Some rich people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth; rich before they can even talk. Some inherited the riches. Some are self made, like billionaire John Edson. A man who had a dream and put it to work for his own advantage and proceeded to change his whole life.
He got his sea legs at a very young age. He loved the water and loved boats. He built his first boat when he was still just a kid and sailed around Lake Washington. After graduating from high school he attended the University of Washington and got a degree in Bachelor of Arts/ Science. He then got married and had two kids. He spent a lot of time building sailboats in his garage but he knew that he wanted to turn this love into a business. He wanted to build sailboats that even the average guy could afford. So that everyone could live his or her dream of owning a sailboat.
He started the Advanced Outboard Marine, in 1955. The company sold the usual kinds of engines, gear and hardware for boaters. But by 1965 he was ready to move on to bigger and better things. He bought a couple of molds and started to craft bigger boats. Thus became Bayliner Marine Corporation. And the company took off. The revenue for the company doubled every three years. Bayliner sold many different kinds of boats. From luxury boats to simple boats they had everything. To this day Bayliner is known as having high quality boats at a fair price. He had made his dream come true, ten times over. Because of his company he was now one of the richest men in the world.
In 1986, He sold the company to Brunswick for 425 million. But John did not stop there. He invested money into stocks and into real estate.
But one of the things that he is most known for is the money he donated to Arizona State University for student entrepreneurs. The amount was staggering. It was 5.4 million dollars. But he wanted to help young people who had dreams of starting their own business. He wanted to support their dreams as well. This program backs young entrepreneurs and their ideas. The winners of the funding get funded for a year and then they have to try again. The winners receive a 20.000 dollar award. The program has really helped some college students get started on their careers and brought some really good ideas to the table. He also gave money to places like Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research and the Mayo Clinic.
These days he spends his time, sailing the waters, skiing and flying helicopters. He has also recently unveiled the first 164-foot motor yacht, which he spends a lot of time traveling around on. A leisure life for a man that made him self a billionaire selling leisure craft.