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Wayne Huizenga
H. Wayne Huizenga, was born in December of 1937. In addition to his corporate ventures, he has had his hand in many sporting ventures as well. He is the owner of the NFL Miami Dolphins, the NHL Florida Panthers and the Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida.
Huizenga attributes his entrepreneurial spirit to a gut instinct he has that allows him to believe in his heart that something will work even though everyone else says it will not. His true joy comes from the actual building of the business, the art of trying to sell others on his idea and making it happen. He laments that once you become successful, and more and more people become involved, you have to be more of an administrator. That part is a drag, which is why, in the past, he has chosen to get out and move on, often starting a new business. That isn't to say he leaves his company in the lurch, company involvement is high on his list for a business to succeed. When he was working on growing Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI), the video superstores, he would spend up to 6 hours per day in actual stores. In fact, employees nicknamed him "Toilet Man" because the first thing he would do on a store visit was checkout the employee bathrooms -- if they weren't clean, the rest of the store would be in the same condition.
Another key ingredient to Huizenga's success, has been to grow companies by aggressive acquisition. Waste Management, Inc. began with a single garbage truck only to become the largest waste disposal company in the United States. As former Blockbuster Chairman and CEO, he led the company to become the nation's largest video rental company, having close to 7,700 stores in the U.S. and 25 other countries. Both have been billion dollar businesses making him a billion dollar man.
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