John Edson
Overview
- Source of Wealth
- leisure craft
- Industry
- Manufacturing
- Residence
- Jackson, Wyoming
- Education
- University of Washington (Drop Out)
- Marital Status
- Married
- Children
- 2
Biography
Over the course of selling two boat-building companies, John Edson (d. 2019) built a fortune of more than $1 billion.
An entrepreneur who loved the water, Edson first dipped his toe in business by selling used boats.
He purchased the brand name "Bayliner" for $100 in 1955 and started a company to build affordable plywood motorboats.
The business grew into a yacht-manufacturing powerhouse, and Edson flipped the firm to The Brunswick Corporation in 1986 for $425 million.
Six years later, Edson bought another yacht maker, Westport Yards, which he sold in 2014 for an undisclosed amount.
About
John Edson worked a paper route and earned enough to build his first boat at age 13.
After selling Bayliner, Edson took a few years to cruise the world aboard his 161-foot boat Evviva (Italian for "long live").