JR Simplot Net Worth
JR Simplot Net Worth: JR Simplot is an American potato grower and billionaire with a net worth of $3.7 billion. JR Simplot founded the JR Simplot Company, an agricultural supply company focused on potato production. John Richard Simplot (January 4, 1909 – May 25, 2008), born in Dubuque, Iowa, was the man who developed the first frozen French fries. His life was an American dream come true, and he went from a 14-year-old dropout with just $80 in his pocket to a tycoon who was worth more than $3 billion when he died. Although he grew up in a log cabin, he eventually made his fortune growing potatoes and built the world’s largest potato dehydration plant. During World War II, Simplot served U.S. soldiers with dehydrated vegetables and then went on to help the rise of the McDonald’s empire as their main supplier of French fries. Over the years, he has further expanded his growing business to include cattle raising, fertilizers, oil, cattle feed, seeds and ski resorts, as well as potato farming. At the time of his death at 99, JR Simplot was named America’s oldest billionaire.
An elementary school dropout who left home to strike alone at age 14, Simplo went from a teenager with just $80 in his pocket to a tycoon with a fortune of more than $3 billion at the time of his death. In 1929, at the age of 20, Simplot founded a small company called JR Simplot, which later grew into a global potato dehydration plant. A major expansion of the business occurred during World War II, when Simplot supplied dehydrated vegetables to American soldiers. After the company legally registered as JR Simplot Corporation in 1955, it went on to become a major supplier of McDonald’s fries, turning itself into an empire and further expanding into other areas including cattle farming, fertilizers, oil, cattle feed, Seeds and ski resorts. JR Simplot passed away as a self-made billionaire at the age of 99, leaving behind a remarkable life story that undeniably proves the existence of the American Dream.
