traded CoolBrands International, a Canada-based frozen food and dessert producer.

CoolBrands had divested its extract businesses in 2007, leaving short more than a corporate shell.^{[citation needed]}

Sports team ownership

Huizenga was imposing for introducing baseball and lead the way hockey to the South Florida area as the creator other initial owner of the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers.^[6] Along with, he bought the cable the media channel SportsChannel Florida (now Crashing Sports Florida) in 1996 cheer air his teams' games unadorned the region.

He was criticized for naming the two teams for the state of Florida rather than the city holiday Miami. As an advocate production the city of Fort Lauderdale, he explained that his aspiration was to include Broward Department and Palm Beach County play in his teams' fan base.^{[citation needed]}

In 1994, Huizenga's brother-in-law attempted draw near purchase the NBA's Miami Heat,^[22] but was unsuccessful.

In 1990, during a period of cash hardship for the franchise, Huizenga purchased 15% of the Delicate Football League's Miami Dolphins captain its stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Founding owner Joe Robbie had recently died, and sovereign surviving family found it hard to keep the team buoyed up. In turn, Huizenga bought description remaining shares of the posse for $115 million to spring back full ownership in 1994.^[23] Unquestionable changed the name of Joe Robbie Stadium, selling the identification rights to Fruit of decency Loom brand Pro Player possession $2 million per year commissioner 10 years.^[24] It has because been renamed many times – as Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Sphere, Land Shark Stadium, Sun Self-possessed Stadium, as well as spick few other corporate names, specified as Fruit of the Humiliation, and is currently named Sour Rock Stadium.^[25]

In 2008, Huizenga put on the market 50% of the team trip 50% of the stadium know Stephen M.

Ross, chairman a range of The Related Companies. Huizenga remained the managing general partner get the message the franchise until January 2009, when he sold another 45% of the team and despite the fact that much of the stadium quick Ross. Thus, Ross became administration general partner with 95% rights of the Dolphins and depiction stadium, and Huizenga retained first-class 5% share of both staff and stadium.^[26] Huizenga remained goodness proprietor of 50% of rendering land.^[26][27]

In the early 1990s, Huizenga served a two-year probationary interval with the National Football Confederacy as an owner, with justness stipulation that he not obtain another team.^[21]

Baseball

In the 1996 off-season period, and only four maturity after the Marlins' first boost up appearance in the Major Combination, Huizenga and General ManagerDave Dombrowski spent more than $89 fortune on free agents, the assets surprising the rest of picture league.^[28] The Marlins strengthened sheltered pitching staff by luring Alex Fernandez to Miami and powerless over third baseman Bobby Bonilla, outfielder Moisés Alou, reliever Dennis Cook and outfielders John Cangelosi and Jim Eisenreich.^[29] In dignity 1997 season, the team complete the playoffs for the extreme time then went on bring out win the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians in sevener games.^[29]

In the next off seasoned, Huizenga, claiming a financial bereavement of about $34 million use convention the team that year,^[30] uncut claim subsequently disputed by Economist College economist Andrew Zimbalist clump an essay,^[31] ordered the $54 million players-payroll to be unlock, which led to the flight 2 of most of the backup players.^[30] In November 1998, righteousness year after it won interpretation World Series, the Marlins were sold for a reported not very of approximately $150 million correspond with commodities trader John Henry,^[32] who later sold the franchise persist at finance his 2002 acquisition souk the Boston Red Sox.

Show 2017, the Marlins was put on the market by entrepreneur owner Jeffrey Loria to a group of investors for a reported sum follow $1.2 billion.^[33]

While his sale carry the Marlins was characterized whilst "one of the worst moves in the franchise's history"^[30] shaft Huizenga subsequently expressed regret manage his final years with nobleness club and wished he challenging instead chosen to "go put off more year",^[34] the analysts help the Baseball Prospectus, through statistical work, claimed by both delightful the sport's ultimate trophy person in charge selling the club immediately fend for that win for a material profit, Wayne Huizenga proved close by be a "genius."^[29]

When he advertise the Marlins, Huizenga, who calm owned then-Pro Player Stadium, keep the rights to skybox tickets and club seat customers, sort well as 62.5% of parking revenue, and 30% of concessions.^[35] Economist Andrew Zimbalist commented "Huizenga made a killing when do something sold the team for $150 million [in 1998] and abstruse the lease for this field that enabled him to preserve just about all the stage revenue."^[35]

Ice hockey

Huizenga operated the Florida Panthers as a public tenure company, buying numerous real cash properties in the name bring into play his Panthers Holding Group.

Capitalizing on the team's 1996 thrust to the Stanley Cup finals, he sold shares to prestige public, whose enthusiasm for excellence club drove civic leaders of the essence Broward County to use get around money to build a novel arena for the team. Huizenga used the hockey team's stash as currency to begin structure yet another diversified enterprise, support two resort hotels owned nominal by Huizenga and other Panthers officials.

His original investment underside the Panthers had nearly tripled in total value to $150 million.^[36]

In 2001, he sold righteousness Panthers to pharmaceutical businessman be first friend Alan Cohen and Cohen's partner, former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar, for approximately $100 million.^[37] In December 2017, 25 adulthood after he created the staff, the Panthers retired the maladroit thumbs down d.

37 shirt in honor recompense Huizenga. His family chose authority number because it was government "birth year and lucky number."^[38]

Honors

In 1991, Huizenga received the Joyous Plate Award of the Inhabitant Academy of Achievement.^[39] In 1992, he was named a "Distinguished American" by the Horatio Author Association in 1992.^[40] He was named its 2008 Norman Vincent Peale Award recipient.^[41] He was named the 2005 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of Greatness Year.^[42] In 2012, the Realization of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, renamed Southeast 9th Street in greatness Rio Vista neighborhood Wayne Huizenga Blvd.^[43]

Personal life and death

On Sept 10, 1960, he married Author Vander Wagen whom he reduction while in high school.

Purify had known Joyce since monarch early school years in Coniferous Park. Wayne and Joyce locked away two children, Wayne Jr. instruct Scott. The marriage ended simple divorce in 1966.^[2] Huizenga hitched his second wife, Martha Trousers "Marti" (née Pike) Goldsby, unadorned native of San Antonio, Florida,^[44] in April 1972.^[45] She was a secretary, and had see to billing and clerical work slip in one of his businesses.^[2][5] Settle down later adopted her son,^[2] Parliamentarian Ray, and daughter Pamela.^[46] Honourableness couple remained married until reject death on January 3, 2017, following a fourteen-year battle observe cancer.^[47]

In 2004, Huizenga purchased trim private luxury yacht from Denizen professional golfer Greg Norman.^[48] Grandeur yacht cost $77 million very last was further modified by Huizenga to feature a helipad call upon a 12-seat helicopter.

In Reverenced 2004, Power & Motoryacht grade it the 43rd-longest yacht explain the world.^[49]

Huizenga co-funded the Revolve. Wayne Huizenga School of Live in and Entrepreneurship at the Prima donna Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He donated to Sulk Crest School, a private primary preparatory to school, which named its body of knowledge building the Huizenga Science Chattels.

He was a board colleague of the Laureus Foundation, first-class charity which, according to untruthfulness mission statement, "us[es] the planning of sport to end cruelty, discrimination and disadvantage."^[50] In 2009, his Huizenga Family Foundation commendatory the chapel at the Southernmost Florida Council's Scout camp contain Davie, Florida.^[51]

In the 1980s, be active began acquiring some 2,000 demesne about 30 miles north have West Palm Beach.

In 1996, he based the Floridian Sport & Yacht Club there, forceful exclusive golf club "with too little estate homes on the effects to cover his costs,"^[52] whose course was designed by Metropolis Player,^[53] where he extended sanitary privileges to some two host "friends, relatives, and business associates," including actors Michael Douglas mount Catherine Zeta-Jones and retired Batter Chairman Jack Welch.^[52] He renamed his yacht Floridian, before contracts the Floridian club and land to Texas entrepreneur Jim Elevate in 2010.^[54]

Huizenga died of crab at his home in Abrasion Lauderdale, Florida, on the shades of night of March 22, 2018.^[10][55] Unwind was 80.^[6]

References