Henry J. Kaiser

Henry John Kaiser was an American industrialist who became known as the father of modern American shipbuilding. He established the Kaiser Shipyards, which built Liberty ships during World War II, after which he formed Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel. Kaiser organized Kaiser Permanente health care for his workers and their families. He led KaiserFrazer followed by Kaiser Motors, automobile companies known for the safety of their designs. Kaiser was involved in large construction projects such as civic centers and dams, and invested in real estate. With his acquired wealth, he initiated the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, charitable organization.

Kaiser was born on May 9, 1882, in Sprout Brook, New York, the son of Franz and Anna Marie Kaiser, ethnic German immigrants. His father was a shoemaker. Kaisers first job was as a cash boy in an Utica, New York, department store at the age of 16. He worked as an apprentice photographer early in life, and was running the studio by the age of twenty. He used his savings to move to Washington state on the west coast of the United States in 1906, where he started a construction company that fulfilled government contracts.

Source: Wikipedia