Who is Glen Taylor?
American billionaire politician and business magnate Glen Allen Taylor was born in Springfield, Minnesota USA, on 20 April 1941, making Taurus his zodiac sign. He became a wealthy man thanks to his printing company Taylor Corporation, which he established in North Mankato, Minnesota in 1975; the company today employs over 10,000 people at its facilities in 32 US states and various countries around the world, including Bulgaria, China and India. Glen’s also known for being the majority owner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Minnesota Timberwolves, the owner of the Minnesota newspaper “Star Tribune”, and for having served in the Minnesota Senate from 1981 through 1990.
As of 2023, he’s reputedly the wealthiest person in Minnesota.
Education and early life
Glen and his brother Larry Taylor were raised in Springfield by their parents about whom Glen’s yet to speak in public, as he respects their privacy; it’s still known that his mother was a well-educated woman, and that his father was an athlete during his college years.
Glen studied at Comfey High School and was mostly into sports during his four years there; he played both football and baseball, and also enjoyed running track and appearing in school plays. He was 16 when his girlfriend Glenda became pregnant, and Glen was thus forced by his parents to marry her; she moved in with Glen and his parents, and he found a job on a neighboring farm to financially support himself, his wife and their child.
He was expelled from Comfey, however, as he was a remarkable student, the teachers complained and the principal was forced to allow Glen to return to school; he matriculated in 1959 and then enrolled at Minnesota State University, Mankato from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in social studies, physics and mathematics in 1962.
Glen eventually enrolled at Harvard Business School, from which he graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree in 1978.
Glen’s career
Upon moving to Mancato to attend college, Glen began working as a clerk at a hotel to financially support himself, then switched to working at a drugstore.
He eventually began working at the printing company Carlson Wedding Service, which made annual sales of over $500,000; Glen’s friends at college told him what they wanted from the printing company, and he soon incorporated his ideas into it. He introduced different paper colors and ink, as well as different fonts and wording, and changed several things around which led to a cut in the delivery time.
It was in 1966 that he got the idea to buy the business from his boss, and his first step was to build a stamping press which would put a name on a napkin in one rather than two moves, thus saving a penny per napkin. Glen’s boss let him have the majority ownership of the company in 1974 for $1 million and another $1 million in 10 years, and he made his first acquisition in 1975 by buying the struggling Indiana wedding invitations company McPherson’s; the company had plants nationwide by the end of the ‘70s.
Glen’s company today numbers over 70 operating divisions, and is the largest wedding invitation printing company in the USA, although they’re also the dominating national printing company in making business cards, W-2 forms and customized Post-It Notes. He’s still today the chairman and CEO of Taylor Corporation.
Glen’s today also the owner of the large egg producing company Rembrandt Enterprises, owning thousands actress of farmland in both Iowa and Minnesota.
He purchased the majority ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves for $94 million in 1994, and five years later the majority ownership of Minnesota Lynx of Women’s NBA; he also wanted to buy the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB) but was unsuccessful in the attempt. Glen bought the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League in 2017, and they’re today called the Iowa Wolves.
He bought the newspaper “Star Tribune” for $100 million in 2014.
Politics
In 1981, Glen became a Republican Minnesota State Senator; from 1983 through 1985, he served as assistant minority assistant, and then spent the following three years serving as the minority leader.
He resigned in 1990 wanting to focus on business, but had plans to run for Governor of Minnesota in the same year, but decided against because of his divorce, then spent three years serving as a member of the Minnesota Commission on Reform and Efficiency.
Glen’s still today a member of the Republican Party.
Love life and marriages
Glen and his first wife Glenda filed for divorced in 1989, but their marriage was instead annulled because of irregularities during their wedding.
He met Becky Mulvihill when she was still married to her husband Jim; the two were attracted to each other, but Becky remained loyal to her husband. Jim eventually died from cancer, and Glen and Becky married in a private ceremony in 2007.
Glen’s today a father of six, including his child with Glenda, but not many details have been disclosed about his other five children’s mother/s.
The names of other women whom Glen’s been with haven’t been disclosed, he’s married to his second wife Becky Mulvihill as of May 2023 and has six children.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Glen was banned by the NBA for a year in 2000 after signing American former professional basketball player Joseph Leynard Smith to a secret contract.
He had a falling out with NBA legend Kevin Garnett in 2015, because Kevin mistakenly believed that he could become a minority owner of the Timberwolves following his retirement; Glen didn’t allow this to happen, and even though Kevin spent 14 years playing for the team, he still refuses to have his jersey retired.
After purchasing “Star Tribune” in 2014, Glen revealed that the newspaper would become less liberal.
He’s a huge fan of American actor Mel Gibson, and some of his favorite movies include “Forever Young”, “Father Stu” and “Braveheart”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Glen’s age is 82. His eyes and hair are brown, he’s 6ft 3ins (1.91m) tall and weighs around 190lbs (86kgs).
As of May 2023, Glen’s net worth’s been estimated at over $2.2 billion.
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