Red McCombs

Billy Joe McCombs, known as Red McCombs (born October 19, 1927), is the billionaire founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group in San Antonio, Texas, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, chairman of Constellis Group, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. He is on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. He is also known for his philanthropy.

In 2012, the San Antonio Express-News reported McCombs' net worth at $1.4 billion. He was ranked the 913th richest man in the world. Two other San Antonio men, Charles Butt of the H-E-B supermarket chain and Rodney Lewis, a natural gas driller, were placed above McCombs on the list.

Biography

McCombs was born in rural Spur in Dickens County in West Texas. His nickname "Red" comes from his hair color. His father was a mechanic who earned $25 per week but tithed to the First Baptist Church of Spur each week. McCombs recalled having seen his parents "share with those who had less, and the joy of giving never ceased to amaze me."