Paul Fireman
Brookline, Massachusetts
United States
Reebok, Self Made
$1,200,000,000
1941
#1941 Billionaires 2019
#374 Forbes 400 2006
Paul Fireman bought the US distribution rights for a British company in 1979, turned it into Reebok and rode the sneakers & aerobics craze in the 80s.Nike pulled ahead in the early 1990s, and shareholders demanded that Fireman step down in 1996, which he eventually did.Fireman returned in 1999 and revived the business before selling it to Adidas for $3.8 billion in 2005, a deal that earned him $600 million.He now chairs Fireman Capital Partners out of Boston, founded by his son Dan in 2008.Fireman owns Liberty National Golf Course, a $250 million country club built on a New Jersey landfill overlooking the Statue of Liberty.
Liberty National Golf club is one of the most exclusive courses in the world, with members reportedly paying $500,000 to join.Before creating Reebok, Fireman was an officer in an outdoor sports distributorship.
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