James Leprino | |
---|---|
Born | 1937or1938(age 85–86) [1] |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Chairman and CEO, Leprino Foods |
Spouse | married |
Children | 2 |
Parent | Mike Leprino Sr. |
James Leprino (born 1937/1938) is an American billionaire, businessman, and chairman of Leprino Foods, the world's largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese. [2] [3] He was listed as the 264th richest person in the US with a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to the 2017 Forbes 400 list. [4] Forbes' Chloe Sorvino nicknamed him the "Willy Wonka of cheese". [1]
James Leprino was born circa 1938. [3] He is the youngest of five children of Mike Leprino Sr., who emigrated from Italy in 1914, aged 16, settled in Denver, and was a farm worker before starting a grocery store in Denver's Little Italy in 1950. [5] [1]
After graduating from high school in 1956, he worked full-time with his father, but due to pressure from large grocery chains, his father's store closed in 1958, so he started Leprino Foods with $615, focusing on making cheese for pizza, sales of which were booming. [1]
Leprino is the chairman and CEO of Leprino Foods, the largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese in the world. In October 2017, his net worth was estimated by Forbes at US$3.1 billion. [3]
He supplies major pizza chains including Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's and Little Caesars, and controls up to 85% of the US pizza cheese market. [1]
In 2022, his two nieces, who hold a 25% stake in Leprino Foods, filed a lawsuit claiming they, as minority shareholders, were disfavored in terms of profitability and global management. [6] The nieces requested Leprino Foods be dissolved and its assets to be distributed among all shareholders. A Colorado judge ruled out dismantlement of the company, but their claims of inequitable treatment could go forward. [7]
Leprino is married with two children. He resides in Indian Hills, Colorado. [3]
From 1990 to 2017, Leprino Foods contributed $1,521,894 to political lobbying, with 75 to 80 percent of Leprino's political contributions going to Republicans." [8]
Mozzarella is a semi-soft non-aged cheese prepared by the pasta filata ('stretched-curd') method with origins from southern Italy.
Pizza is a traditional Italian dish typically consisting of a flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.
Pizza cheese encompasses several varieties and types of cheeses and dairy products that are designed and manufactured for use specifically on pizza. These include processed and modified cheese, such as mozzarella-like processed cheeses and mozzarella variants. The term can also refer to any type of cheese suitable for use on pizza. The most popular cheeses used in the preparation of pizza are mozzarella, provolone, cheddar and Parmesan. Emmental, pecorino romano and ricotta are often used as toppings, and processed pizza cheeses manufactured specifically for pizza are mass-produced. Some mass-produced pizza cheeses are frozen after manufacturing and shipped frozen.
Papa John's International, Inc., d/b/a Papa Johns, is an American pizza restaurant chain. It is the fourth largest pizza delivery restaurant chain in the United States, with headquarters in the Louisville, Kentucky and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan areas.
Provel is a white processed cheese prominent in St. Louis cuisine. A combination of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone, Provel has a low melting point and a gooey texture and buttery flavor.
Stuffed crust pizza is pizza with cheese or other ingredients added into the outer edge of the crust. The stuffed crust pizza was popularized by Pizza Hut, which debuted this style of pizza in 1995.
New York–style pizza is a pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be folded to eat. Traditional toppings are simply tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. This was a popular meal among poor Italians due to the ratio of product from the limited produce.
Jack Cowin is a Canadian-Australian businessman and entrepreneur with a long-term involvement in franchised fast food chains in Australia and Canada. Cowin brought KFC to Australia, founded and owns Hungry Jack's, which is the Burger King franchise in Australia, and has at various stages controlled the Domino's Pizza franchise in Australia prior to its 2005 listing on the ASX.
The history of pizza begins in antiquity, as various ancient cultures produced flatbreads with several toppings.
The cuisine of Michigan is part of the broader regional cuisine of the Midwestern United States. It is reflective of the diverse food history of settlement and immigration in the state, and draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Native North America.
Neapolitan pizza, also known as Naples-style pizza, is a style of pizza made with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. The tomatoes must be either San Marzano tomatoes or pomodorini del Piennolo del Vesuvio, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius. The cheese must be mozzarella di bufala campana, a protected designation of origin cheese made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state, or fior di latte, a cow's milk mozzarella created according to the procedure for which it was registered as a traditional speciality guaranteed (TSG). Pizza napoletana is a TSG product in the European Union and the United Kingdom, and the art of its making is included on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Pizza arrived in the United States in the early 20th century along with waves of Italian immigrants who settled primarily in the larger cities of the Northeast, such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. After American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II, pizza and pizzerias rapidly grew in popularity.
Leprino Foods is an American company with headquarters in Denver, Colorado that produces cheese, lactose, whey protein and sweet whey. It is the world's largest maker of mozzarella cheese.
Seafood pizza is a pizza prepared with seafood as a primary ingredient. Many types of seafood ingredients in fresh, frozen or canned forms may be used on seafood pizza. Some retail pizza chains, as well as smaller restaurants, offer seafood pizzas to consumers.
The presence of pizza restaurant chains has contributed to a significant increase in pizza consumption in Mainland China and Hong Kong. This also had an effect of introducing cheese as a culinary ingredient and everyday food in China, which was relatively uncommon in Chinese cuisine prior to the emergence of pizza chains. Pizza Hut opened its first store in China in 1990, and several pizza restaurant chains exist in China today.
Trenton tomato pie or New Jersey tomato pie is a type of circular, thin-crust Italian tomato pie created in Trenton, New Jersey, United States, around the early 20th century in which cheese and other toppings are added on first, then the sauce.
Andy Fang is an American billionaire tech entrepreneur. He is best known as the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at DoorDash, which he started along with Stanley Tang, Tony Xu and Evan Moore in 2013.
Colorado-style pizza, also called Colorado pizza or Colorado mountain pie, is a style of pizza made with a characteristically thick, braided crust topped with heavy amounts of sauce and cheese. It is traditionally served by the pound, with a side of honey as a condiment.