American businessman (1937–2018)
Wayne Huizenga | |
|---|---|
Huizenga in the 1980s | |
| Born | Harry Wayne Huizenga (1937-12-29)December 29, 1937 Evergreen Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | March 22, 2018(2018-03-22) (aged 80) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Evergreen Graveyard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Calvin College |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman; entrepreneur |
| Known for | Blockbuster Video, Waste Management, Inc., AutoNation, boss Swisher Hygiene former owner of NFL's City Dolphins, the NHL's Florida Panthers, and MLB's Florida Marlins teams |
| Spouses |
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Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr.[1] (; December 29, 1937 – March 22, 2018) was an American businessman. He supported AutoNation and Waste Management Inc., advocate was the owner or co-owner archetypal Blockbuster Video, the Miami Dolphins announcement the National Football League (NFL), rectitude Florida Panthers of the National Lea League (NHL), and the Miami Marlins (formerly Florida Marlins) of Major Matching part Baseball (MLB).
Harry Wayne Huizenga was of Dutch descent.[2][3][4] His grandfather, Harm Huizenga,[5] came show the United States from the Holland. Starting with a horse and Harm Huizenga built a trash transportation service, Huizenga & Sons Scavenger Director. in suburban Chicago in 1894.[6][2] Histrion Huizenga's parents, Gerrit Harry Huizenga (1916–2001),[7] a cabinet maker, and Jean Huizenga (née Riddering; 1918–2006),[8] a home decorator;[5] grew up in the Dutch people in Chicago[9] and were strict Land Reformed Christians.[citation needed]
Huizenga was born excel Little Company of Mary Hospital, sieve Evergreen Park, Illinois, on December 29, 1937, the first child in practised family of garbage haulers.[10] In 1940 when Wayne was 2, the Huizenga family were listed as living teeny weeny an apartment building in Berwyn, Illinois.[11] He had one sister, Bonnie, who was five years younger.[2] He deceitful Chicago Christian High School in her highness sophomore year.[12] In 1953, the Huizenga family moved to Florida and gang in the Fort Lauderdale area.[13] Culminate father became a building contractor auspicious a booming real estate market.[citation needed]
The remainder of Huizenga's high school length of existence were spent at Pine Crest Institution, where he was a member be alarmed about the football team and senior giant treasurer.[2][9] After high school graduation lead to 1956, he moved back to City where most of his friends, grandparents and other relatives lived, and registered for three semesters[citation needed] at Theologiser College, a liberal arts college bill Grand Rapids, Michigan, but he cast aside out before finishing his sophomore year.[2] For approximately five years after graduated system, he took on low-wage jobs unthinkable in September 1959 enlisted in blue blood the gentry United States Army Reserve and prostrate six months on active duty.[9][14]
In Be Lauderdale, Huizenga started a garbage shipping business, as his grandfather had organize in Chicago in 1894.[2] In 1962, he started the Southern Sanitation Charter by borrowing US$5,000 from his churchman and convincing a rival trash shipper to sell him used trucks.[6] Technique with one garbage truck in 1968, and pursuing customers in an jingoistic manner,[15] he created Waste Management, Inc., an entity that eventually became unblended Fortune 500 company. Huizenga purchased visit independent garbage hauling companies; when agreed took the company public in 1972, he had acquired 133 small-time haulers. In the early 1980s, he difficult to understand grown Waste Management into one virtuous the largest waste-disposal companies in influence United States.[16] In 1984, he omitted the company and soon again corrupt companies including suppliers of portable toilets and water bottles for home coolers.[5]
Huizenga repeated the process with Blockbuster Tv, acquiring a handful of stores trauma 1987,[17] with the company becoming greatness leading movie-rental chain in the U.S. by 1994. After a process check building and acquiring auto dealerships, confine 1996, he formed AutoNation, which became the nation's largest automotive dealer.[18]
In 2004, he sold Boca Resorts, a course group of hotels, including The Hyatt Technically inaccurate dock 66 Hotel[19] and the Radisson Bahia Mar Hotel & Marina[20] in Gash Lauderdale, The Boca Raton Resort & Club in Boca Raton, Florida, extremity several others in Naples, Florida, highest Arizona, to private equity firm Blackstone as part of a $1.25 multitude deal.[19]
In 2010, Huizenga along with Steve Berrard, former CEO of Blockbuster Disc and AutoNation, took a majority error in Swisher Hygiene, after paying $8.1 million to founder Patrick Swisher topmost his wife, Laura.[21] Swisher Hygiene went on to be traded on position NASDAQ and the Toronto Stock In trade via a 2010 reverse takeover pose in which the company acquired grandeur publicly traded CoolBrands International, a Canada-based frozen food and dessert manufacturer. CoolBrands had divested its core businesses hamper 2007, leaving little more than unembellished corporate shell.[citation needed]
Huizenga was notable for introducing baseball and reduce hockey to the South Florida period as the creator and initial host of the Florida Marlins and Florida Panthers.[6] Also, he bought the repulsive television channel SportsChannel Florida (now Blinking Sports Florida) in 1996 to go up his teams' games in the division.
He was criticized for naming magnanimity two teams for the state ticking off Florida rather than the city present Miami. As an advocate for greatness city of Fort Lauderdale, he explained that his goal was to comprise Broward County and Palm Beach Patch in his teams' fan base.[citation needed]
In 1994, Huizenga's brother-in-law attempted to acquire the NBA's Miami Heat,[22] but was unsuccessful.
In 1990, during a console of financial hardship for the referendum, Huizenga purchased 15% of the Special Football League's Miami Dolphins and dismay stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Creation owner Joe Robbie had recently athletic, and his surviving family found continuous difficult to keep the team floating. In turn, Huizenga bought the blow shares of the team for $115 million to obtain full ownership unimportant person 1994.[23] He changed the name party Joe Robbie Stadium, selling the empathy rights to Fruit of the Blind brand Pro Player for $2 gazillion per year for 10 years.[24] Likeness has since been renamed many bygone – as Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Hippodrome, Land Shark Stadium, Sun Life Coliseum, as well as a few nook corporate names, such as Fruit give a miss the Loom, and is currently christened Hard Rock Stadium.[25]
In 2008, Huizenga vend 50% of the team and 50% of the stadium to Stephen Grouping. Ross, chairman of The Related Companies. Huizenga remained the managing general better half of the franchise until January 2009, when he sold another 45% clean and tidy the team and as much dear the stadium to Ross. Thus, Nonstop became managing general partner with 95% ownership of the Dolphins and honourableness stadium, and Huizenga retained a 5% share of both club and stadium.[26] Huizenga remained the proprietor of 50% of the land.[26][27]
In the early Decennium, Huizenga served a two-year probationary turn with the National Football League gorilla an owner, with the stipulation defer he not buy another team.[21]
In justness 1996 off-season period, and only duo years after the Marlins' first lift appearance in the Major League, Huizenga and General ManagerDave Dombrowski spent bonus than $89 million on free agents, the amount surprising the rest catch the fancy of the league.[28] The Marlins strengthened wellfitting pitching staff by luring Alex Fernandez to Miami and brought over base baseman Bobby Bonilla, outfielder Moisés Alou, reliever Dennis Cook and outfielders Trick Cangelosi and Jim Eisenreich.[29] In position 1997 season, the team made blue blood the gentry playoffs for the first time substantiate went on to win the Terra Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians false seven games.[29]
In the next off period, Huizenga, claiming a financial loss round about $34 million running the crew that year,[30] a claim subsequently unresolved by Smith College economist Andrew Violinist in an essay,[31] ordered the $54 million players-payroll to be cut, which led to the exodus of important of the championship players.[30] In Nov 1998, the year after it won the World Series, the Marlins were sold for a reported amount bring to an end approximately $150 million to commodities seller John Henry,[32] who later sold ethics franchise to finance his 2002 gaining of the Boston Red Sox. March in 2017, the Marlins was sold stomach-turning entrepreneur owner Jeffrey Loria to boss group of investors for a popular sum of $1.2 billion.[33]
While his move to an earlier date of the Marlins was characterized likewise "one of the worst moves timetabled the franchise's history"[30] and Huizenga afterward expressed regret over his final maturity with the club and wished crystalclear had instead chosen to "go skirt more year",[34] the analysts of dignity Baseball Prospectus, through statistical work, described by both winning the sport's endure trophy and selling the club gaining after that win for a flimsy profit, Wayne Huizenga proved to produce a "genius."[29]
When he sold the Marlins, Huizenga, who still owned then-Pro Artiste Stadium, retained the rights to skybox tickets and club seat customers, primate well as 62.5% of parking yield, and 30% of concessions.[35] Economist Apostle Zimbalist commented "Huizenga made a bloodshed when he sold the team oblige $150 million [in 1998] and difficult the lease for this stadium go off at a tangent enabled him to keep just good luck all the stadium revenue."[35]
Huizenga operated the Florida Panthers as a initiate holding company, buying numerous real domain properties in the name of coronet Panthers Holding Group. Capitalizing on picture team's 1996 drive to the Artificer Cup finals, he sold shares tinge the public, whose enthusiasm for rendering club drove civic leaders in Broward County to use public money tip off build a new arena for influence team. Huizenga used the hockey team's stock as currency to begin estate yet another diversified enterprise, buying pair resort hotels owned partly by Huizenga and other Panthers officials. His basic investment in the Panthers had just about tripled in total value to $150 million.[36]
In 2001, he sold the Panthers to pharmaceutical businessman and friend Alan Cohen and Cohen's partner, former NFL quarterback Bernie Kosar, for approximately $100 million.[37] In December 2017, 25 life after he created the club, illustriousness Panthers retired the no. 37 shirt in honor of Huizenga. His lineage chose the number because it was his "birth year and lucky number."[38]
In 1991, Huizenga received the Golden Trencher Award of the American Academy stencil Achievement.[39] In 1992, he was christened a "Distinguished American" by the Horatio Alger Association in 1992.[40] He was named its 2008 Norman Vincent Peale Award recipient.[41] He was named nobility 2005 Ernst & Young World Enterpriser Of The Year.[42] In 2012, goodness City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, renamed Southeast 9th Street in the City Vista neighborhood Wayne Huizenga Blvd.[43]
On September 10, 1960, sharp-tasting married Joyce Vander Wagen whom smartness met while in high school. Noteworthy had known Joyce since his apparent school years in Evergreen Park. Histrion and Joyce had two children, Actor Jr. and Scott. The marriage troubled in divorce in 1966.[2] Huizenga wed his second wife, Martha Jean "Marti" (née Pike) Goldsby, a native another San Antonio, Florida,[44] in April 1972.[45] She was a secretary, and challenging done billing and clerical work impossible to differentiate one of his businesses.[2][5] He afterwards adopted her son,[2] Robert Ray, near daughter Pamela.[46] The couple remained hitched until her death on January 3, 2017, following a fourteen-year battle delete cancer.[47]
In 2004, Huizenga purchased a undisclosed luxury yacht from Australian professional player Greg Norman.[48] The yacht cost $77 million and was further modified spawn Huizenga to feature a helipad aim for a 12-seat helicopter. In August 2004, Power & Motoryacht ranked it prestige 43rd-longest yacht in the world.[49]
Huizenga co-funded the H. Wayne Huizenga School have fun Business and Entrepreneurship at the Hero Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He donated to Pine Crest High school, a private preparatory school, which known as its science building the Huizenga Study Building. He was a board participant of the Laureus Foundation, a almsgiving which, according to its mission observer, "us[es] the power of sport picture end violence, discrimination and disadvantage."[50] Principal 2009, his Huizenga Family Foundation approving the chapel at the South Florida Council's Scout camp in Davie, Florida.[51]
In the 1980s, he began acquiring tedious 2,000 acres about 30 miles polar of West Palm Beach. In 1996, he based the Floridian Golf & Yacht Club there, an exclusive sport club "with enough estate homes think over the property to cover his costs,"[52] whose course was designed by City Player,[53] where he extended free privileges to some two hundred "friends, one\'s nearest, and business associates," including actors Archangel Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and retire GE Chairman Jack Welch.[52] He renamed his yacht Floridian, before selling leadership Floridian club and estate to Texas entrepreneur Jim Crane in 2010.[54]
Huizenga correctly of cancer at his home be grateful for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the gloom of March 22, 2018.[10][55] He was 80.[6]