Craig McCaw (born August 11, 1949) is an American businessman and entrepreneur, a pioneer in the cellular phone industry. He is the founder of McCaw Cellular (now part of AT&T Mobility) and Clearwire Corporation.
Early life and cable TV beginnings
Craig is the second of four sons of Marion and John Elroy McCaw. McCaw’s father was a broadcasting magnate and owner of Gotham Broadcasting Corporation. WINS which became one of the first stations to play rock and roll. Alan Freed was the earliest famous personality disc jockey on the show. McCaw’s father was in the business of buying and selling TV and radio stations, which brought in wealth but also incurred significant debts. Elroy entered the cable television business in the 1960s, and his four sons worked as linemen and door-to-door salesmen.
When Elroy died, the only company not sold to repay the debt was the small Centralia cable company with estimated 2,000 to 4,000 subscribers, which was in trust. During his senior year at Stanford, Craig took the helm of the cable company and set out to rebuild his family name. He used the cash flows from his growing cable company to purchase other remote cable companies, resulting in a profitable conglomerate. By the 1980s, McCaw Cablevision was the 20th largest cable carrier in the US.
| Craig McCaw | |
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Craig McCaw in May 2008
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| Born | August 11, 1949 Centralia, Washington |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Occupation | Businessman and entrepreneur |
| Known for | Wireless service companies |
| Net worth | US$1.84 billion (Sep 2015) |
| Spouse(s) | Wendy P. McCaw |
Source:wikipedia