William Clay Ford Sr.

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William Clay Ford Sr. (March 14, 1925 – March 9, 2014) was an American businessman.

He served on the boards of Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute.

The Detroit Lions National Football League (NFL) franchise was owned by Ford.

He was Henry Ford's youngest grandson and was the last surviving grandchild.

Early life and education

Ford was born in Detroit on March 14, 1925, to Edsel Ford and Eleanor Lowthian Clay.

He graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1943, earning a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Yale University, an honorable mention in all American selection in soccer senior year, and winner of seven varsity letters as a student athlete. During World War II, Ford served in the United States Navy Air Corps.

Personal life

Following the war, Ford married Martha Parke Firestone, Harvey Firestone and Idabelle Smith Firestone's granddaughter, on June 21, 1947. According to the biography, William first met Martha at a lunch in New York City arranged and attended by both of their mothers. Martha was a Vassar student who bore the nickname "Stoney" in college. He was a naval cadet at St. Mary's U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School. They married at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio, on June 21, 1947. Both families had amassed considerable wealth by this time, and numerous news outlets had announced a match between the grandchildren of two empire builders. In multiple articles chronicling the event, the Firestone-Ford nuptials were described as "the biggest society wedding in Akron's history" and "the biggest show Akron has seen in years" by the Akron Beacon Journal. F.B.I. gave the couple gifts. J. Edgar Hoover, media publisher John S. Knight, and Mina Miller Edison were among the first directors to direct J. Edgar Hoover and Mina Miller Edison.

Martha Parke Morse (b. ), the couple's four children. 1948 (British) Sheila Firestone Ford Hamp (b.) William Clay Ford Jr. (b. 1951) was a student at the University of Massachusetts (B. Elizabeth Hudson Kontulis (b. 1957), and Elizabeth Hudson Ford Kontulis (b.). 1961 (broadcasting). William Ferguson, Ford Motor Company's Executive Chairman as of 2018, was the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. He had been both the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Ford for a long time. Martha, Sheila, and William were both Vice Chairmen of the Detroit Lions, while Sheila was named principal owner and chairwoman in June 2020.

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Professional career

Ford spent time with Yale before graduating from Yale and briefly led the Continental Division for a brief period of time. The Continental Division, on the other hand, was short-lived and merged with the Lincoln Motor Company shortly before Ford's public stock offering. Ford redesigned the Lincoln Continental, a car his father built in 1955; the Continental Mark II was introduced in 1955. Only two photographs, his father's Continental and his updated Mark II, adorned his office wall.

Ford was appointed to the board of directors of Ford Motor Company in 1948, a year after Henry Ford's death. From 1951 to 1983, Ford served as chairman of the board at the Henry Ford Museum. He was also involved in other historic homes, including serving on the boards of Wayside Inn and Seaboard Properties, which operated the Dearborn Inn and Botsford Inn.

The SS William Clay Ford, an iron ore-hauling ship, was named in his honour on April 10, 1952.

Ford, a minority owner and team president of the Detroit Lions since 1961, used a power struggle between Edwin Anderson and D. Lyle Fife to take over total control of the franchise by purchasing out the other 144 shareholders for $4.5 million, about 41,966,176.47 in 2021. The Lions' board of directors approved the transaction on November 22, 1963. The Lions won 46% of their regular-season games, made the playoffs ten times, and never appeared in the Super Bowl during Ford's tenure (with a total of 1 playoff victory). He was also chairman of the Detroit Cougars, a youth soccer team that competed in the USA and NASL leagues.

He was Ford Motor Company's Design Committee chairman for 32 years, from 1957 to 1989. He served on the board of directors for 57 years, most recently as chairman of the Finance Committee, and resigned on May 12, 2005. William Clay Ford Jr., his uncle, was Ford Motor Company's CEO at the time, was the company's CEO.

Ford was the 371st richest person in the United States in 2013, with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion, according to Forbes magazine. He is now a majority shareholder in Ford Motor Company: 6.7 million shares of Class B stock and 26.3 million common shares; making him the country's largest single shareholder. In 2000, the company restructured and paid out a $10 billion special dividend. "The Ford family owns the majority of the company's Class B stock, as well as a small number of the company's 1.1 billion common shares, according to an article from 2000, "related to a repurchase of outstanding shares." The family owns 40 percent of the voting power at the company as long as the Class B stock makes up only 6 percent of the company's total stock, according to laws designed to protect family control and which were drafted when it was first published in 1956. Why does this exist? All 70+ million shares of the Class B stock are owned by the Ford family. It's a smart way for them to keep control of the company no matter how much cash they must have to sell to prevent bankruptcy. Some argue that dual class systems are unfair inherently because you are decoupling ownership from voting power."

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