H. Wayne Huizenga: Billionaire Entrepreneur
BusinessWeek and Golf Digest called H. Wayne Huizenga the billion-dollar entrepreneur, with his own private golf course, the Floridian. Fortune magazine called him the only person to ever build three Fortune 500 companies and own three professional sports teams. (He has since sold the Florida Marlins.) Success magazine called him the leading American entrepreneur. Nova Southeastern University honors him with its H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As an entrepreneur, Wayne Huizenga is best known for building companies and making deals.
As his first business, Huizenga confounded Waste Management, Inc., acquiring 100 companies in nine months. After leaving Waste Management, he built Blockbuster Entertainment, defining America’s video rental industry, with the policy of not renting or selling pornographic videos, until selling to Viacom for $8.4 billion. Speaking bluntly, as usual, Wayne told shareholders he would leave the company bacuase he cannot tolerate working for anyone else; he leads or leaves. Today he chairs four New York Stock Exchange companies: AutoNation, Inc., America’s leading auto retailer; Extended Stay America; Republic Services; and Boca Resorts, Inc. He owns the Miami Dolphins, the Florida Panthers, and Pro Player Stadium; he is also involved in real estate.
Wayne Huizenga is highly disciplined, hard driving, and hard working; his work day usually begins at 4 a.m. He enjoys giving advice and solving problems. His basic approach to growing a business is to gather his key people and discuss ideas for expansion and possible deals. Wayne presents his ideas to ...