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Glen Taylor

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This article is about the businessman. For the Idaho politician and 1948 vice-presidential candidate, see Glen H. Taylor. For other people, see Glenn Taylor (disambiguation).

Glen Taylor
Taylor in 2022
Minority Leader of the Minnesota Senate
In office
January 9, 1985 – January 5, 1987
Preceded byJames E. Ulland
Succeeded byDuane Benson
Member of the Minnesota Senate
In office
January 6, 1981 – February 3, 1990
Preceded byArnulf Ueland
Succeeded byMark Piepho
Constituency24th district (1983–1990)
29th district (1981-1983)
Personal details
Born (1941-04-20) April 20, 1941 (age 83)
Springfield, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Glenda Taylor
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1957; div. 1990)​
  • Becky Mulvihill
    ​
    (m. 2007)​
Children6
Alma materMinnesota State University, Mankato (BS)
Harvard University (MBA)

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

Taylor is the majority owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association and the owner of the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association. He is also part owner of Minnesota United FC of Major League Soccer. In addition to his sports team ownership, Taylor has owned the Star Tribune, Minnesota's largest newspaper, since 2014.

Taylor served in the Minnesota Senate as a Republican from 1981 to 1990. He planned to run for governor of Minnesota in 1990, but ultimately chose not to due to problems in his marriage. He remains a large donor to Republican candidates.[2]

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

In November of 2024, Taylor sent a letter to Minnesota Lynx season ticket holders announcing his extended absence from sporting events due to hip-replacement surgery.[6]

Early life and education

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Taylor was born in Springfield, Minnesota, and grew up on a farm in Comfrey, Minnesota. He graduated from Comfrey High School in 1959, and after the owner of the farm he worked on insisted he use his potential in college, he received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, physics and social studies from Mankato State University in 1962.[7][8] In 1978 he received an executive MBA from Harvard Business School.[9]

Career

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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 12 years for the company.[10] 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 based in North Mankato, Minnesota. Taylor continues to serve as chairman and CEO.[10]

Politics

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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.[9] He considered himself a member of the party's moderate wing.[11] He resigned in 1990, citing his need to focus more on his business interests.[12]

He strongly considered running for governor of Minnesota in 1990, but 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.[13]

Sports team ownership

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Taylor purchased majority ownership of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association in 1994 for a reported $94 million[14] and purchased the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association in 1999.[15] He was in talks to buy the Minnesota Twins but nothing came of it.[9] The Lynx have won four WNBA titles, while the Wolves have failed to reach even one NBA Finals under his ownership, which includes a 14-season playoff drought from 2004 to 2018.

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.[16] Before Donald Sterling's 2014 suspension,[17] Taylor was the only NBA owner to be suspended for more than a couple of games.[citation needed]

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.[18]

He is a past chairman of the NBA board of governors, serving two terms from 2008 to 2012 and from 2014 to 2017.[19]

In 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 Timberwolves and the Lynx for an estimated $1.5 billion. Upon consummation of the current option stage, Taylor would retain a 20% stake in the teams.

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

Newspaper ownership

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In 2014, Taylor bought the Star Tribune for about $100 million.[20] He told MinnPost that the Star Tribune would be decidedly less liberal under his watch, but said the paper had already been shifting more to the center in recent years.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Glen Taylor". Forbes. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ Hine, Chris (December 11, 2024). "Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor sidelined because of hip replacement surgery". www.startribune.com. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  7. ^ Doug Anderson (September 14, 2015). "Glen Taylor biography". Minnesota State Press Releases. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "Influential Leaders". American Association of Colleges of Business. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Glen Taylor". Twin Cities Business Magazine. July 1, 2002. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Taylor Corporation Website: About Glen Taylor". Taylor Corporation. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Robson, Britt (April 16, 2015). "New Owner Glen Taylor: Less Liberal Star Tribune Ahead". MinnPost. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  12. ^ "Taylor, Glen A. - Legislator Record - Minnesota Legislators Past & Present". www.lrl.mn.gov. Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  13. ^ Ziegler, Sara (October 28, 2020). "Inside The Political Donation History Of Wealthy Sports Owners". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  14. ^ "Wolves sale deal reached". Post Bulletin. August 6, 1994. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Akers, John. "NBA Will Suspend Timberwolves Owner". abcnews.go.com. ABC News Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  17. ^ O'Donnell, Ricky (April 29, 2014). "Sterling suspended 'for life', fined $2.5 million". SBNation.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  18. ^ "New Timberwolves D-League team renamed Iowa Wolves". FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul. May 30, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  19. ^ Krawczynski, Jon. "Exclusive: Glen Taylor reflects on time as NBA chairman". theathletic.com. The Athletic Media Company. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  20. ^ "July 1, 2014: Glen Taylor finalizes purchase of Star Tribune". StarTribune.com. July 1, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
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