Born David Howard Murdock on the 11th April 1923 in Kansas City, Missouri, he is a businessman, best known to the world as the owner of the Dole Food Company, the largest retailer of fruit and vegetables in the world, as well as other business ventures.
Have you ever wondered how rich David H. Murdock is, as of mid- 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that Murdock’s net worth is as high as $2.6 billion, an amount earned through his successful career, which has been active since the ‘50s.
David H. Murdock Net Worth $2.6 Billion
David grew up with his two sisters in Montgomery Township, Ohio. The Murdock family lived off David’s father’s work as a traveling salesman and his mother’s cleaning. Since his father was often away from home, David developed a close relationship with his mother, but she passed away when she was 42 years old from cancer. David left school when he was in 9th grade, and never matriculated. When the World War 2 broke out, he was drafted into the US Army.
Following the end of the War, David moved to Detroit, however, he ended up being homeless and destitute. Struggling in the first couple of years, David’s luck smiled upon him, when he secured a loan of $1200 to buy a diner that was almost bankrupt, and turned it into an up-and-coming concern, such that he sold it ten months later for around $2000, and headed to Phoenix, Arizona, where he settled and started developing his business operations in real estate, with moderate success until 1960, when the real estate market collapsed. After that, his next stop was Los Angeles, where he continued with real estate, until in 1978 he gained control of International Mining. David’s kingdom gradually increased, and in the early ‘80s, he moved a step forward by becoming the largest shareholder of Occidental Petroleum. He sold his stake of Iowa Beef to the company, which immediately made him the largest shareholder.
Since the start of the ‘80s, David’s business career has gone only upwards, which certainly increased his wealth to a large degree. He was the owner of the Cannon Mills in Kannapolis, North Carolina from 1982 to 1985 when he sold it to Fieldcrest, and then took over Castle & Cooke which made him the owner of the Dole Food Company, which he acquired privately later in 2003. He turned Castle & Cooke from a nearly bankrupt firm into a real estate resort, which increased his wealth to a large degree, while with the Dole Food Company, he became the most famous name in the fruit and vegetable production in the world.
Aside from Dole Food Company and Castle & Cooke, David is also the owner of Pacific Clay which produces brick products, and at one time owned the Hawaiian island of Lanai’I, which he sold to Oracle owner Larry Elison in 2022.
Regarding his personal life, David has married five times; his third marriage to Gabriele lasted from 1967 until her death in 1985 from ovarian cancer, and with whom he had two children, and also was the adoptive father to Gabriele’s son Eugene. Unfortunately, Eugene and one of his sons died; surviving son, Justin, is CEO and executive chairman of NovaRx, and senior vice president of investments for Castle & Cooke. David has been married to Tracy since 1999.
David is also known for his philanthropic activities; he was a large contributor to redeveloping of the biotechnology research center, the North Carolina Research Campus. Furthermore, he has been heavily involved in donations towards cancer research, life extension, and has founded the Dole Nutrition Institute, while also opeingd the California Health and Longevity Institute. He has stated that he wants to live up his 125th birthday.
