Ronald Wayne Burkle (born November 12, 1952) is an American investor and philanthropist. He is co-founder and managing partner of The Yucaipa Companies, LLC, a private equity and venture capital firm that specializes in underperforming U.S. companies in the distribution, logistics, food, retail, consumer and light industrial sectors. Yucaipa has executed grocery chain mergers and acquisitions involving supermarket chains including Fred Meyer, Ralphs, and Jurgensen’s, and owns stakes in about 35 companies including grocery chains A&P and Whole Foods Market.
Burkle’s net worth is estimated at $2.9 billion. He was ranked #633 on Forbes’ list of “The Richest People On The Planet 2014.”
Burkle is a prominent Democratic activist and fundraiser.
Early life and education
Ron Burkle was born on November 12, 1952, the elder of two sons, to Betty and Joseph Burkle in Pomona, California. Joseph worked seven days a week, managing a Stater Bros. grocery store in Pomona and investing his savings in apartment buildings. To see his father, Burkle stocked shelves in his father’s store with bread and corralled shopping carts.
By age 13, Burkle had joined Box Boy Local 770. At age 16, he graduated from high school and entered California State Polytechnic University, Pomona to study dentistry. Less than two years later, Burkle dropped out.
At age 21, he married Janet Steeper, a Stater Bros. clerk and great-grandniece of the aviation pioneers, the Wright brothers. They would have three children together. Burkle parlayed a $3,000 investment in American Silver and another metals company into $30,000 and began investing in and flipping undervalued grocery stores. He made at least one deal with the assistance of junk bond financier Michael Milken.
Burkle was promoted to store manager at Stater Bros. and later became a vice president at Petrolane, Inc., Stater’s parent company. When he was 29, Petrolane decided to sell Stater Bros. Burkle secretly organized a leveraged buyout with Charles Munger, vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, who agreed to put up half of the equity. Burkle made his bid to Petrolane’s board that was 20% lower than Petrolane’s internal valuation. The board rejected Burkle’s offer and fired him. Burkle’s portfolio was by then worth some $5 million and during the next five years he continued to invest in stocks and oversaw his family’s rental properties.
Summary
| Ronald Burkle | |
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Burkle in 2006
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| Born | Ronald Wayne Burkle November 12, 1952 Pomona, California, U.S. |
| Residence | London, England, UK Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Co-Founder and Managing Partner The Yucaipa Companies, LLC |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Net worth |  US$1.53 billion (June 2015) |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | Yucaipaco Ronald W. Burkle Foundation |
American business magnate Ronald Wayne Burkle has an estimated net worth of $1.57 billion in April 2016, according to Forbes. After working as a bag boy in a grocery store owned by his father, Ronald Burkle decided to drop out of college to establish his private equity firm, Yucaipa Companies. The firm primarily invests on distribution, manufacturing and retailing. Later on, he became the company’s Chairman of the Board.
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