Flush With Cash: A ‘Loner’ Worth $14.2B is Wisconsin’s Richest Person
When you make big money, you make big money, when your name's Menard.
Sorry, couldn't help it. That was the first thing I thought of when I heard that this guy was the richest person in Wisconsin.
John Menard Jr. sounds like a self-made billionaire and the owner/founder of Menard's.
Forbes has Menard Jr. listed as Wisconsin's richest person with a net worth of $14.2 billion.
Menard’s 300 home-improvement stores generate an estimated $10.7 billion in revenue. He started his first construction business in 1958—a full two decades before the first Home Depot opened.
Here are a few things you should know about Wisconsin's richest man.
- Menard Jr. opened his first hardware store in the early 1960s.
- Former INDYCAR racing car team owner.
- Father of NASCAR driver Paul Menard.
- Menard Jr. made a $15M donation to Eau Claire's Luther Midelfort Hospital.
- Menard Jr. is a political supporter of conservative causes, notably donating to the Koch Brothers.
That's about it though regarding Menard Jr. There was a messy lawsuit in the early 2010s you can read about here.
Other than that, I found it interesting Menard Jr. was described as a "loner." You don't become a billionaire simply by doing it on your own, but Menard might be the exception.
Donald Davidson, an Indianapolis Motor Speedway track historian described Menard Jr. to Mary Van De Kamp Nohl with Milwaukeemag.com:
He’s a loner. He’s normally by himself and just moves in and out of the shadows.
At some point, Menard's life will be made into a movie. It just sounds like there's a lot more going on than we know. When that happens, I'll be getting my popcorn ready.