William Wrigley, Jr.
North Palm Beach, Florida
Bachelor of Arts/Science, Duke University
United States
Wrigley Management, Inc.
3
chewing gum
$2,900,000,000
804
#804 Billionaires 2019
#280 Forbes 400 2018
In 1999 William "Beau" Wrigley Jr., an heir to the Wrigley's chewing gum fortune, took over the business his great-grandfather started in 1891.Wrigley Jr., who was CEO, expanded the company in 2005 by purchasing Altoids and Life Savers from Kraft Foods for $1.46 billion.In 2008, he sold the Chicago-based firm to candy giant Mars Inc. for $23 billion in cash. Wrigley is CEO of Wrigley Management, a family office, and runs WWJr. Enterprises. He invested in Surterra Wellness, a medical marijuana startup.Wrigley is on the board of the Everglades Foundation, which works to restore and protect the Florida national park's ecosystem.
Wrigley's great grandfather originally sold baking soda. He switched businesses after realizing that the chewing gum he gave away was much more popular. His grandfather P.K. Wrigley owned the Chicago Cubs, but the family had to sell the baseball team in 1981 in order to pay the estate taxes after his death.
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