Harry Stine
Adel, Iowa
United States
10
agriculture, Self Made
$3,900,000,000
529
2
The Richest Person In Every State 2019
#529 Billionaires 2019
Farm boy turned seed-genetics savant Harry Stine has made a fortune licensing corn and soybean genetics to multinationals like Monsanto and Syngenta.Stine founded and runs Stine Seed; his current obsession is tinkering with seed genetics that allow for better yields or pesticide resistance.The son of a hardscrabble farmer, Stine became fascinated with seeds when he was a boy growing up in Iowa.Stine, who is dyslexic and mildly autistic, is also a math and data wiz and a formidable negotiator.In the 1990s he struck highly lucrative licensing deals with large multinational corporations across the globe, which form the backbone of his empire.He's donated to numerous Iowa institutions, including McPherson College, Drake University and Spurgeon Manor, a skilled nursing facility for seniors.
He owns a small home down the road from the Stine Seeds headquarters in Adel, Iowa, and drives to work in his Ford F-150 pickup truck.He's an avid table tennis player and enjoys hunting morel mushrooms.
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