His parents were teachers – John Menard Sr., a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire math professor his mother, Rosemary, at St. was born in 1940 in Eau Claire, the eldest of eight children. The state’s richest man may well be one of its least known.
Even those who know him well describe him in contradictory terms, as both hero and villain the very model of a successful American entrepreneur both brilliant and charming, yet also a foul-mouthed micromanager and a perfectionist who can be cruelly demanding with employees.Įven those closest to Menard are not sure what drives him. Menard rarely gives interviews and refused to grant one for this article. He’s normally by himself and just moves in and out of the shadows,” says Indianapolis Motor Speedway track historian Donald Davidson. Those who know him say John was probably already on his way back to company headquarters in Eau Claire. When the time came for a Victory Lane family photo celebrating Paul’s first win in 85 Busch starts, however, Paul’s girlfriend, mother and sister were there. This time, Milwaukee Mile communications vice president Jim Tretow had seen John Menard hoot and holler when his son won. Menard, the Eau Clare farm boy, had done it himself.Įmpire building can be an all-consuming task, and John wasn’t always there after his son crossed the finish line.
Kohler had inherited the plumbing empire founded by his grandfather. That’s well ahead of Herbert Kohler, Wisconsin’s second-richest man, whose estimated family wealth is $4.5 billion. On Forbes’list of the world’s billionaires, he ranks 155th. Yet, in his black team jacket and cap, Menard looked more like a guy who shopped Menards than a man who had the highest tax bill of any American in 2002. won the Indy Racing League championship twice. Racing spread the store’s name all the more. Menards’ catchy slogan, “Save Big Money at Menards,” seemed to jingle relentlessly from every radio and TV, worming its way into the heads of shoppers across America’s heartland. He’d also protected it from big-league interlopers Home Depot and Lowe’s, and between 19, his personal net worth grew from $775 million to $5.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine. John Menard had built his regional empire of home improvement stores one two-by-four at a time until it had more than $6.6 billion in annual sales and 37,000 employees.
Tough competition was nothing new for Paul’s dad. By age 8, he’d scored his first competitive win. Paul practically grew up on a racetrack, cutting his teeth on go-kart and ice boat racing. He had owned an Indy-car racing team for 25 years, beginning before Paul was born. Paul’s father John Menard, the richest man in Wisconsin, had long loved racing.
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