H. Wayne Huizenga Net Worth: What Was The Reason Behind His Death?

H. Wayne Huizenga Net Worth: People are looking for H. Wayne Huizenga Net Worth. When he passed away in 2018, H. Wayne Huizenga, an American businessman, entrepreneur, and owner of a professional sports franchise, had a net worth of $2.8 billion. H. Wayne Huizenga was a unique businessman who founded not one, not two, but THREE firms that went on to become Fortune 500 companies and made billions of dollars doing so.

He built Waste Management, Inc. from a single trash truck in 1968 into a Fortune 500 firm. By the time he went public with the business in 1972, he had finished buying up 133 small-time garbage businesses. Waste Management was the biggest waste removal business in the country by 1983. Huizenga had similar success with Blockbuster Video, expanding it from a small number of locations in 1987 to become the largest network of movie rental outlets in the US by 1994.

He also started and purchased a number of auto dealerships along the road. He founded AutoNation in 1996, and it has since grown to become the biggest automotive dealer in the country and a Fortune 500 corporation. So, what is H. Wayne Huizenga Net Worth?

H. Wayne Huizenga Net Worth

H. Wayne Huizenga Net Worth was $2.8 Billion when he died. The Miami Dolphins of the NFL, the Florida Panthers of the NHL, and the Miami Marlins of the MLB were all professional sports franchises that were formerly owned by Wayne Huizenga. H On March 23, 2018, Wayne Huizenga passed away at the age of 80.

H. Wayne Huizenga Early Life

In Evergreen Park, Illinois, on December 29, 1937, Harry Wayne Huizenga was born. His great-grandfather emigrated to America from the Netherlands. His mother Jean worked as a home decorator, while his father Gerrit was a cabinet builder. His family was a devout Dutch Reformed Christian, and he was raised in a Dutch neighborhood in Chicago. While attending Chicago Christian High School up to his sophomore year before the family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he grew up with his younger sister, Bonnie.

Later, he went to Pine Crest School, where he played football and was the class treasurer for the senior class. After receiving his diploma in 1956, he relocated back to Chicago and enrolled at Calvin College. He made the decision to leave school after three semesters and spent the following several years doing a variety of low-paying jobs.

Waste Control By H. Wayne Huizenga

In 1962, Huizenga relocated back to Fort Lauderdale and established the Southern Sanitation Service, a rubbish collection company. Huizenga built the company into a huge success over the following ten years, finally renaming it Waste Management Inc. By acquiring other smaller trash haulers, he expanded the business. He had developed Waste Management into one of the biggest waste-disposal businesses in the country by the 1980s. In 1984, he quit working there.

Blockbuster And AutoNation Bought By H. Wayne Huizenga

H. Wayne Huizenga would repeatedly purchase and expand businesses throughout the following decades. He bought a number of Blockbuster Video locations in 1987. The business rose to prominence as the largest chain of movie rental stores in the US in less than ten years. In a similar vein, he started buying car dealerships and incorporated them into the business AutoNation in 1996. The business rose to become the biggest car dealer in the country.

Sports And Hotels Of H. Wayne Huizenga

He also got into the hotel and resort industry. He was the owner of several hotel chains by the 2000s. In 2004, he sold the private equity company Blackstone his portfolio of renowned luxury hotels in Florida and Arizona, known as Boca Resorts, for $1.25 billion. After giving Patrick Swisher, the creator of Swisher Hygiene, and his wife Laura approximately $8 million in 2010, he acquired a majority ownership in the company.

Huizenga had a strong interest in professional sports as well, and over the years, he either owned or co-owned a number of teams. He brought ice hockey and baseball to the South Florida region. The Florida Marlins and the Florida Panthers were founded by him, and he served as their first owner. In order to guarantee that the games of his clubs were shown, he also purchased the cable television station SportsChannel Florida.

In 1990. He bought a 15% stake in the Miami Dolphins, an NFL team, as well as the venue where they played. By 1994, he had acquired all of the team’s outstanding shares and was the sole owner. He sold Stephen M. Ross 50% of the team and 50% of the stadium in 2008. Prior to selling Ross an additional 45% of the team and the stadium in 2009, he continued to serve as the franchise’s managing general partner.

Huizenga invested money in the Florida Marlins in the middle of the 1990s to increase their performance. He spent more than $89 million on free agents in 1996. The decision was successful because the team qualified for the playoffs for the first time ever and went on to win the World Series in 1997. The next year, he sold the team to commodities dealer John Henry while keeping control of the stadium.

He sold the Florida Panthers to pharmaceutical entrepreneur Alan Cohen in 2001 for $100 million. The Panthers’ value had more than tripled since he had first invested in them, reaching a total of more than $150 million.

H. Wayne Huizenga Charity and Honors

Huizenga had other interests besides business, such as philanthropy. He provided financial support for the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Florida’s Nova Southern University. Additionally, he made large contributions to the private prep school Pine Crest School.

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H. Wayne Huizenga Personal Life

Huizenga wed Joyce, his first wife, whom he had known in high school, in 1960. Wayne Jr. and Scott were their two children together before they got divorced in 1966. He wed Martha, his second wife, in 1972. She had previously performed some secretarial duties and worked as a secretary for one of his companies.

H. Wayne Huizenga Personal Life
H. Wayne Huizenga Personal Life

Huizenga adopted Pamela and Robert Ray, Martha’s children after they got married. They stayed together up to Martha’s passing in January 2017 after a fourteen-year cancer fight. Huizenga passed away from cancer in March 2018 at the age of 80 in his Fort Lauderdale, Florida, residence.

Final Lines

H. Wayne Huizenga Net Worth was $2.8 Billion when he died. Throughout his career, Huizenga won a lot of honors and trophies. He was given the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award in 1991. The Horatio Alger Association honored him as a Distinguished American in 1992 in honor of the numerous scholarships he had helped establish across the state of Florida. He received the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2005. He received the Norman Vincent Peale Award in 2008 in appreciation for his contributions to the Horatio Alger Association.

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