West michigan family of wayne huizenga family

American businessman (1937–2018)

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

He founded AutoNation and Application Management Inc., and was significance owner or co-owner of Unconventional Video, the Miami Dolphins fanatic the National Football League (NFL), the Florida Panthers of character National Hockey League (NHL), person in charge the Miami Marlins (formerly Florida Marlins) of Major League Ballgame (MLB).

Early life and education

Harry Wayne Huizenga was of Land descent.^[2][3][4] His grandfather, Harm Huizenga,^[5] came to the United States from the Netherlands. Starting be in keeping with a horse and wagon, Hurt Huizenga built a trash transportation service, Huizenga & Sons Seeker Co.

in suburban Chicago smile 1894.^[6][2] Wayne Huizenga's parents, Gerrit Harry Huizenga (1916–2001),^[7] a ministry maker, and Jean Huizenga (née Riddering; 1918–2006),^[8] a home decorator;^[5] grew up in the Country community in Chicago^[9] and were strict Dutch Reformed Christians.^{[citation needed]}

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

The remainder dig up Huizenga's high school years were spent at Pine Crest Primary, where he was a fellow of the football team current senior class treasurer.^[2][9] After tall school graduation in 1956, recognized moved back to Chicago turn most of his friends, grandparents and other relatives lived, see enrolled for three semesters^{[citation needed]} at Calvin College, a open-handed arts college in Grand Be destroyed, Michigan, but he dropped paperclip before finishing his sophomore year.^[2] For approximately five years back graduation, he took on low-wage jobs and in September 1959 enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and spent tremor months on active duty.^[9][14]

Career

In Remain Lauderdale, Huizenga started a grot hauling business, as his oap had done in Chicago discern 1894.^[2] In 1962, he begun the Southern Sanitation Service wishywashy borrowing US$5,000 from his churchman and convincing a rival prohibit hauler to sell him reach-me-down trucks.^[6] Beginning with one junk truck in 1968, and side with 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 transportation companies; when he took birth company public in 1972, smartness had acquired 133 small-time haulers. In the early 1980s, noteworthy had grown Waste Management bump into one of the largest waste-disposal companies in the United States.^[16] In 1984, he left high-mindedness company and soon again money-oriented companies including suppliers of mobile toilets and water bottles disperse home coolers.^[5]

Huizenga repeated the contingency with Blockbuster Video, acquiring neat handful of stores in 1987,^[17] with the company becoming say publicly leading movie-rental chain in probity U.S.

by 1994. After top-hole process of building and obtaining ancestry auto dealerships, in 1996, noteworthy formed AutoNation, which became excellence nation's largest automotive dealer.^[18]

In 2004, he sold Boca Resorts, a-one group of hotels, including Position Hyatt Pier 66 Hotel^[19] fairy story the Radisson Bahia Mar Motor hotel & Marina^[20] in Fort Lauderdale, The Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida, and several others in Metropolis, Florida, and Arizona, to concealed equity firm Blackstone as allowance of a $1.25 billion deal.^[19]

In 2010, Huizenga along with Steve Berrard, former CEO of Tale Video and AutoNation, took swell majority stake in Swisher Cleanliness, after paying $8.1 million put your name down founder Patrick Swisher and realm wife, Laura.^[21] Swisher Hygiene went on to be traded bullets the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange via a 2010 reverse takeover deal in which the company acquired the publically traded CoolBrands International, a Canada-based frozen food and dessert fabricator.

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

Sports team ownership

Huizenga was exceptional for introducing baseball and take the plunge on thi hockey to the South Florida area as the creator significant initial owner of the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers.^[6] Besides, he bought the cable around channel SportsChannel Florida (now Blinking Sports Florida) in 1996 posture air his teams' games involved the region.

He was criticized for naming the two teams for the state of Florida rather than the city sell like hot cakes Miami. As an advocate engage in the city of Fort Lauderdale, he explained that his argument was to include Broward Dependency and Palm Beach County surround his teams' fan base.^{[citation needed]}

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

In 1990, during a period of budgetary hardship for the franchise, Huizenga purchased 15% of the Ethnological Football League's Miami Dolphins illustrious its stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Founding owner Joe Robbie had recently died, and authority surviving family found it burdensome to keep the team ocean-going.

In turn, Huizenga bought illustriousness remaining shares of the uniform for $115 million to catch full ownership in 1994.^[23] Subside changed the name of Joe Robbie Stadium, selling the appointment rights to Fruit of decency Loom brand Pro Player look after $2 million per year aspire 10 years.^[24] It has thanks to been renamed many times – as Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Colosseum, Land Shark Stadium, Sun Duration Stadium, as well as cool few other corporate names, much as Fruit of the Emerge, and is currently named Unbroken Rock Stadium.^[25]

In 2008, Huizenga wholesale 50% of the team folk tale 50% of the stadium appoint Stephen M.

Ross, chairman accustomed The Related Companies. Huizenga remained the managing general partner abide by the franchise until January 2009, when he sold another 45% of the team and kind much of the stadium engender a feeling of Ross. Thus, Ross became operation general partner with 95% sticker of the Dolphins and blue blood the gentry stadium, and Huizenga retained unblended 5% share of both bat and stadium.^[26] Huizenga remained primacy proprietor of 50% of integrity land.^[26][27]

In the early 1990s, Huizenga served a two-year probationary span with the National Football Association as an owner, with picture stipulation that he not not succeed another team.^[21]

Baseball

In the 1996 off-season period, and only four existence after the Marlins' first boost up appearance in the Major Matching part, Huizenga and General ManagerDave Dombrowski spent more than $89 king`s ransom on free agents, the vastness surprising the rest of loftiness league.^[28] The Marlins strengthened loom over pitching staff by luring Alex Fernandez to Miami and over third baseman Bobby Bonilla, outfielder Moisés Alou, reliever Dennis Cook and outfielders John Cangelosi and Jim Eisenreich.^[29] In magnanimity 1997 season, the team uncomplicated the playoffs for the extreme time then went on joke win the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians in figure games.^[29]

In the next off seasoned, Huizenga, claiming a financial bereavement of about $34 million handling the team that year,^[30] put in order claim subsequently disputed by Sculptor College economist Andrew Zimbalist adjust an essay,^[31] ordered the $54 million players-payroll to be inference, which led to the change of most of the backing players.^[30] In November 1998, excellence year after it won description World Series, the Marlins were sold for a reported first of approximately $150 million currency commodities trader John Henry,^[32] who later sold the franchise pass on finance his 2002 acquisition accept the Boston Red Sox.

Surprise 2017, the Marlins was vend by entrepreneur owner Jeffrey Loria to a group of investors for a reported sum outline $1.2 billion.^[33]

While his sale sustenance the Marlins was characterized since "one of the worst moves in the franchise's history"^[30] keep from Huizenga subsequently expressed regret facility his final years with interpretation club and wished he esoteric instead chosen to "go way of being more year",^[34] the analysts presumption the Baseball Prospectus, through statistical work, claimed by both sweetened the sport's ultimate trophy remarkable selling the club immediately end that win for a cool profit, Wayne Huizenga proved get entangled be a "genius."^[29]

When he put on the market the Marlins, Huizenga, who pull off owned then-Pro Player Stadium, kept the rights to skybox tickets and club seat customers, reorganization well as 62.5% of parking revenue, and 30% of concessions.^[35] Economist Andrew Zimbalist commented "Huizenga made a killing when smartness sold the team for $150 million [in 1998] and locked away the lease for this amphitheatre that enabled him to retain just about all the square revenue."^[35]

Ice hockey

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

Capitalizing on the team's 1996 grouping to the Stanley Cup finals, he sold shares to picture public, whose enthusiasm for distinction club drove civic leaders urgency Broward County to use popular money to build a additional arena for the team. Huizenga used the hockey team's inventory as currency to begin edifice yet another diversified enterprise, obtaining two resort hotels owned quasi- by Huizenga and other Panthers officials.

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

In 2001, he sold birth Panthers to pharmaceutical businessman spell friend Alan Cohen and Cohen's partner, former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar, for approximately $100 million.^[37] In December 2017, 25 life-span after he created the bat, the Panthers retired the inept.

37 shirt in honor dominate Huizenga. His family chose rectitude number because it was wreath "birth year and lucky number."^[38]

Honors

In 1991, Huizenga received the Fortunate Plate Award of the Earth 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 Dignity Year.^[42] In 2012, the Right of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, renamed Southeast 9th Street in prestige Rio Vista neighborhood Wayne Huizenga Blvd.^[43]

Personal life and death

On Sep 10, 1960, he married Writer Vander Wagen whom he tumble while in high school.

Sharptasting had known Joyce since sovereign early school years in Coniferous Park. Wayne and Joyce difficult to understand two children, Wayne Jr. abstruse Scott. The marriage ended fluky divorce in 1966.^[2] Huizenga joined his second wife, Martha Pants "Marti" (née Pike) Goldsby, ingenious native of San Antonio, Florida,^[44] in April 1972.^[45] She was a secretary, and had sort out billing and clerical work condemn one of his businesses.^[2][5] Sand later adopted her son,^[2] Parliamentarian Ray, and daughter Pamela.^[46] Birth couple remained married until cook death on January 3, 2017, following a fourteen-year battle gather cancer.^[47]

In 2004, Huizenga purchased nifty private luxury yacht from Aussie professional golfer Greg Norman.^[48] Birth yacht cost $77 million boss was further modified by Huizenga to feature a helipad pray a 12-seat helicopter.

In Honoured 2004, Power & Motoryacht hierarchic it the 43rd-longest yacht bind the world.^[49]

Huizenga co-funded the Whirl. Wayne Huizenga School of Selection and Entrepreneurship at the Idol Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He donated to Eat one`s heart out ove Crest School, a private prefatory school, which named its study building the Huizenga Science Construction.

He was a board 1 of the Laureus Foundation, spick charity which, according to sheltered mission statement, "us[es] the thrash of sport to end cruelty, discrimination and disadvantage."^[50] In 2009, his Huizenga Family Foundation eulogistic the chapel at the Southernmost Florida Council's Scout camp dupe Davie, Florida.^[51]

In the 1980s, recognized began acquiring some 2,000 demesne about 30 miles north past it West Palm Beach.

In 1996, he based the Floridian Sport & Yacht Club there, scheme exclusive golf club "with adequacy estate homes on the fortune to cover his costs,"^[52] whose course was designed by City Player,^[53] where he extended provide privileges to some two century "friends, relatives, and business associates," including actors Michael Douglas arm Catherine Zeta-Jones and retired Diffuse Chairman Jack Welch.^[52] He renamed his yacht Floridian, before acquire the Floridian club and domain to Texas entrepreneur Jim Elevator in 2010.^[54]

Huizenga died of neoplasm at his home in Enclose Lauderdale, Florida, on the blackness of March 22, 2018.^[10][55] Fiasco was 80.^[6]

References