Jack C. Taylor

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For other people named Jack Taylor, see Jack Taylor (disambiguation).
Jack Crawford Taylor
Born (1922-04-14) April 14, 1922 (age 102)
St. Louis, Missouri, US
Nationality American
Alma mater Washington University in St. Louis
Occupation Entrepreneur
Net worth Increase US$12.9 billion (June 2015)[1]
Spouse(s) Mary Ann Taylor (divorced)
Children Andrew C. Taylor
Jo Ann Taylor Kindle
Parent(s) Melburne Martling Taylor
Dorothy Crawford
Military career
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1942–1945
Rank Former Lieutenant, USNR
Battles/wars World War II
Awards Distinguished Flying Cross (2)
Air Medal
Presidential Unit Citation

Jack Crawford Taylor (born April 14, 1922[2]) is an American businessman and billionaire who founded the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company.

Early life and education

Taylor is the oldest of two sons born to Melburne Martling Taylor and Dorothy Crawford Taylor.[3] Taylor enrolled in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis in 1940.[4][5] He left school to join the U.S. Navy.[5] During World War II, he piloted an F6F Hellcat fighter from the decks of the USS Essex (CV-9) and the USS Enterprise (CV-6)[4] earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Navy Air Medal.[5]

Career

After the war, he returned to St. Louis and started a delivery service company. In 1948, he took a job at the Lindbergh Cadillac dealership where he eventually became a sales manager.[5] In 1957, he started a car leasing business at the dealership in partnership with his employer which required that he take a 50 percent pay cut and put up $25,000 for a 25% interest in the business.[5] Targeting people whose cars were in the shop, the Executive Leasing Company began operation with a total of eight cars.[5]

In 1969, Jack expanded outside Saint Louis and changed the name of the company to Enterprise (named after the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier upon which he had served in World War II). Unlike his competitors, who focused on business rentals at airports, Taylor concentrated on the hometown market offering home pickup services which led to Enterprise’s “We’ll Pick You Up” slogan.[5] By 1980, the rental fleet had grown to 6,000 cars. In 1989, the fleet had grown to 50,000 and he changed the name of the company to Enterprise Rent-A-Car.[5] By 1992, Enterprise surpassed $1 billion in revenues and by 1995, it reached $2 billion in revenues. In 2007, Enterprise purchased National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car.[5] The current executive chairman is Taylor's son, Andrew C. Taylor.[5]

Taylor's business credo is: “Take care of your customers and employees first, and profits will follow.”[5][6]

Philanthropy

  • $40 million challenge gift to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra[5]
  • $30 million gift to the Missouri Botanical Garden to fund global plant research (largest ever gift given to a U.S. botanical garden)[5]
  • $25 million to establish the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Scholars Program at Washington University in St. Louis to support scholarships for minority and financially disadvantaged students
  • $1 million gift to Ranken Technical College located in St. Louis
  • $22 million in gifts to 10 charitable and educational organizations supporting underserved children in the St. Louis area[7]
  • $92.5 million in donations to 13 cultural institutions and charities, mostly in the St. Louis area [8]

Personal life

Taylor was married to Mary Ann Taylor. They have since divorced.[6] They had two children, Andrew C. Taylor, who is the executive chairman of Enterprise, and Jo Ann Taylor, who runs the Taylor family philanthropic activities.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Forbes: The World's Billionaires - Jack Taylor & Family September 2013
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ St. Louis Beacon: "Paul Taylor: Helped brother build Enterprise Leasing, the nation's largest rental vehicle business" By Gloria S. Ross October 1, 2012
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 My Washington 2003, A Man on a Mission
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 University of Missouri: Missouri History - Jack C. Taylor retrieved March 30, 2013
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 CNN Money: "The big surprise is Enterprise" By Carol J. Loomis July 14, 2006
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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