Jack C. Taylor was a young salesperson at a St. Louis Cadillac dealership in 1957 when he ended up being fascinated by the fairly new practice of vehicle leasing. “You’ve been looking for someone to start the leasing business,” he informed his boss. “I ‘d like to do it.”
Acquiring a quarter interest in the venture, Mr. Taylor and an assistant set up a workplace walled off from the dealership’s loud service bays and named it Executive Leasing. It had only seven automobiles, and Mr. Taylor would let the phone ring a couple of extra times so that possible consumers would believe company was brisk.
Quickly, it would be. When Mr. Taylor died on Saturday in St. Louis at 94, he commanded a non-traditional vehicle industry colossus, Enterprise Holdings, a family-owned company that since 2007 has incorporated the Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental brands, along with Enterprise Rent-A-Car and other interests.
Business, determined by its hallmark green and white “e” logo and the slogan “We’ll Pick You Up,” stated it had $19.4 billion in income in 2015 and more than 1.7 million cars, double the size of Hertz or Avis, its significant American competitors. With a retail automotive division, it is likewise the largest buyer and seller of vehicles and trucks worldwide.
Forbes estimated Mr. Taylor’s wealth at $5.3 billion this year. His firm verified his death in a statement.
In addition to his boy and daughter, he is survived by five granddaughters and three great-granddaughters.
Mr. Taylor’s wealth permitted him and his family to hand out numerous millions of dollars, consisting of $50 million to Washington University for scholarships for disadvantaged student and about $40 million to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
