John Menard Jr.

John Robert Menard Jr. (born January 22, 1940) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and the founder and owner of Menards, a Midwestern chain of home improvement stores. He is a former INDYCAR racing team owner, and the father of former NASCAR Cup Series driver Paul Menard. He is the 136th-richest person in the world, and the 68th-richest person in the US.

John Menard
Born
John Robert Menard Jr.

(1940-01-22) January 22, 1940
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin, Eau Claire (BA)
Known forFounder of Menards
Net worthUS$15.6 billion (April 2020)[1]
Children3, including Paul

Life and education

The oldest of eight siblings in a Catholic family with German, French-Canadian, and Norwegian roots, Menard attended Eau Claire Regis High School. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire with a degree in business and a minor in psychology.[2] Menard began his career constructing pole buildings with friends from college.[3] He made his home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menard has six children, and married his third wife, Faiha Obaid, in 2008.[4] He is Roman Catholic.[5]

In 1997, Menard was caught using his own pickup truck to haul plastic bags filled with chromium and arsenic-laden wood ash to his home for disposal with his household trash. Menard pleaded no contest to felony and misdemeanor charges involving records violations, unlawful transportation, and improper disposal of hazardous waste. Menard and his company were fined $1.7 million for 21 violations.[4]

In 2013 the IRS ordered Menard to pay $6 million in back taxes after he allegedly mischaracterized $20 million as salary, not dividends, deducting it as a business expense. In a separate case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court forced Menard to pay $1.6 million to a former legal counsel to compensate for gender discrimination and gross underpayment.[6][7]

In April 2020, Menard was among several businessmen named to the economic advisory group established by President Donald Trump.[8]

Menards
Menards store in Lafayette, Indiana

Menard opened his first hardware store in 1964.[9] As of 2014, his company owned 287 Menards stores. As of 2005, Menards grossed an estimated $5.5 billion in sales. Menard had a net worth of $8.6 billion in 2013, according to the Forbes 400, and is the richest person in Wisconsin.[10]

In 2013, Menard ousted a former investment partner, Stephen Hilbert, a 20% shareholder in MH Equity, for mismanaging assets and resources.[11]

Menard has a pronounced hostility towards organized labor. He imposed an absolute ban on hiring anyone who had ever belonged to a union. One employee described having to fire two promising management prospects because they had worked in high school as baggers for a unionized supermarket. Managers at Menards are subject to 60 percent pay cuts if their store becomes unionized. Managers also have to agree to pay fines of $100 per minute for infractions such as opening late and to submit any disputes to management-friendly arbitration rather than legal courts.[4][6]

Motorsports involvement

Paul Menard, John Jr.'s son, raced sixteen years in the NASCAR Cup Series, winning the 2011 Brickyard 400. Menard also owns an engine shop in the United Kingdom that produced engines for Team Menard and Robby Gordon Motorsports, the former of which, owned by Menard, won the 1997 and 1999 Indy Racing League championships.

Menards is a primary sponsor of the Team Penske #12 Ford Mustang with driver Ryan Blaney and of the Wood Brothers Racing #21 Ford Mustang with driver Matt DiBenedetto in the NASCAR Cup Series. In the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Menards sponsors the Joe Gibbs Racing #19 Toyota Supra with driver Brandon Jones and the Team Penske #22 and #12 Ford Mustangs with drivers Austin Cindric and Paul Menard. In the Gander Outdoors Truck Series, Menards sponsors the ThorSport Racing #88 Ford F-150 with driver Matt Crafton. Menards was a former partner of Robby Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Martin Truex Jr. across various series.

Menard also sponsored Frank Kimmel for several years in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. After RE/MAX declined to renew their sponsorship, Menards took over as title sponsor, renaming the series the ARCA Menards Series.

In the NTT IndyCar Series, Menards sponsors the #22 of Team Penske and driver Simon Pagenaud.

Menards-sponsored cars are easily recognizable on track, as they are typically painted with a highlighter yellow livery.

Donations

In January 2008, Menard gave $15 million to support Eau Claire's Luther Midelfort Hospital. The donation will be used for a new emergency services department and to help Mayo Clinic educate and train health professionals.[12] In 2015, Menard donated $10 million to support the Eau Claire Area YMCA. The gift will replace the current five-court LE Phillips Tennis Center that opened in 1972 to become an eight-court indoor tennis center known as the Menard Family YMCA Tennis Center.

A supporter of conservative causes,[13] Menard has donated to the political groups of the Koch brothers.[14]

References
  1. "Forbes profile: John Menard, Jr". Forbes. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  2. "UW-Eau Claire e-View, June 2009". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  3. "History of Menard, Inc. – FundingUniverse". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  4. Mary Van De Kamp Nohl (April 30, 2007). "Big Money". Milwaukee Magazine. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  5. taddlr.com
  6. Mayer, Jane. Dark Money. Anchor Books. p. 381. ISBN 978-0-307-94790-1.
  7. "The Strange Life of John Menard". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  8. "Wisconsin business leader named to White House economic recovery advisory group". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  9. Klein, Kate. "A 360-Degree View of Menards". North American Retail Hardware Association. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  10. "The 400 Richest Americans - Forbes.com". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  11. J. K. Wall (June 15, 2013). "Suit: Menard pressured Tomisue Hilbert for sexual favors". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  12. Eau Claire Leader Telegram, January 23, 2008
  13. Walker, Don (6 September 2011). "Menard, Hendricks on Koch donor list". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  14. Weinger, Mackenzie (6 September 2011). "Report: Koch brothers $1M dollar club revealed". Politico. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
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