John W. Henry owns the fabulous “Iroquois”, a 164′ yacht which you may catch sight of if you visit the magnificent Boston Harbor Hotel, in Boston, MA. This mega yacht can cost a pretty penny to fill up, and her Captain rightly takes the business of fueling quite seriously when the occassion to purchase 23,000 gallons of marine fuel arises.
John W Henry
John W. Henry
Henry was born in 1949, the son of farmers. From an early age, he was very proficient at math. His family moved to a desert region of California after John W. Henry developed a serious illness as a teenager. He recovered from the illness, but his father died not long after. Henry operated the farm and became involved in food commodities trading, at which he laterd proved to be quite skilled. Educated in California, he chose philosphy as his major and toured extensively with rock and roll bands Elysian Fields and Hillary while in college.
He began speculating in commodities full-time in 1981, after developing a highly effective trading formula the previous year. Henry founded his current business John W. Henry & Company, Inc. in 1982. The firm advises and manages investments in currencies, stock futures, and commodities.
According to its website, the company frequently performs well during times of economic difficulty, such as when Japan had a recession in the ’90s and American stocks plummeted in 1987. The firm’s computer systems monitor massive quantities of economic data from around the world. Its customers include banks, insurers, and major corporations.
Henry’s other main business interest has been sports team franchises. He entered this field in 1989, focusing upon baseball and eventually NASCAR. John W. Henry owned the Florida Marlins for about four years starting in 1999. He became the primary owner of the Boston Red Sox in 2002. Henry helped create the philanthropic Red Sox Foundation soon after buying the team. He later set up his own foundation, which focuses primarily upon charitable efforts in New England (and Florida).
His interest in car racing is not limited to business deals. As ESPN Magazine revealed, John W. Henry regularly enjoys playing computerized racing games. Not one to settle for a joystick or arrow keys, he has a steering wheel, pedals, and shifter set up at his computer. He even co-founded iRacing.com MotorSport Simulations which is a membership based racing site to compete online with other players.
John W. Henry owns an impressive Feadship motor yacht known as the Iroquois. It measures 164 feet (fifty meters) in length, with a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. The yacht was built in 1998 and came from Holland. It boasts two 1,370hp Diesel engines with a maximum speed of sixteen knots. The Iroquois yacht holds nearly seven thousand gallons of water and almost 23,600 gallons of marine fuel. It accommodates eleven crew and ten guests. The yacht cost $34,000,000 dollars.
As a result of his success in two fields of business and important philanthropic efforts, John W. Henry has received several awards and honorary degrees. His story serves to remind us that the ability to merge professional talents with personal interests is quite possibly the true key to success.
SOURCES:
1. John W. Henry & Company
2. SuperYachtTimes
3. LiveYachting
4. Boston Magazine
5. StateMaster
6. Woodrow Wilson Center
7. ESPN Magazine
8. iRacing.com
