J. Willard Marriott

John Willard Marriott, Sr. was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the founder of the Marriott Corporation , the parent company of one of the worlds largest hospitality, hotel chains, and food services companies. The Marriott company rose from a small root beer stand in Washington D.C. in 1927 to a chain of family restaurants by 1932, to its first motel in 1957. By the time he died, the Marriott company operated 1,400 restaurants and 143 hotels and resorts worldwide, including two theme parks, earned USD 4.5 billion in revenue annually with 154,600 employees. The companys interests even extended to a line of cruise ships.

Marriott was born at Marriott Settlement near Ogden, Utah, and was raised on his fathers farm. His father gave him considerable responsibility at an early age he was sent to San Francisco on his own with 3,000 sheep in railcars at the age of 13.

Source: Wikipedia