Leonard Shoen
Leonard Shoen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leonard Samuel Shoen February 29, 1916 McGrath, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | October 4, 1999 (aged 83) Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, U.S. |
| Education | B.Sc Oregon State University L.L.B. Northwestern College of Law |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Spouse(s) | Anna Carty (until her death) Suzanne Gilbaugh (divorced) Suzanne Whitmore (divorced) Unknown spouse (divorced) Carol Schoen (until his death) |
| Children | with Carty: 6, including Joe and Mark with Gilbaugh: 5 with Whitmore: 1 with Schoen: 1 |
Leonard Samuel Shoen (February 29, 1916 – October 4, 1999) was an American entrepreneur who founded the U-Haul truck and trailer organization in Ridgefield, Washington. After growing up in the farm belt during the Great Depression, he envisioned the market for rental vehicles for families who wished to avoid the expense of professional transfer and storage companies and move around the country.
Early life
Shoen (pronounced "shown") was born on February 29, 1916, in McGrath, Minnesota, to Sophie (née Appert) and Samuel J. Shoen.[1] His father moved the family to Oregon in 1923 to farm in the Willamette Valley near Shedd. His father was ethnically Scottish and English; his mother was of Swiss and French descent.[citation needed]
Shoen worked his way through
Shoen served in the
Founder of U-Haul
Shoen began his career as a barber while attending Oregon State University in the years leading up to World War II.[7][3]
In 1945, at the age of 29, Shoen co-founded U-Haul with his wife, Anna Mary Carty (1922–1957), in
By 1955, there were more than 10,000 U-Haul trailers on the road and the brand was nationally known. The corporate offices were in Portland, until a 1967 relocation to Phoenix, Arizona.[5] While distracted to some extent by growing his business, Shoen also managed multiple marriages after the death of his first wife from a congenital heart defect, and eventually had a total of 12 children, each of whom he made a stockholder. Shoen married Suzanne Gilbaugh in 1958, and they had five more children.[5] Shoen divorced Gilbaugh, and married Suzanne Whitmore in 1978 to have one last child.[4] Some observers say that Shoen saw it as his duty to confer upon his children the fruits of his labors, others say it was to avoid taxes. In either case, he had transferred all but 2% of control to his children when two of them, Joe and Mark, launched a successful takeover of the business in 1986.[1]
In the 1960s, Shoen diversified his holdings by creating AMERCO Inc., from Advanced Management Engineering and Research Company. He pronounced the acronym, "a miracle".[4] AMERCO remains the parent company of U-Haul and related businesses which support U-Haul operations, and is publicly traded.
Personal life and death
Shoen resided in
See also
- Legend City, a Phoenix-area amusement park once owned by Shoen
References
- ^ a b c d e Ravo, Nick (October 7, 1999). "Leonard S. Shoen, 83, Founder Of U-Haul, the Trailer Company". The New York Times. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
- ^ Private communication with the Oregon State University Alumni Office on 21 Feb 2012.
- ^ ISBN 9780749446307.
- ^ a b c d e f L.S. Shoen, You and Me, AMERCO Inc., 1980, (no ISBN) pp. 1-5, 14, 25-26, 186, 187, 218.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56980-329-5; p 9-14, 24, 50-51, 132-133, 177.
- ^ Private communication with the Lewis & Clark College Alumni Office on 29 Feb 2012.
- ^ Rubin, Paul (March 29, 1989). "Hit the Road, Daddy". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
