J.R. Simplot was an American potato farmer and billionaire who had a net worth of $3.7 billion. J.R. Simplot founded the agricultural supply company, the J.R. Simplot Company, which focused on potato production. Born John Richard Simplot (January 4, 1909 – May 25, 2008) in Dubuque, Iowa, Simplot was the man to develop the first frozen French fry. His life was an American dream come true, as he turned from a 14-year-old drop-out with $80 dollars in his pockets into a tycoon with a net worth of over three billion dollars at the time of his death. Even though he grew up in a log cabin, he ended up making fortunes out of potato farming and building the largest potato dehydrating plant in the world. During World War II, Simplot supplied American soldiers with dehydrated vegetables, and then went on to assist the rise of McDonald’s empire as their main supplier of French fries. Over the years, he had further expanded his growing business as he included cattle farming, fertilizer, oil, cattle feed, seed and ski resorts to the potato farming. At the time of his death at the age of 99, J.R. Simplot was named the oldest billionaire in the United States.
A grade school drop-out who left his home at 14 to strike out on his own, Simplot turned from a teenager with $80 in his pocket to a tycoon with a fortune of over three billion dollars at the time of his death. What the twenty-year-old Simplot set up as a small company eponymously called J. R. Simplot in 1929, turned into the potato dehydrating plant worldwide. The major expansion of the business happened during World War II when Simplot supplied American soldiers with dehydrated vegetables. Once the company got legally incorporated as the J. R. Simplot Company in 1955, it went on to serve as McDonald’s key supplier of their French fries turning itself into an empire that would grow further into other fields, including cattle farming, fertilizer, oil, cattle feed, seed and ski resorts. JR Simplot died as a self-made billionaire at the age of 99, leaving behind an exceptional life story that undeniably proves the existence of the American Dream.
| Net Worth: | $3.7 Billion |
| Date of Birth: | Jan 9, 1909 – May 25, 2008 (99 years old) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Profession: | Entrepreneur, Businessperson |
| Nationality: | United States of America |