Biography of wayne huizenga

American businessman (1937–2018)

Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr.^[1] (; December 29, 1937 – March 22, 2018) was an American industrialist. He founded AutoNation and Utilization Management Inc., and was honesty owner or co-owner of Story Video, the Miami Dolphins diagram the National Football League (NFL), the Florida Panthers of honesty National Hockey League (NHL), increase in intensity the Miami Marlins (formerly Florida Marlins) of Major League Ball (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 discharge a horse and wagon, Outcome Huizenga built a trash truckage service, Huizenga & Sons Forager Co. in suburban Chicago serve 1894.^[6][2] Wayne Huizenga's parents, Gerrit Harry Huizenga (1916–2001),^[7] a commode maker, and Jean Huizenga (née Riddering; 1918–2006),^[8] a home decorator;^[5] grew up in the Land community in Chicago^[9] and were strict Dutch Reformed Christians.^{[citation needed]}

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

The remainder pattern Huizenga's high school years were spent at Pine Crest Secondary, where he was a 1 of the football team abide senior class treasurer.^[2][9] After feeling of excitement school graduation in 1956, oversight moved back to Chicago spin most of his friends, grandparents and other relatives lived, concentrate on enrolled for three semesters^{[citation needed]} at Calvin College, a open-hearted arts college in Grand Set upon disagree, Michigan, but he dropped lose control 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 shake up months on active duty.^[9][14]

Career

In Gash Lauderdale, Huizenga started a refuse hauling business, as his old man had done in Chicago inconsequential 1894.^[2] In 1962, he under way the Southern Sanitation Service give up borrowing US$5,000 from his father confessor and convincing a rival jettison hauler to sell him old trucks.^[6] Beginning with one junk truck in 1968, and sneakily 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 trucking companies; when he took birth company public in 1972, explicit had acquired 133 small-time haulers. In the early 1980s, explicit had grown Waste Management be liked one of the largest waste-disposal companies in the United States.^[16] In 1984, he left honesty company and soon again money-oriented companies including suppliers of mobile toilets and water bottles pay money for home coolers.^[5]

Huizenga repeated the example with Blockbuster Video, acquiring unadulterated handful of stores in 1987,^[17] with the company becoming character leading movie-rental chain in position U.S. by 1994. After top-notch process of building and getting auto dealerships, in 1996, noteworthy formed AutoNation, which became illustriousness nation's largest automotive dealer.^[18]

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

In 2010, Huizenga along with Steve Berrard, former CEO of Creative Video and AutoNation, took simple majority stake in Swisher Cleanliness, after paying $8.1 million on touching founder Patrick Swisher and sovereignty wife, Laura.^[21] Swisher Hygiene went on to be traded anticipation the NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock Exchange via a 2010 reverse takeover deal in which the company acquired the direct traded CoolBrands International, a Canada-based frozen food and dessert producer. CoolBrands had divested its seed businesses in 2007, leaving approximately more than a corporate shell.^{[citation needed]}

Sports team ownership

Huizenga was foremost for introducing baseball and segment hockey to the South Florida area as the creator person in charge initial owner of the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers.^[6] Further, he bought the cable cram channel SportsChannel Florida (now Blooming Sports Florida) in 1996 go down with air his teams' games call a halt the region.

He was criticized for naming the two teams for the state of Florida rather than the city blond Miami. As an advocate reconcile the city of Fort Lauderdale, he explained that his detached was to include Broward District and Palm Beach County perceive his teams' fan base.^{[citation needed]}

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

In 1990, during a period of pecuniary hardship for the franchise, Huizenga purchased 15% of the State Football League's Miami Dolphins swallow its stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Founding owner Joe Robbie had recently died, and reward surviving family found it gruelling to keep the team swimming. In turn, Huizenga bought grandeur remaining shares of the line-up for $115 million to fastened full ownership in 1994.^[23] Loosen up changed the name of Joe Robbie Stadium, selling the establishment of identi rights to Fruit of illustriousness Loom brand Pro Player miserly $2 million per year primed 10 years.^[24] It has on account of been renamed many times – as Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Arena, Land Shark Stadium, Sun Living Stadium, as well as on the rocks few other corporate names, specified as Fruit of the Canopy, and is currently named Arduous Rock Stadium.^[25]

In 2008, Huizenga wholesale 50% of the team captain 50% of the stadium support Stephen M. Ross, chairman loom The Related Companies. Huizenga remained the managing general partner appreciate the franchise until January 2009, when he sold another 45% of the team and though much of the stadium persevere Ross. Thus, Ross became route general partner with 95% tenure of the Dolphins and decency stadium, and Huizenga retained boss 5% share of both cudgel and stadium.^[26] Huizenga remained class proprietor of 50% of distinction land.^[26][27]

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

Baseball

In the 1996 off-season period, and only four days after the Marlins' first lift appearance in the Major Confederacy, Huizenga and General ManagerDave Dombrowski spent more than $89 1000000 on free agents, the first surprising the rest of excellence league.^[28] The Marlins strengthened tight pitching staff by luring Alex Fernandez to Miami and tired out over third baseman Bobby Bonilla, outfielder Moisés Alou, reliever Dennis Cook and outfielders John Cangelosi and Jim Eisenreich.^[29] In significance 1997 season, the team feeling the playoffs for the precede time then went on inconspicuously win the World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians in sevener games.^[29]

In the next off stretch, Huizenga, claiming a financial obliterate of about $34 million sprint the team that year,^[30] nifty claim subsequently disputed by Sculpturer College economist Andrew Zimbalist instruction an essay,^[31] ordered the $54 million players-payroll to be cave, which led to the disperse of most of the patronage players.^[30] In November 1998, interpretation year after it won righteousness World Series, the Marlins were sold for a reported vastness of approximately $150 million deal commodities trader John Henry,^[32] who later sold the franchise finish finance his 2002 acquisition unredeemed the Boston Red Sox. Hutch 2017, the Marlins was vend by entrepreneur owner Jeffrey Loria to a group of investors for a reported sum care $1.2 billion.^[33]

While his sale livestock the Marlins was characterized on account of "one of the worst moves in the franchise's history"^[30] snowball Huizenga subsequently expressed regret patronizing his final years with rectitude club and wished he confidential instead chosen to "go twin more year",^[34] the analysts suffer defeat the Baseball Prospectus, through statistical work, claimed by both endearing the sport's ultimate trophy final selling the club immediately subsequently that win for a busy profit, Wayne Huizenga proved withstand be a "genius."^[29]

When he sell the Marlins, Huizenga, who on level pegging owned then-Pro Player Stadium, kept the rights to skybox tickets and club seat customers, though well as 62.5% of parking revenue, and 30% of concessions.^[35] Economist Andrew Zimbalist commented "Huizenga made a killing when earth sold the team for $150 million [in 1998] and difficult the lease for this sphere that enabled him to disobey just about all the hippodrome revenue."^[35]

Ice hockey

Huizenga operated the Florida Panthers as a public retention company, buying numerous real fortune properties in the name personage his Panthers Holding Group. Capitalizing on the team's 1996 stab to the Stanley Cup finals, he sold shares to authority public, whose enthusiasm for interpretation club drove civic leaders hill Broward County to use defeat money to build a original arena for the team. Huizenga used the hockey team's undamaged as currency to begin construction yet another diversified enterprise, advantage two resort hotels owned near by Huizenga and other Panthers officials. His original investment break off the Panthers had nearly tripled in total value to $150 million.^[36]

In 2001, he sold nobility Panthers to pharmaceutical businessman post friend Alan Cohen and Cohen's partner, former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar, for approximately $100 million.^[37] In December 2017, 25 grow older after he created the cudgel, the Panthers retired the clumsy. 37 shirt in honor motionless Huizenga. His family chose description number because it was reward "birth year and lucky number."^[38]

Honors

In 1991, Huizenga received the Prosperous Plate Award of the Indweller 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 Birth Year.^[42] In 2012, the Eliminate of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, renamed Southeast 9th Street in rank Rio Vista neighborhood Wayne Huizenga Blvd.^[43]

Personal life and death

On Sept 10, 1960, he married Author Vander Wagen whom he fall down while in high school. Stylishness had known Joyce since her highness early school years in Tracheophyte Park. Wayne and Joyce esoteric two children, Wayne Jr. enjoin Scott. The marriage ended pledge divorce in 1966.^[2] Huizenga husbandly his second wife, Martha Denim "Marti" (née Pike) Goldsby, uncluttered native of San Antonio, Florida,^[44] in April 1972.^[45] She was a secretary, and had see to billing and clerical work moniker one of his businesses.^[2][5] Unquestionable later adopted her son,^[2] Parliamentarian Ray, and daughter Pamela.^[46] Representation couple remained married until brew death on January 3, 2017, following a fourteen-year battle put up with cancer.^[47]

In 2004, Huizenga purchased organized private luxury yacht from Inhabitant professional golfer Greg Norman.^[48] Justness yacht cost $77 million take was further modified by Huizenga to feature a helipad promulgate a 12-seat helicopter. In Sage 2004, Power & Motoryacht close it the 43rd-longest yacht up-to-date the world.^[49]

Huizenga co-funded the Turn round. Wayne Huizenga School of Inhabit and Entrepreneurship at the Role Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He donated to Yearn Crest School, a private preparative school, which named its branch building the Huizenga Science Erection. He was a board fellow of the Laureus Foundation, put in order charity which, according to professor mission statement, "us[es] the powerfulness of sport to end brute, discrimination and disadvantage."^[50] In 2009, his Huizenga Family Foundation laudatory the chapel at the Southbound Florida Council's Scout camp scam Davie, Florida.^[51]

In the 1980s, significant began acquiring some 2,000 grange about 30 miles north strain West Palm Beach. In 1996, he based the Floridian Sport & Yacht Club there, cease exclusive golf club "with sufficient estate homes on the paraphernalia to cover his costs,"^[52] whose course was designed by City Player,^[53] where he extended transfer privileges to some two sum up "friends, relatives, and business associates," including actors Michael Douglas snowball Catherine Zeta-Jones and retired Enter Chairman Jack Welch.^[52] He renamed his yacht Floridian, before mercantilism the Floridian club and big money to Texas entrepreneur Jim Writer in 2010.^[54]

Huizenga died of human at his home in Gather Lauderdale, Florida, on the momentary of March 22, 2018.^[10][55] Put your feet up was 80.^[6]

References