Brad M. Kelley
Brad M. Kelley (born 1957) served as the CEO of Commonwealth Brands, a tobacco company, from 1991 to 2001.[1][2]
Biography
Brad M. Kelley was born and raised in Franklin, Kentucky.[1] In his youth, he was a secretary for the Future Farmers of America and a member of Who's Who Among American High School Students.[1]
In 1991, he founded Commonwealth Brands, a tobacco company that manufactured discounted cigarettes, headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky.[2] In 2001, he sold it to Houchens Industries for $1 billion.[1]
In 2005, he was ranked as America's 258th richest person by Forbes Magazine, with a personal wealth of $1.3 billion.[1] He owns 71% of the Kentucky Downs racetrack and holds minor stake in Churchill Downs, the venue of Kentucky Derby.[2]
He also owns 1.25 million acres of ranching land across southwestern Texas, Florida, and parts of New Mexico, where he conserves black rhinos, white rhinos, pygmy hippos, okapi, anoas, impalas, white-bearded wildebeests, Nile lechwe, Eastern bongos and Beisa oryx.[1] As of 2011, he is the fourth largest private land owner in the United States. [3]
He lives in the Nashville, Tennessee suburb of Franklin.[4] He is married with three children.[2] He is hardly ever photographed and does not have an e-mail address. [5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Nina Munk, 'Don't Blink. You'll Miss the 258th-Richest American.', in The New York Times, September 25, 2005 [1]
- ^ a b c d Forbes profile
- ^ http://www.landreport.com/americas-100-largest-landowners/
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/news/2012/07/20/franklin-billionaire-brad-kelley-tied.html
- ^ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444799904578050541251702834.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories
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