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Arthur Blank
Chairman, Atlanta Falcons- AMB Group
Arthur Blank's Journey so far ...
- Born in a family of pharmacists, Arthur Blank graduated from the Babson College Business School in Massachusetts in 1963, and soon joined Arthur Young and Company as a senior accountant
- He then joined a home centre chain, Handy Dan, where he rose to the post of Vice-President Finance. In an internal power struggle, he and the CEO of the company, Bernie Marcus, were fired from their jobs
- Based on an idea of discounts, the duo opened their own home-improvement store in Atlanta in 1978; they named the store Home Depot. Within the next ten years, Blank and Marcus opened 100 more stores that generated over $2.5 billion in sales. Handy Dan shut down in 1989
- In the next few decades, Blank expanded Home Depot's businesses in North America and turned the company into the world’s largest home improvement retailer. He retired from the company as co-chairman in 2001
- In the following year, Blank bought the National Football League team Atlanta Falcons for $545 million. Under his AMB Sports + Entertainment business, he currently owns soccer club Atlanta United, US golf retailer PGA TOUR Superstore and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium
- Currently, Blank's family of businesses has a diverse portfolio of sports, entertainment, retail, and hospitality interests which cater to a large set of consumers. He also owns a number of ranches in the US
- In 1995, he founded the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, which focuses on transforming the lives of youth, promotes education, builds parks and greenspaces
- All his businesses follow the six core values articulated by Blank
- In 2012, he signed the Giving Pledge and decided to give more than 50% of his wealth. Through the Blank Foundation, he has already given more than $560 million to various organizations
Before you go ...
- In 2017, he was named by Forbes magazine as one of the World’s 100 Greatest Living Business Minds and as one of America’s Top 50 Givers
- In 2018, he was Sports Business Journal’s Sports Executive of the Year