David Howard Murdock (born April 11, 1923) is an American businessman and philanthropist.
Early career
Murdock was born on April 11, 1923, in Kansas City, Missouri. His father was a traveling salesman, while his mother took up laundry and scrubbed floors to make ends meet. He is the middle child of three; he had two sisters. He was particularly close to his mother, who died at 42 from cancer. He grew up in Montgomery Township, Ohio, and dropped out of high school in the 9th grade. He was drafted by the United States Army in 1943 during World War II.
After relocating to Detroit after the war, Murdock was homeless and destitute. Due to a chance encounter with a good samaritan, however, he got a $1,200 loan to buy a closing diner, flipping it for a $700 profit ten months later. He moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and began working there first in housing and then commercial real estate. When the real estate market collapsed in the 1960s, he moved to Los Angeles where he continued developing real estate opportunities, leading to a string of acquisitions. In 1978 he acquired control of International Mining. In early 1980s he became the largest shareholder in Occidental Petroleum by selling the company his 18 percent interest in Iowa Beef.
Businesses
Murdock owned Cannon Mills in Kannapolis, North Carolina, from 1982, after the death of Charles Cannon, until 1985, when he sold the company to Fieldcrest.
In 1985 Murdock took over the nearly bankrupt Hawaiian firm Castle & Cooke, which owned pineapple and banana producer Dole Food Company. He developed Castle & Cooke’s real estate portfolio into residential and commercial properties and turned Dole into the world’s largest producer of fruits and vegetables. Acquiring Dole privately in 2003, Murdock completed a $446 million initial public offering in October 2009 and the company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker DOLE until a private merger agreement was approved October 31, 2013. As a result of his purchase of Castle & Cooke, Murdock acquired ownership of 98% of Lana’i, the sixth largest island in Hawaii. In June 2012 Murdock sold his interest in Lana’i to Larry Ellison. He owns other companies, including Pacific Clay.
Summary
| David H. Murdock | |
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David Murdock in 1985
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| Born | David Howard Murdock April 11, 1923 Kansas City, Missouri, US |
| Occupation | Chairman and CEO of Dole Food Company Founder of the California Health and Longevity Institute (CHLI) Owner of Castle & Cooke –Owner of Pacific Clay |
| Net worth |  US$ 3.0 billion (August 2016) |
| Spouse(s) | Gabriele Murdock (m. 1967–85) (widowed) Tracy Murdock (m. 1999) |
| Children | Eugene Murdock (deceased) David Murdock Jr. (deceased) Justin Murdock |
Source:wikipedia