Donald Friese | |
---|---|
![]() Friese in 2020 | |
Born | 1940 York, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Nationality | USA |
Occupation(s) | CEO of C.R. Laurence Co., Inc. |
Title | Founder and CEO of C.R. Laurence Co., Inc. |
Spouse | Andrea Friese |
Children | 3 |
Website | www |
Donald Friese (born 1940) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chief executive (CEO) and former owner of C.R. Laurence Co., Inc., a glazing supplies company. [1]
Donald Friese was born in 1940 in York, Pennsylvania, the third of 13 siblings. [2] After his high school graduation, he joined the U.S. Army in 1958, trained as a missile mechanic, and was stationed in Taiwan and Okinawa. [2] He served in the army for 3 years before moving to Los Angeles with $125 in his pocket to find a job. [3]
Friese started at C.R. Laurence in Los Angeles, which then had just one location, with an "entry-level job", as its sixth employee. [1] [2] A few years later, Bernie Harris, the owner, sold him a 10% stake, and he gradually acquired more, eventually buying Harris out when he retired. [2] When Harris retired in 1997, Friese bought the 50% he did not already own. He expanded the business by acquiring competitors and launching a manufacturing operation. By 2015, the company manufactured more than 65,000 products for the glass industry. [3] In 2015, Friese sold the company to the Irish conglomerate CRH plc for $1.3 billion cash, retaining most of the real estate and continuing as CEO. [2] It was reported that Friese made $885 million from the sale of the company. [3]
Friese and his wife Andrea live in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. They have three children. [1] [2]
Steven Anthony Ballmer is an American billionaire businessman and investor who served as the chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a co-founder of Ballmer Group, a philanthropic investment company. As of November 2023, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his personal wealth at around $122 billion, making him the sixth-richest person in the world.
David Lawrence Geffen is an American filmmaker, record executive, and entrepreneur. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 1994.
Philip Frederick Anschutz is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, movies, theaters, arenas and music. In 2004, he purchased the parent company of the Journal Newspapers, which under Anschutz's direction became the American conservative editorial newspaper Washington Examiner. Anschutz is the son of Fred and Marian Pfister Anschutz.
Bernard "Bernie" Marcus is an American billionaire businessman. He co-founded The Home Depot, was the company's first CEO, and its first chairman, until retiring in 2002.
David Howard Murdock is an American billionaire businessman, plant-based diet advocate and philanthropist.
Samuel Zell was an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist primarily engaged in real estate investment. Companies founded by or controlled by Zell include Equity Residential, Equity International, EQ Office, Covanta, Tribune Media, and Anixter.
Bradley Wayne Hughes was an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of Public Storage, the largest self-storage company in the U.S. doing business as a real estate investment trust (REIT). At the time of his death, Hughes had an estimated net worth of US$3.3 billion.
Ross B. Levinsohn is an American media executive who has worked in media and technology. He is the CEO of The Arena Group and Sports Illustrated, and has held senior roles at Yahoo, Fox Interactive and Tribune Publishing, including a brief tenure as publisher of the Los Angeles Times until it was sold in 2018. He became the CEO of Sports Illustrated in October 2019, and CEO of The Arena Group in August 2020.
Tom Gores is an American billionaire businessman. He is the founder of Platinum Equity, a private equity firm headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In June 2011, Gores and Platinum Equity became the owners of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons. He became the sole owner in 2015. As of March 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$6.0 billion.
Enos Stanley Kroenke is an American billionaire businessman. He is the owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which is the holding company of Arsenal F.C. of the Premier League and Arsenal W.F.C. of the WSL, the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL, Denver Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League, the Los Angeles Gladiators of the Overwatch League, and the Los Angeles Guerrillas of the Call of Duty League.
Anthony Joseph Pratt, an Australian businessman and billionaire, is the executive chairman of Visy Industries, the world's largest privately owned packaging and paper company. He is the heir of Richard Pratt, who was a manufacturing magnate and president of the Carlton Football Club.
Andrew Hauptman is an American business executive, philanthropist, and civic leader. Hauptman co-founded the investment firm Andell Holdings which he has helmed since its inception in 1998 and has grown into one of the leading family office entities in the nation.
Patrick Soon-Shiong is a South African-American transplant surgeon, billionaire businessman, bioscientist, and media proprietor. He is the inventor of the drug Abraxane, which became known for its efficacy against lung, breast, and pancreatic cancer. Soon-Shiong is the founder of NantWorks, a network of healthcare, biotech, and artificial intelligence startups; an adjunct professor of surgery and executive director of the Wireless Health Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles; and a visiting professor at Imperial College London and Dartmouth College. Soon-Shiong has published more than 100 scientific papers and has more than 230 issued patents worldwide on advancements spanning numerous fields in technology and medicine.
Isaac Larian is an Iranian-born American billionaire businessman, founder and the chief executive officer (CEO) of MGA Entertainment, the world's largest privately owned toy company.
Shahid Rafiq "Shad" Khan is a Pakistani-American billionaire businessman and sports tycoon. He is the owner of Flex-N-Gate, an American supplier of motor vehicle components. Khan is also the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and Fulham F.C. of the Premier League, and co-owner of the American wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), along with his son, Tony Khan.
Charles Francis Dolan is an American billionaire businessman, best known as founder of Cablevision and HBO. Today, Dolan controls Madison Square Garden Sports, MSG Networks, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, Madison Square Garden, Sphere, Radio City Music Hall, BBC America and AMC Networks. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$5.6 billion.
Michael G. Rubin is an American businessman. He is the CEO of Fanatics, the world's leading provider of licensed sports merchandise; and executive chairman of Rue Gilt Groupe, an e-commerce portfolio company, which includes RueLaLa.com, Gilt.com, and ShopPremiumOutlets.com. He previously founded GSI Commerce in 1998, selling it to eBay in 2011 for $2.4 billion.
Joshua Jordan Harris is an American investor, sports team owner, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder of the private equity firm Apollo Global Management and the principal owner and managing partner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, the NHL's New Jersey Devils, and the NFL's Washington Commanders. Harris is also a general partner of the English football club Crystal Palace and holds a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing. He has an estimated net worth of around $8 billion.
Travis Cordell Kalanick is an American businessman best known as the co-founder and former chief executive officer (CEO) of Uber. Previously he worked for Scour, a peer-to-peer file sharing application company, and was the co-founder of Red Swoosh, a peer-to-peer content delivery network that was sold to Akamai Technologies in 2007.
Jeffrey Terry Green is an American billionaire businessman, who co-founded AdECN, a demand-side advertising platform, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2007. Following two years at Microsoft, Green left to co-found buy-side digital advertising platform The Trade Desk, of which he is chairman and CEO.