David Green (entrepreneur)
| David Green | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 13, 1941 Emporia, Kansas |
| Known for | founder of Hobby Lobby |
| Net worth |
 US$ 5.0 billion(September 2013)[1] |
| Religion | Christian |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Green |
| Children |
Mart Green Steve Green Darsee Lett |
David Green (born November 13, 1941) is an American billionaire and the founder of Hobby Lobby, an American chain of arts and crafts stores.
Hobby Lobby
In 1970 Green took a $600 loan and started a home business called Greco Products in his garage assembling and selling miniature picture frames, capitalizing on a decorating fad of the time.[2] By August 1972 the business had thrived to such an extent that they were able to open their first store which had 300 square feet of retail space.[3] Sons Mart and Steve started work for the company at the young ages of nine and seven, earning seven cents for every frame they glued together.
Religious views
Green is the son of a preacher and comes from a family of preachers.[4] Green claims to have built his business squarely on biblical principles[2] and attributes his success to his faith in God. He has taken a public stance against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because of its inclusion of a provision allowing access to the morning-after pill.[5]
Green takes half of Hobby Lobby's total pretax earnings and commits it directly to a portfolio of evangelical ministries and as of 2012 it has donated an estimated $500 million.[6] This includes a $10.5 million gift to Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in 2004, and $70 million to bail out Oral Roberts University in 2007. He has also put nearly 1.4 billion copies of gospel literature in homes in more than 100 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia.[7]
Green and his wife Barbara have also signed up to The Giving Pledge.[4]
Personal life
Green lives in southwest Oklahoma City with his wife Barbara. One son, Mart Green, is the founder and CEO of Mardel Christian and Educational Supply and of Every Tribe Entertainment while his other son Steve Green is President of Hobby Lobby. His only daughter, Darsee Lett, is Creative Director for the Hobby Lobby stores.[2]
References
- ↑ Forbes: "The World's Billionaires - David Green" September 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Every Day Christian" "Believers in the Business World: The Green Family" by Jason Karpf April 28, 2009
- ↑ Hobby Lobby Corporate history. Hobbylobby.com. Retrieved on 2013-04-09.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Giving Pledge. givingpledge.org. Retrieved on 2013-04-09.
- ↑ Hobby Lobby Plan To Defy Obamacare. Huffingtonpost.com (2012-12-28). Retrieved on 2013-04-09.
- ↑ David Green: The Biblical Billionaire Backing The Evangelical Movement. Forbes.com (2012-09-18). Retrieved on 2013-04-09.
- ↑ David Green. Forbes. Retrieved on 2013-04-09.
External links
- Voices of Oklahoma interview with David Green. First person interview conducted with David Green on October 6, 2009. Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.
- The Official Facebook Page of David Green.
|