John Menard Jr.

John Menard, Jr.
Born	Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Nationality	United States
Education	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Known for	Founding Menards
Children	Paul Menard

John R. Menard, Jr. (born 1940) is an American entrepreneur and billionaire who is the founder and owner of Menards, a major Midwestern home improvement chain. Additionally, he is a former Indycar racing team owner. Menard is also a partner in Robby Gordon Motorsports with NASCAR owner/driver Robby Gordon. He is the father of NASCAR driver Paul Menard.

Life and education

The oldest of eight siblings, Menard graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire with a degree in business and a minor in psychology. Menard began his career constructing pole buildings with friends from college. He makes his home in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menard has had six children with three different women, and is currently married to his third wife, Fay Obiad. His first two children, Renee and Christopher, were born from his first marriage, which ended when he had an out-of-wedlock child named Michelle. He then married Paula Menard, and had three children: John R. Menard III, Paul Menard, and Molly Menard. That marriage also ended in divorce. In 2006, Menard ended a long-term relationship with Deb Sands, after Ms. Sands' sister Dawn sued Menard for workplace discrimination. He married Obiad in 2008.

Menards

A Menards store in Lafayette

Menard opened his first hardware store in 1972. As of 2011, his company owned 262 Menards stores. As of 2005 Menards grossed an estimated $5.5 billion in sales. Menard had a net worth of $7.3 billion in 2007, according to the Forbes 400, and is the richest person in Wisconsin. He is the 136th richest person in the world, and he is the 68th richest person in the United States. As of a 2002 tax filing, Menard owned 100% of the voting stock of Menards, Inc., and 56% of the nonvoting stock. Trusts in his and his family's name owned all of the rest of the nonvoting stock.

Scandal and Lawsuits

In 1997, Menard personally plead no contest to felony and misdemeanor charges that he had hauled chromium and arsenic-laden wood ash to his house in the back of his pickup truck for disposal in his household garbage. He and his company were fined $1.7 million for 21 violations in relation to the case. Although this is the only violation for which Menard has personally been cited, his company is the largest polluter in Wisconsin, having more run-ins with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources than any other company in the state.

In 2013, Tomisue Hilbert, wife of Stephen Hilbert, a former business partner of Menard, filed suit against Menard for intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery, attempted battery, assault, and attempted assault. The suit alleges that Menard attempted to pressure Ms. Hilbert into having sex with him and his wife Fay Obiad. When Ms. Hilbert refused, Menard "began an orchestrated campaign to cause severe financial consequences to Ms. Hilbert." A similar lawsuit was filed by another employee of the Hilbert-Menard business venture, when Lisa Trudeau, wife of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jack Trudeau, alleged that Menard had also sexually assaulted her, then filed a lawsuit against her when she rebuffed his advances.

Motorsports involvement

Paul Menard, John Jr.'s son, is the driver of the #27 Menards Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Menard also owns an engine shop in the United Kingdom that produced engines for Team Menard and Robby Gordon Motorsports and was the owner of Team Menard which won the 1997 and 1999 Indy Racing League championships.

Charity

In January 2008, Menard gave $15 million to support Eau Claire's Luther Midelfort Hospital. The donation will be used for a new emergency services department and to help Mayo Clinic educate and train health professionals.

Horse breeding

Menard is a thoroughbred horse owner.

External links

• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• Milwaukee Magazine: Big Money - "How home improvement store founder John Menard became the richest man in Wisconsin – and what he sacrificed to do it."