Thomas F. Frist, Jr.

Thomas F. Frist, Jr.
Born Thomas Fearn Frist, Jr.
August 12, 1938[1]
Nashville, Tennessee
Residence Belle Meade, Tennessee
Education Vanderbilt University; Washington University in St. Louis
Occupation Businessman, philanthropist
Net worth Increase US$8.1 billion (March 2015)[2]
Spouse(s) Patricia C. Frist
Children 3
Parent(s) Thomas F. Frist, Sr.
Relatives Bill Frist (brother)

Thomas Fearn Frist, Jr. (born August 12, 1938) is an American heir, businessman and philanthropist.[3][4] He is a co-founder of the Hospital Corporation of America.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Biography

Early life

Thomas F. Frist, Jr. was born to Thomas F. Frist, Sr. in Nashville, Tennessee.[3] He graduated from Vanderbilt University and received an MD from Washington University in St. Louis.[3][4][6][8][9] He worked as a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force.[3][4][5][7]

Hospital Corporation of America

In 1968, he co-founded the Hospital Corporation of America with his father, Thomas F. Frist, Sr., and Jack C. Massey.[3][4][5][7][8][10][11] In 1977, he became President of HCA and, in 1987, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.[5][7] He served as Chairman of the Board in 1994, after the merger with Columbia, and after the merger with HealthTrust Inc. in April 1995, as Vice Chairman.[5][7] He returned as Chairman and CEO of the company in 1997.[5][7] He was Chairman and CEO until January 2001 and Chairman until January 2002.[5][7] In 2006, he took private equity investments in Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Merrill Lynch for $21 billion.[3][12] He holds the record for the biggest leveraged buyout of all time and biggest PE-led IPO of all time.[12] In 2009, he stepped down from the Board of Directors and his son, Billy Frist, joined the Board.[10] Frist was replaced as Chairman by Jack Bovender.[13]

Further corporate roles

From 1984 to 1995, he served on the Board of Directors of IBM.[5] He was the Chair of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce from 1999 to 2000.[5] He is a member of The Business Council.[8] In 2008, he co-founded the China Healthcare Corporation with Charles A. Elcan.[14][15] They have business interests in Cixi City, China.[3] He serves as President of Okeechobee Hospital Inc. and Galen Of Florida Inc.[6]

He is also President of Tomco II LLC, an aircraft company.[16] In 2000, Scott Mercy, Chairman and CEO of LifePoint Hospitals Inc. and Chairman of America Service Group Inc., died in a crash.[16][17][18] Similarly, in 2006, another aircraft belonging to Frist crashed.[16]

Philanthropy

He was inducted into the Healthcare Hall of Fame.[5] He served as Vice President of the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust from 1995 to 1997.[5][8] He is a recipient of the Distinguished Graduates Award of Vanderbilt University.[9] He is Chairman of the Frist Foundation and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.[4][6][19] He is a member of the Nashville Public Library Foundation.[20]

He was a co-founded of the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Society.[8][21] He also served as chair of the board of governors for United Way of America.[21] The Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Jr. Excellence in Volunteer Leadership Award of the United Way was established in 1996.[21] In 2012, he received the United Way Lifetime Achievement Award.[22][23]

A Republican, he has supported George W. Bush and Rick Santorum.[4]

Personal life

His brother is Bill Frist.[4][11][23] He is married, and he has three children.[3][7] His wife, Patricia C. Frist, sits on the Board of Directors of SunTrust Banks.[4][24][25] Their daughter Patricia is married to investor Charles A. Elcan.[15] He lives in an $18-million house in Belle Meade, Tennessee with his wife.[26]

He is the richest person in Nashville, with an estimated wealth of $8.1 billion,[27][7] and the richest person in Tennessee.[28]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Forbes: The World's Billionaires: Thomas Frist, Jr. & family May 2014
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Forbes
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 nndb
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 Hospital Corporation of America press release
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 BusinessWeek biography
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 The Richest Man (or Woman) in Town, BusinessWeek
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Avondale Partners biography
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Vanderbilt Graduates
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Geert De Lombaerde, End of an era at HCA, Nashville Post, October 29, 2008
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gregory Zuckerman, A Windfall for HCA Investors, The Wall Street Journal, March 4, 2011
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 David Benoit, Schulze Looks to Join Kinder, Hefner in Founder Buyouts, The Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2012
  13. ↑ David A. Fox, Bovender to assume chairman's post at HCA from Frist, Nashville Post, July 30, 2001
  14. ↑ E. Thomas Wood China Healthcare gives details of first hospital, Nashville Post, August 24, 2008
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 E. Thomas Wood, Opening the floodgates?, Nashville Post, July 27, 2008
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Aircraft owned by Tommy Frist in fatal crash, Nashville Post, July 20, 2006
  17. ↑ David A. Fox, Mercy had problems with fuel switch prior to fatal flight, Nashville Post, October 17, 2001
  18. ↑ David A. Fox, Health-care exec Scott Mercy dies in plane crash, Nashville Post, May 31, 2000
  19. ↑ Frist Foundation, About Us
  20. ↑ Nashville Public Library Foundation
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 United Way of America
  22. ↑ United Way Lifetime Achievement Award Presented to Dr Thomas F. Frist, Jr., United Way, May 03, 2012
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Frist Gets United Way Lifetime Achievement Award, NewsChannel 5, May 03, 2012
  24. ↑ SunTrust Banks Board of Directors
  25. ↑ Patricia C. Frist nndb
  26. ↑ Molly Cate, The House that Frist Built, Nashville Post, July 1, 2002
  27. ↑
  28. ↑ CNBC