George Joseph – Billionaire

While working as a door-to-door insurance salesman in early 60s, George Joseph realized that auto-insurance companies weren’t screening their customers correctly. After raising $2 million in capital, he started Mercury General which offered cut-rate deals to safer-than-average drivers. Joseph, a former World War II flight navigator, still goes into the office regularly and serves as chairman of his $3 billion (2015 sales) publicly-traded insurer. Earlier this year, the company joined other insurance giants like Geico and Farmers in offering ride-sharing insurance to Uber and Lyft drivers in states such as California and Arizona.

American businessman George Joseph has an estimated net worth of $1.52 billion as of May 2016 according to Forbes.

Of Lebanese ancestry, George Joseph was born in 1921 in West Virginia, United States. During World War II, he served as a B-17 navigator in about 50 missions. Eventually, he started attending Harvard University where he earned his Physics and Mathematics degree in 1949. He currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife. George Joseph has five children. He started with selling life insurance in Los Angeles, California. In daytime, he worked as a systems analyst, then salesman for Occidental Life. He spent the night selling insurance door to door. Eventually, he left Occidental Life to focus on his own business. His insurance agency sold both casualty/property and life insurance. In April 1962, Mercury Insurance was established. The firm focuses on offering auto insurance policies for types of drivers.

In 2006, George Joseph joined the list of world billionaires with his $1 billion net worth. Today, he sits as the Chairman of the Board of Mercury General Corporation while Gabe Tirador serves as the CEO of the company.

Source:

1. Forbes

2. therichest