Provo Labs
Utah Entrepreneurs
Pioneer Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
Updated April 7, 2004
David Eccles (1849-1912). Historian Leonard Arrington writes that David Eccles was Utah's first multimillionaire. "He founded several dozen enterprises in Utah that gave the state a boost at a critical time in its history," wrote Arrington. With his parents and their seven children, he emigrated to Utah from Scotland in 1863 with financial support from the Perpetual Emigrating Fund. David was fourteen when his family settled in Liberty (Ogden Valley). David started businesses in lumber, banking, milk products, construction, canning and railroads. He also served as Mayor of Ogden and helped start the Ogden Chamber of Commerce in 1887. It is reported that at the time of his death, he owned 27 businesses and was worth between $10-20 million
Jesse Knight (1845-1921). During his lifetime, Jesse Knight was the wealthiest entrepreneur in Provo with a generosity that matched his wealth. He made his fortune in mining but also owned or started many other ventures. "He was president of all the Knight Investment Company's industries, including a sugar company, power company, woolen mills, smelter company, coal and other mining companies, railroad, reservoir, light and irrigation companies and others." (LDS Biographical Encyclopedia) Jesse Knight was a tremendous benefactor to Brigham Young University.
Wealthiest Utahns
Jim Sorenson (1921-present). Jim Sorenson has become the wealthiest man in Utah, with an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion. (Forbes magazine) He made his first fortune by selling his medical device company to Abbott Labs in 1980. He has more than 50 patents and a dozen operating companies. Profile of Jim Sorenson in Deseret News. Profile of Jim Sorenson, Jr.
Jon Huntsman (1937-present). "Born into humble means, Huntsman has become the state?s most successful entrepreneur. The global Huntsman Chemical Corp. is the largest privately held chemical company in North America. But he has donated much of his wherewithal to others, primarily to institutions of higher learning and to medical research, highlighted by the recent opening of the Huntsman Cancer institute at the University of Utah." (Source: historytogo.utah.gov) Jon Huntsman is listed in the Forbes 400.
Earl Holding.
Alan Ashton. Alan is well known in Utah as the co-founder of WordPerfect Corporation. With a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Utah, Alan taught at Brigham Young University, where he teamed up with graduate student Bruce Bastian to create a word processor program. More recently Alan has invested in many companies and has generously donated money to develop Thanksgiving Point. Links: Pete Peterson's book on the history of WordPerfect. Sam Ashton's report on his father's creativity and success.
Blake Roney. Blake Roney founded NuSkin Enterprises in the 1980s.
Active Utah Entrepreneurs
David Bailey. David Bailey has founded several companies including Iomega and CeriStar. David Bailey Profile in Wasatch DigitalIQ.
Eric Ruff. Eric Ruff, son of Howard Ruff, founded Gazelle in the 1980s, PowerQuest in the 1990s and Quikutz in 2002. He has unbounded energy and throws himself into his companies with passion and skill. PowerQuest was recently acquired for approximately $150 million.
Bruno Vassel III. Profile: Bruno Vassel III. Founder of Whole Living Inc. and iBoats.com.
Jan Newman. Founder of Altiris.
Paul Sybrowsky. Founder of Dynix.
Curt Allen. Co-Founder of Folio. Founder of Agilix.
Brad Pelo. Co-Founder of Folio. Founder of On.
Brent Israelsen. Founder of iLumin. Founder of NxLight.
Paul Ahlstrom. Founder of Knowlix. Co-Founder of vSpring venture capital firm.
Paul Allen. Co-Founder of Infobases. Co-Founder of Ancestry.com/MyFamily.com. Founder of 10x Marketing. Co-Founder of Directory.net. Founder of Worldhistory.com. Co-Founder of LDSAudio.com. Founder of Infobase Ventures.
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