Thomas Duff (businessman)

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Thomas Milton Duff
Tommy Duff.jpg
Born (1956-12-31) December 31, 1956 (age 68)
Columbia, Mississippi, US
Education University of Southern Mississippi
OccupationBusinessman
TitleCo-owner, Southern Tire Mart and co-founder, Duff Capital Investors
Political party Republican
Children2
Parent(s) Ernest Duff
Relatives James Duff (brother)

Thomas Milton Duff (born December 31, 1956) [1] is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Alongside his brother, James Duff, he co-owns Southern Tire Mart, the largest truck tire dealer and retread manufacturer in the United States, and Duff Capital Investors, the largest privately owned business in Mississippi. With a net worth of $4.1 billion, the Duff brothers are the wealthiest individuals in Mississippi.

Contents

In addition to his business ventures, Duff has been involved in public service, serving on the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees and supporting Republican political campaigns. He is also known for significant philanthropic contributions to Mississippi universities.

Early life

Duff was born on December 31, 1956, and raised in Columbia, Mississippi. [2] [1] His mother is Bobbie Baggett Duff and his father is Ernest Duff, a lawyer and businessman on the side. [3] [4] He has three siblings, James Duff, Stephen Duff, and Jane Duff Thomley. [4]

In 1974, he graduated from Columbia High School. [5] In 1979, Duff graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi. [6] [7]

Career

Ernest Duff, Thomas's father, founded Southern Tire Mart in 1973. Thomas and his brother James both worked there as teenagers and assumed control of the struggling company in 1983, later selling it in 1998 to Tire Distribution Systems. [2] In 2003, they purchased the company back for $15 million and rebranded it as Southern Tire Mart. At the time of the purchase, sales revenue was $90 million. [8] By 2025, Southern Tire Mart's revenues had grown to exceed $4 billion, making it the nation's largest truck tire dealer and retread manufacturer. [2] It remains the largest of the companies under the Duff Capital Investors (DCI) umbrella. [2]

Thomas Duff and his brother James co-founded Duff Capital Investors, a holding company with revenues of $6 billion. [2] DCI is the largest privately owned business in Mississippi, employing over 6,000 Mississippians and an additional 10,000 employees nationwide. [9] Since 2009, the brothers have been the only members of the Forbes 400 list from Mississippi with the exception of 2024, where they were not present. [2] As of 2025, they are ranked 362th in the U.S. and 980th globally. [10] [11] Together, they remain the wealthiest individuals in Mississippi. [12]

Politics

A major contributor to Republican campaigns in Mississippi, [13] Duff has supported Republican figures such as Governor Tate Reeves, to whose campaigns he has contributed regularly since 2011, [13] as well as Jeb Bush in the 2016 presidential primaries, [14] and Donald Trump in the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. [15] [16]

Duff formed a political action committee (PAC) in December 2024 to help elect Republicans in 2025 municipal and special legislative elections. He is considering a run for Mississippi governor in 2027. [17] He attended the Neshoba County Fair, the state's preeminent political gathering, in 2024. [17]

In May 2015, Duff was appointed to an 8-year term by Governor Phil Bryant to the board of trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL). [9] [17] He served as president on the board. [13] His term expired on May 7, 2024. [9] While on the IHL, he delayed the relocation of the Confederate monument on the University of Mississippi's campus, inquiring for more information from the university. [18] [19]

Philanthropy

He and his brother have made contributions totaling around $50 million to the University of Southern Mississippi, the University of Mississippi, and Mississippi State University. [9] [4]

Personal life

He is divorced with two children and lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. [2] He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. [9]

Duff was the subject of a murder plot in 2016 to extort money; 3 individuals were arrested. [20] [21]

References

  1. 1 2 "New Arrivals". The Columbian-Progress . January 3, 1957. p. 2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Forbes profile: Thomas Duff". Forbes . Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  3. ↑ Latino, Russ (January 8, 2025). "Businessman Tommy Duff launches PAC, adding to intrigue over potential bid for Governor". Magnolia Tribune . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Hahn, Tina (May 30, 2018). "Duffs Honor Late Father with Major Gift - University of Mississippi Foundation". The University of Mississippi Foundation. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  5. ↑ The Cohian. Columbia High School. 1974. p. 140.
  6. ↑ Corder, Frank (September 15, 2023). "Magnolia on the Move: September 15, 2023". Magnolia Tribune . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Oak Grove's Thomas Duff elected to Mississippi Power's board of directors". Hattiesburg American . April 21, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  8. ↑ Muslimin, Anis Shakirah Mohd (December 10, 2021). "How Two Brothers Became Billionaires -- And The Richest People In Mississippi". Forbes . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mississippi Public Universities - The Board of Trustees - Tom Duff, Board Member". Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  10. ↑ "The Forbes 400 List 2025 - The Richest People in America Ranked". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-10-10. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  11. ↑ "Forbes 2025 Billionaires List - The Richest People In The World Ranked". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-10-08. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  12. ↑ Grosser, Annika (2024). "The Richest Person In Every State 2024". Forbes . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 Ganucheau, Adam (July 26, 2022). "Gov. Tate Reeves tried to keep USM out of the welfare scandal. He instead made it the focus". Mississippi Today . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  14. ↑ "@JebBush in Mississippi for fundraiser; Insurance Commissioner Chaney leads supporters". Magnolia Tribune . December 7, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  15. ↑ Tindera, Michela (August 8, 2020). "Biden Pulls Away In Race For Billionaire Donors, With 131 To Trump's 99". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
  16. ↑ "Individual contributions from Thomas Duff, Hattiesburg, MS". Federal Election Commission. United States Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  17. 1 2 3 Vance, Taylor (January 7, 2025). "Billionaire Tommy Duff forms Republican PAC as he weighs gubernatorial run". Mississippi Today . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  18. ↑ Fowler, Sarah (January 16, 2020). "Will it move? No decision from IHL on fate of Confederate statue on Ole Miss campus". The Clarion-Ledger . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  19. ↑ Ganucheau, Adam (June 15, 2020). "IHL college board to approve relocating Confederate monument from heart of Ole Miss campus". Mississippi Today . Retrieved January 10, 2025. But the IHL board stalled the relocation plan in January, when board member Tommy Duff said he wanted more information from the university about the move.
  20. ↑ Beveridge, Lici (December 15, 2016). "More charges filed in Tommy Duff murder plot". The Clarion-Ledger . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  21. ↑ Beveridge, Lici (September 26, 2019). "Man guilty of all charges in plot to kidnap, assault Mississippi businessman". The Clarion-Ledger . Retrieved January 10, 2025.
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