James Leprino
James Leprino | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1937/1938 (age 83–84)[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Chairman and CEO, Leprino Foods |
| Spouse(s) | married |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Mike Leprino Sr. |
James Leprino (born 1937/38) is an American billionaire, businessman, and chairman of the world's largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese, Leprino Foods.[3][2] He was listed as the 265th richest person in the US with a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to the 2017 Forbes 400 list.[4]
Early life[]
James Leprino was born circa 1938.[2] He is the youngest of five children of Mike Leprino Sr., who emigrated from Italy in 1914, aged 16, settled in Denver, and was a farm worker before starting a grocery store in Denver's Little Italy in 1950.[5][1]
Career[]
After graduating from high school in 1956, he worked full-time with his father, but due to pressure from large grocery chains, his father's store closed in 1958, so he started Leprino Foods with $615, focusing on making cheese for pizza, sales of which were booming.[1]
Leprino is the chairman and CEO of Leprino Foods, the largest manufacturer of mozzarella cheese in the world.[2] In October 2017, his net worth was estimated by Forbes at US$3.1 billion.[2]
He supplies major pizza chains including Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's and Little Caesars, and controls up to 85% of the US pizza cheese market.[1]
Personal life[]
Leprino is married with two children.[2] He resides in Indian Hills, Colorado.[2]
Political lobbying and support[]
From 1990 to 2017, Leprino Foods contributed $1,521,894 to political lobbying, with 75 to 80 percent of Leprino's political contributions going to Republicans."[6]
References[]
- ^ a b c d Chloe Sorvino. "This Secretive Billionaire Makes The Cheese For Pizza Hut, Domino's And Papa John's". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
- ^ a b c d e f g "#211 James Leprino". Forbes. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Denver's big cheese".
- ^ "Leprino". Forbes. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ "Knopf: Why does Colorado make it so hard for immigrant to get driverБ─≥s licenses? (column)". SummitDaily.com. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
- ^ Njegomir, Dan (25 May 2017). "Colorado's most reclusive billionaire isn't shy about supporting the GOP". Colorado Politics. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
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- 1930s births
- Living people
- People from Jefferson County, Colorado
- American chief executives
- American billionaires
- American business biography stubs