Glen Allen Taylor
Taylor in 2022
Minnesota Senate Minority Leader
In office
January 9, 1985 – January 5, 1987
Preceded byJames E. Ulland
Succeeded byDuane Benson
Member of the Minnesota Senate
from the 24th district
29th (1981-1983)
In office
January 6, 1981 – February 3, 1990
Preceded byArnulf Ueland
Succeeded byMark Piepho
Personal details
Born (1941-04-20) April 20, 1941
Springfield, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Glenda Taylor
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1957; div. 1990)​
  • Becky Mulvihill
    ​
    (m. 2007)​
Children6
Residence(s)Mankato, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma materMinnesota State University Mankato
Harvard Business School

Glen Allen Taylor (born April 20, 1941) is an American billionaire business magnate and politician from Minnesota.[1] Taylor made his fortune from being the founder and owner of Minnesota-based Taylor Corporation, one of the largest graphic communication companies in the United States.

Taylor was the major owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association and the owner of the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association pending a sale of both franchises set to close in 2024. He remains part owner of the Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer. In addition to his sports team ownership, Taylor has been the owner of the Star Tribune, Minneapolis's newspaper and the largest newspaper in Minnesota, since 2014.

A former member of the Minnesota Senate from the Republican Party, Taylor served in the state senate from 1981 until 1990. He strongly considered running for the Republican nomination for Governor of Minnesota in the 1990 Minnesota gubernatorial election, but ultimately chose not to run due to problems in his marriage to Glenda Taylor.[2]

Ranked as the richest person in Minnesota,[3] Taylor is listed on the Forbes 400 and his company ranks on the Forbes list of America's Largest Private Companies.[4] In 2023, his net worth was reported by Forbes to be $2.8billion.[5]

Early life and education

Taylor was born in Springfield, Minnesota, and grew up on a farm in Comfrey, Minnesota. He graduated from Comfrey High School in 1959, and received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, physics and social studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato, in 1962.[6][7] In 1978 he received an executive MBA from Harvard Business School.[8]

Career

During and after college, Taylor worked at Carlson Wedding Service (later Carlson Craft), a Mankato print shop specializing in formal invitations. In 1975, company owner Bill Carlson wanted to retire, and Taylor offered to pay $2 million over the course of 12 years for the company.[9] The purchase (which he paid off early) formed the basis for the Taylor Corporation, a privately held multinational printing and electronics company with more than 10,000 employees and based in North Mankato, Minnesota. Taylor continues to serve as chairman and CEO.[9]

Politics

Taylor was a Republican Minnesota State Senator from 1981 to 1990, serving as assistant minority leader from 1983 to 1985 and Minority Leader from 1985 to 1988.[8] He considered himself a member of the party's moderate wing.[10] He resigned in 1990 citing his need to focus more on his business interests.[11]

He strongly considered running for Governor of Minnesota in 1990, but he decided against it due to his divorce.[2] He was appointed as a member of the Minnesota Commission on Reform and Efficiency by fellow Republican and Governor of Minnesota Arne Carlson a year after Taylor left office. He served in that role for three years.

Still an active member of the Republican Party, from 2016 to 2020 Taylor donated $119,100 to Republican candidates and causes.[12]

Sports team ownership

Taylor purchased majority ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association in 1994 for a reported $94 million.[13] and purchased the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association in 1999.[14] Taylor was in talks to buy the Minnesota Twins but nothing came of it.[8]

In 2000, Taylor received a nine-month suspension after signing Joe Smith to a secret contract in violation of the league's salary cap rules.[15] Before Donald Sterling, Glen Taylor was the only NBA owner to be suspended for more than a couple of games.

In 2017, Taylor purchased the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League (later called NBA G League) and renamed the team the Iowa Wolves as the developmental affiliate of the Timberwolves.[16]

He is a past chairman of the board of governors for the NBA, serving two terms from 2008 to 2012 and from 2014 to 2017.[17]

In April 2021, Taylor entered into an agreement allowing Marc Lore, founder of the food-delivery company Wonder Group and Jet.com, an e-commerce business, and Alex Rodriguez, a former professional baseball player, to acquire the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx for an estimated $1.5 billion. Upon consummation of the current option stage, Taylor would retain a 20 percent ownership stake in the teams.

Taylor is also the part owner of the Minnesota United FC soccer team.[1]

Newspaper ownership

In 2014, he purchased the Star Tribune for about $100million.[18] He told MinnPost that the famously liberal Star Tribune would be decidedly less liberal under his watch, but noted that the paper had already been shifting more to the center in recent years.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 "Glen Taylor". Forbes. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Fiedler, Terry (April 1, 2014). "Glen Taylor: Soul of a billionaire". Star Tribune. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  3. ↑ Reilly, Mark (April 7, 2021). "Minnesota's billionaires include Glen Taylor, Stanley Hubbard and a pair of Cargill heirs". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  4. ↑ "America's Largest Private Companies". Forbes. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Glen Taylor". Forbes. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  6. ↑ Doug Anderson (September 14, 2015). "Glen Taylor biography". Minnesota State Press Releases. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Influential Leaders". American Association of Colleges of Business. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 "Glen Taylor". Twin Cities Business Magazine. July 1, 2002. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  9. 1 2 "Taylor Corporation Website: About Glen Taylor". Taylor Corporation. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Robson, Britt (April 16, 2015). "New Owner Glen Taylor: Less Liberal Star Tribune Ahead". MinnPost. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Taylor, Glen A. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  12. ↑ Ziegler, Sara (October 28, 2020). "Inside The Political Donation History Of Wealthy Sports Owners". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Wolves sale deal reached". Post Bulletin. August 6, 1994. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  14. ↑ Martin, Sloane. "Q&A: Glen Taylor on Lindsay Whalen, future of the Lynx, player pay and more". theathletic.com. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  15. ↑ Akers, John. "NBA Will Suspend Timberwolves Owner". abcnews.go.com. ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  16. ↑ "New Timberwolves D-League team renamed Iowa Wolves". FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. May 30, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  17. ↑ Krawczynski, Jon. "Exclusive: Glen Taylor reflects on time as NBA chairman". theathletic.com. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  18. ↑ "July 1, 2014: Glen Taylor finalizes purchase of Star Tribune". StarTribune.com. July 1, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
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