Tom Monaghan

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For other people named Thomas Monaghan, see Thomas Monaghan (disambiguation).
Tom Monaghan
Born
Thomas Stephen Monaghan

(1937-03-25) March 25, 1937 (age 88)
Domino's Pizza
Former owner of the Detroit Tigers
(1983–1992)
Spouse
Marjorie Zybach
​
(m. 1962)​
Children4

Thomas Stephen Monaghan (born March 25, 1937) is an American

Domino's Farms Office Park, located in the Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, which he first started building during 1984.[5] He also owned the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball
(MLB) from 1983 to 1992.

Early life

After his father died when Monaghan was four years old,[6] Monaghan's mother had difficulties raising him alone, and at age six, in 1943, Monaghan and his younger brother Jim ended up in an orphanage until their mother collected them again in 1949.[7] The orphanage, St. Joseph Home for Children in Jackson, Michigan, was run by the Felician Sisters of Livonia; one of the nuns there inspired his devotion to the Catholic faith and he later entered St. Joseph's Seminary, in Grand Rapids, with the desire to eventually become a priest. Subsequently, he was expelled from the seminary for a series of disciplinary infractions.[8]

In 1956, Monaghan enlisted in the

honorable discharge
in 1959.

Domino's Pizza

Monaghan returned to

Domino's Pizza. Tom, after opening a further three stores, traded his brother James a Volkswagen Beetle for his half of the business.[10] Monaghan dropped sub sandwiches from the menu and focused on delivery to college campuses, inventing a new insulated pizza box to improve delivery. The new box, unlike its chipboard predecessors, could be stacked without crushing the pizzas inside, permitting more pizzas per trip, and keeping them warm until they arrived.[6] As Monaghan spread his model to other college towns through a tightly controlled franchising system, by the mid-1980s there were nearly three new Domino's franchises opening every day.[6]

In 1989, the National Organization for Women (NOW) called for a boycott of Domino's because of his active opposition to abortion; however, it is unclear what effect, if any, that had on the company's sales.[11]

In 1998, Monaghan reportedly sold his 93% of stock ownership of Domino's Pizza to

Ann Arbor Township, Michigan, United States, near Ann Arbor.[13][14][15]

Gyrene Burger Company

In December 2011, Monaghan embarked on his second quick service restaurant brand by starting Gyrene Burger Company.

Knoxville, TN.[17][18]
As of August 2018, no locations are in operation.

Leisure

The wealth Monaghan amassed from Domino's Pizza enabled a lavish lifestyle. However, after reading a passage by C. S. Lewis on pride (from Mere Christianity[6]), Monaghan divested himself of most of his more ostentatious possessions, including the Detroit Tigers in 1992.[7] He gave up his lavish office suite at Domino's headquarters, replete with leather-tiled floors and an array of expensive Frank Lloyd Wright furnishings, turning it into a corporate reception room. He also ceased construction on a huge Wright-inspired mansion that was to be his home. (The house remains half-finished.)[7]

Detroit Tigers

In 1983, Monaghan bought the Detroit Tigers, who won the World Series a year later. In 1984, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[19] He became close to Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who remained a close friend, business associate and participant in his many philanthropic works.[20] Monaghan ultimately sold the Tigers to his competitor Mike Ilitch of Little Caesar's Pizza in 1992. Combining his passion for pizza and baseball, his 1986 autobiography was titled Pizza Tiger.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Monaghan is an admirer of

Ann Arbor Township, Michigan, strongly resembles Wright's Prairie School architecture adapted to a larger scale. The headquarter's address of 24 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive also shows Monaghan's admiration.[citation needed] He has been one of the foremost collectors of Wright artifacts, including an oak dining room table and chairs for which he paid $1.6 million.[21] He purchased a portion of Drummond Island
in Michigan, where he created a private resort complex featuring buildings designed in the style of Wright, and later sold it to Clifton Haley and Denny Bailey.

Other

Another of Monaghan's expensive passions had been automobiles; for a time, his collection included one of the world's six Bugatti Royales, for which he paid $8.1 million in 1986, and sold it for $8 million in 1991.

In the early 1990s, he also built a mansion in a Honduras mountain town; he also funded and supervised the construction of a new cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, after the old cathedral was destroyed in a 1972 earthquake.[22]

Catholic philanthropy and activism

Monaghan is a

pro-life movement and other Catholic teachings "to combat the nation's 'moral crisis'", Monaghan has spent hundreds of millions of dollars promoting them.[8]

He established or helped establish a number of Catholic organizations and educational establishments. The orchestral Ave Maria Mass,

September 11. Monaghan publicly promotes daily attendance at Mass, daily recitation of the rosary and frequent sacramental confession
. He has also committed to spending what remains of his $1 billion fortune on philanthropic endeavors.

Although Monaghan has claimed that he was never a member of the Word of God community,[25] in 1989, a coalition of seven groups (including, among others, the National Organization for Women, the Latin American Solidarity Committee, and the Ann Arbor Commission to Defend Abortion Rights) protested the Monaghan/Word of God connection.[26]

Catholic organizations

In 1983, he established the Mater Christi Foundation, today known as the Ave Maria Foundation,[27] to focus on Catholic education, media, community projects and other charities. Monaghan is founder and CEO of Legatus International, an organization of business Executives, Presidents, CEOs, and their spouses who are committed to studying, living and spreading the Catholic faith. Founded in 1987, Legatus empowers their 5,000+ members to boldly live their Catholic identity as "Ambassadors for Christ in the Marketplace".[28] In 1988, Pope John Paul II addressed members of Legatus and encouraged them, “The world needs genuine witnesses to Christian ethics in the field of business and the Church asks you to fulfill this role publicly with courage and perseverance.”[29]

In 1997, he recruited former

same sex marriage, and secularism
.

In addition, his foundation established the Spiritus Sanctus Academies.

Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.[35]

The Ave Maria Foundation has subsequently fine-tuned its focus to higher education, and has established both a university and a law school.[9] Along with that change in focus, many of the other non-profit entities that the Ave Maria Foundation established have become independent or are in the process of being weaned from Ave Maria Foundation grants.

Monaghan is reputed to be a member of Opus Dei and has been aligned with a number of other conservative Catholic organizations and causes.[36]

Monaghan is a donor to

pro-life organization.[37] He is a knight of magistral grace in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
.

Ave Maria School of Law

The

The Catholic University of America
's law school and former Dean of Detroit Mercy's Law School, to lead up the new school as dean. Monaghan served as president of the school's Board of Governors.

Faculty members have included conservative legal scholar and Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Bork. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia assisted in developing the school's curriculum, and the school's first annual Ave Maria Lecture was presented by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in 1999. The school's stated goal is to educate competent moral attorneys who will influence all aspects of the legal profession and advance natural law theory. The Ave Maria Law School graduated its last Michigan class in the Spring of 2009 and immediately relocated to Naples, Florida permanently.[9]

Ave Maria College

As a step to fulfilling his dream of creating a new Catholic university, Monaghan founded

Ave Maria College of the Americas
.

Due to lack of funding, the college, against faculty and student protests, closed in 2007. Alternative funding was not secured to prevent the school's closure. St. Mary's College was sold and is now under the auspices of nearby Madonna University.

Ave Maria University, Florida

In early 2002, Monaghan sought to establish the

Collier County, Florida, offered him a large undeveloped tract of land thirty miles east of Naples, Florida to develop the university.[9]

In February 2006, ground was broken for the new

contraceptives or pornography, a statement that drew legal criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union.[42]

Threatened with lawsuits, Monaghan and the developers went on a national public relations campaign in March 2007 to retract the notion that Catholic doctrine could ever be enforced as law.[43] Defenders of Wildlife also challenged the development, stating it is destroying habitat of the endangered Florida panther.[44]

Ave Maria Mutual Funds

Monaghan helped to establish the Ave Maria Mutual Funds by asking friend George P. Schwartz of Schwartz Investment Counsel, Inc. to launch the Ave Maria Catholic Values Fund in May 2001. There are now five Ave Maria Mutual Funds. They are described as targeted at investors seeking to place their money in companies whose operations are in keeping with the core teachings of the Catholic Church. The fund calls their shareholders "morally responsible investors". The funds are open to individual investors with a $1,000 minimum investment.

Monaghan is a member of the Catholic Advisory Board. The board sets the religious criteria that screen companies before the funds will invest in them. Involvement with contraception, non-marital partner employee benefits, pornography, and abortion are some issues that disqualify a company from the fund.

Archdiocese of Detroit
) is the board's ecclesiastic advisor.

Political support

Monaghan has been active in

his 2008 presidential campaign.[45] Monaghan also endorsed Donald Trump during his 2020 presidential campaign.[46]

Family

Monaghan and his wife, Marjorie Zybach, whom he met while delivering pizza, were married in 1962 and have four daughters: Margaret, Susan, Mary and Barbara. As of 2014, they have 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ "Tom Managhan - Domino's Pizza". www.giantsforgod.com. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  2. ^ "Tom Monaghan". Entrepreneur. October 10, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Daszkowski, Don. "Learn All About Tom Monaghan, Founder of Domino's Pizza". The Balance Small Business. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  4. ^ "Tom Monaghan Facts". biography.yourdictionary.com. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  5. ^ Rigg, Sarah A; Ramey, Robert (December 11, 2008). "From pizza to philanthropy: a conversation with Tom Monaghan at Domino's Farms". mlive.com. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c d e Mariah Blake, AlterNet/Washington Monthly, 8 September 2009, How an Eccentric Right-Wing Pizza Billionaire's Attempt to Build Catholic Law School Ended in Disaster Archived 2009-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b c d e f Boyer, Peter J., "The Deliverer", The New Yorker, February 19, 2007, abstract
  8. ^ a b Marchetti, Domenica (1999-10-07). "Delivering on His Word". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  9. ^ a b c d Sparks, Evan (Spring 2012). "New U." Philanthropy. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Our Heritage". Archived from the original on 2007-03-16. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  11. ^ Bill Shapiro, Vince Bielski (March–April 1994). "Domino's Pizza". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2007-03-23.
  12. ^ Meyer, Zlati (December 31, 2012). "Domino's Farms' Tom Monaghan granted temporary order halting contraceptive coverage". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  13. ^ "Contact Us Archived 2012-08-27 at the Wayback Machine." Domino's Pizza. Retrieved on March 11, 2011. "How do I contact the Domino's Pizza World Resource Center? Domino's Pizza LLC 30 Frank Lloyd Wright Drive Ann Arbor MI 48106-0997"
  14. Ann Arbor Township, Michigan
    . Retrieved on December 7, 2012.
  15. ^ Brush, Mark (October 22, 2012). "Domino's Pizza renews commitment to Ann Arbor". Michigan Radio. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  16. ^ Twilight of the Pizza Barons – Bloomberg
  17. ^ "Monaghan set to deliver first Gyrene Burger business by mid-December » Naples Daily News". Archived from the original on 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
  18. ^ "Former Vol Albert Haynesworth bringing burger franchise to the Strip » Knoxville News Sentinel". Archived from the original on 2013-10-28. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
  19. American Academy of Achievement
    .
  20. ^ "Bowie Kuhn, Requiescat in Pace". 2007-03-16. Archived from the original on 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2007-03-24.
  21. ^ Holbert, Ginny (1990-04-01). "The Wright price—Monaghan's deals raise stakes". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
  22. ^ "DOMINO'S FOUNDATION Membership, Structure, Finances As a private foundation, Domino's Foun". Skepticfiles.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  23. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara (January 6, 2002). "Domino's Pizza and Operation Rescue". Snopes. Snopes Media Group Inc. Retrieved May 20, 2024. Tom Monaghan is staunchly Catholic and has never made any bones about his support of the Church or his religion's particular beliefs. He does not go out of his way to hide his financial support of pro-life groups such as Operation Rescue and Right to Life, or right-wing fundamentalist causes such as Word of God.
  24. ^ Ave Maria Mass Archived 2007-11-14 at the Wayback Machine at AquinasAndMore.com
  25. ^ ALEX PRUD'HOMME (February 14, 1999). "Taking the Gospel to the Rich". The New York Times Company.
  26. ^ The Tom Monaghanword Of God Connection | Old News
  27. ^ The Ave Maria Foundation.
  28. ^ Legatus Legatus, October 11, 2021, legatus.org
  29. ^ Armstrong, Patti Maguire (2017). Legatus @ 30. Legatus. p. 38.
  30. ^ Armstrong, Patti Maguire (August 22, 2012). "Al Kresta Celebrates Miraculous Recovery and 15 Years at Ave Maria Radio". Catholic Lane.
  31. ^ "Al Kresta". Ave Maria Radio. 30 May 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  32. ^ Ave Maria List Archived 2017-10-01 at the Wayback Machine.
  33. ^ The Thomas More Law Center
  34. ^ The Spiritus Sanctus Academies.
  35. ^ The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist.
  36. ^ Pierce, Charles P. (November 2, 2003). "The Crusaders: A powerful faction of religious and political conservatives is waging a latter-day counterreformation, battling widespread efforts to liberalize the American Catholic Church. And it has the clout and the connections to succeed". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  37. ^ "Father Frank's Crusade". Archived from the original on 2015-01-04. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
  38. ^ The Ave Maria School of Law.
  39. ^ Ave Maria College Archived 2007-06-08 at the Wayback Machine.
  40. ^ Ave Maria University.
  41. ^ Ave Maria, Florida.
  42. ^ Susannah Meadows (February 27, 2006). "Halfway to Heaven: A Catholic Millionaire's dream town draws fire". Newsweek. Archived from the original on January 14, 2014.
  43. ^ CassStevens, David (2007-08-06). "New town is also 'one big congregation'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved 2007-08-28.[dead link‍]
  44. ^ "Conservation Group Calls on Federal Agencies to Protect Critical Florida Panther Habitat" (Press release). Defenders of Wildlife. 2007-02-20. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  45. ^ "Sam Brownback's Inner Circle" Archived May 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  46. ^ "Catholics for Trump". Catholics For Trump. Retrieved February 9, 2021.

Further reading

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