William Clay Ford Jr was born on the 3rd May 1957, in Detroit, Michigan, USA, and is a businessman who is probably best recognized for being the Executive Chairman of the Ford Motor Company; he is the great-grandson of Henry Ford. He is also known for being the Vice Chairman of the professional National Football League (NFL) team – the Detroit Lions. His career has been active since the mid-1980s.
So, have you ever wondered how rich William Clay Ford Jr is? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that William counts his net worth at the impressive amount of $1 billion, as of mid-2016. He has been accumulating this sum of money through his successful career in the business industry over the last three decades.
William Clay Ford Jr Net Worth $1 Billion
William Clay Ford, Jr. was raised with three sisters by his father, William Clay Ford, Sr. and his mother, Martha Firestone; he is the great-grandson of Henry Ford, who was an American industrialist and the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the great-grandson of Harvey Firestone, who was the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. He attended the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut, and matriculated in 1975, after which he enrolled at Princeton University, from which he graduated in 1979 majoring in History; while at college he was the president of The Ivy Club, and was very active in playing for the Princeton rugby team. Afterwards, he continued his education at the MIT Sloan School of Management, from which he earned an MSc degree in Management in 1984 as a Sloan Fellow.
William’s professional career began soon after he graduated, joining the Ford Motor Company and working his way up from product development to finance. Little by little, William built his way up in the firm, and became a mid-ranking executive in product development. Soon after, he was made chief of the Climate Control Division, and then became the executive manager of the heavy truck division.
However, he left the position and became a member of the Board of Directors in 1998, and the following year he was appointed as the new Chairman of the Board. Two years later, he stepped up as the new CEO of the company, following the dismissal of Jacques Nasser. Since then, the Ford Motor Company has turned to producing new hybrid motors which will allow less fuel consumption, however, at first they were unsuccessful, but with the introduction of Hybrid Electric Escape, things turned for the better.
In 2006, William became the President and COO of the company, but the same year gave over those positions to Alan Mulally, although still remaining the company’s executive chairman.
To speak further of his accomplishments, William is the Vice Chairman of the football team Detroit Lions, as his father was the owner of the club and his mother is the current Chairwoman.
He has also started a couple of firms on his own, including Fontinalis Partners, which focuses on investing in new companies with innovative products.
If to talk about his personal life, William Clay Ford, Jr. is married to Lisa Vanderzee Ford, with whom he has four children. The family currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In his spare time, William enjoys practicing taekwondo and playing the guitar. He is also known for playing in the company hockey team, with which he participated in the USA Hockey Pond Hockey National Championships.
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