What was Dave Thomas' net worth?
Dave Thomas was an American fast-food entrepreneur who had a net worth of $250 million at the time of his death. That's the same as around $450 million in today's dollars after adjusting for inflation. Not to be confused with the actor Dave Thomas, Dave Thomas was known for being the founder and CEO of the Wendy's burger empire. At the time of his death in 2002 at the age of 69, Dave directly owned just 2.1% of the company's equity. That stake was worth $100 million at the time of his death. He sold roughly $135 million worth of shares in the year before his death. He also transferred large chunks of his stock to his children and widow before dying. He was survived by four daughters and a son. His son, Kenny, died in 2013. His widow, Lorraine, died in 2019.
Dave famously appeared in many commercials for his company. Between 1989 and 2002, he appeared in over 800 different commercial spots, more than any other company founder in history. Wendy's is actually named after his daughter, Wendy Thomas. Wendy's actual name is Melinda, but she could pronounce her name as a toddler. At first, she called herself "Wenda," then "Wendy."
An adopted child himself, he was the founder of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
Early Life
Rex David Thomas was born on July 2, 1932, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. His mother was a young, unmarried woman whom he never knew. He was adopted when he was six weeks old by Rex and Auleva Thomas. His mother died when he was five, and Thomas ended up moving around the country with his adoptive father in search of work. He also lost two stepmothers by the age of 10. He spent a chunk of his childhood in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with his grandmother. Throughout his adult life, he credited his grandmother with teaching him the importance of service and treating others with respect.
Thomas got his first job at 12 in a fine dining restaurant named Regas Restaurant in Knoxville, Tennessee. When he was 13, he learned that he had been adopted. At 15, he was in Fort Wayne, Indiana and working at the Hobby House Restaurant. When his dad was ready to move again, Thomas decided to stay in Fort Wayne. He dropped out of high school to work full-time at the restaurant. Thomas would eventually go on to receive his GED in 1993, in an effort to not encourage kids to drop out of high school in an attempt to emulate his success.
In 1950, Thomas volunteered to join the Army when the Korean War broke out. With his restaurant experience, he was sent to Germany as a mess sergeant responsible for the daily meals of 2000 soldiers. He eventually rose to the rank of staff sergeant. He was discharged in 1953 and returned to Fort Wayne to return to his job at the Hobby House again.
Kentucky Fried Chicken
In the mid-1950s, Colonel Harland Sanders came to Fort Wayne to sell Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises. Thomas was responsible for convincing the owners of Hobby House to give KFC a go and that family ended up going on to own a bunch of KFC franchises throughout the Midwest.
Thomas worked with Sanders to make Kentucky Fried Chicken more profitable and give it brand recognition. Thomas suggested that Sanders limit the menu items offered and focus on the signature dish. Thomas also was responsible for suggesting Sanders appear in his own commercials. In the mid-1960s, the family that owned the Hobby House brought Thomas back to help them turn around four failing KFC stores in Columbus, Ohio. By 1968, he had turned them around and sold his share in them back to Sanders for more than $1.5 million ($15 million today, adjusted for inflation).
(Photo by Peter Power/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Wendy's
After claiming he couldn't find a good hamburger, Dave Thomas decided to launch his own burger restaurant. He opened the first Wendy's on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. He named the restaurant after his then-eight-year-old daughter, Melinda Lou. She earned the nickname Wendy due to her inability to say her own name at a very young age.
Wendy's started franchising in 1972 with its first franchisee in Indianapolis. That same year, the company started airing its first commercials locally advertising its quality ingredients. By 1978, the chain had 1000 restaurants.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, sales slumped in the competitive fast-food market of that era. This led to the company launching its memorable "Where's the Beef" campaign featuring octogenarian actress Clara Peller. That ad campaign, launched in January 1984, made Wendy's a viral sensation of the time. The campaign was suspended a bit more than a year later when Peller was featured in a spaghetti sauce commercial for Prego saying that she had found the beef.
Thomas resigned from the day-to-day operations of Wendy's in 1982. However, in 1985, after the mishap with their ad campaign, he was convinced to come back and take an active role at Wendy's. Thomas began acting like the brand's PR man, visiting franchises and talking about his life and hardworking, down to earth life. In 1989, he began his long-running role as Wendy's TV spokesman. In 1990, the brand added some humor to Thomas' TV commercials. He became a household name with his relatable, folksy manner and the campaign became more popular and better performing than the infamous "Where's the beef?" campaign. Between 1989 and his death in 2002, Dave appeared in more than 800 commercials for his chain. In 2000 alone, Wendy's spent more than $150 million on advertising.
Thomas' ads were a game changer for Wendy's. He starred in every ad for the company. During the 1990s, a company survey found that 90% of Americans knew who Thomas was. In 2010, Wendy Thomas followed in her father's footsteps and began appearing in ads for the company in a very similar way as her dad.
Philanthropy
Dave's own story of adoption led him to become a well-known advocate for adoption. He founded the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption in 1992. The Foundation is dedicated to finding a loving family for every child in foster care waiting to get adopted. It is the only national nonprofit charity in North America dedicated to finding permanent homes for kids in foster care. Wendy Thomas serves on the foundation's board of trustees. Thomas also was integral in the creation of an employee benefits program for people who adopt. President George Bush named him a national spokesman on adoption issues.
In 1992 Dave and his wife Lorraine donated $500,000 to build a shelter for children in Fort Lauderdale. In 2011 the I. Lorraine Thomas Children's Home in Broward County was named in her honor.
Dave's widow was a prolific donor to philanthropies, especially near her home in Florida. During her life, she donated $3.5 million to the Broward Health Foundation to expand its children's hospital.
Personal Life
Dave Thomas was married to his wife Lorraine for 47 years. The couple had five children. Dave died in January 2002 at the age of 69. Lorraine died in 2019.
Florida Mansion
In the 1970s, Dave and Lorraine completed construction on a 13,446-square-foot oceanfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale. After Lorraine's death, the home was listed for sale for $7.9 million. It sold for $7.3 million.
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