As a child, Diane Hendricks did not inherit from famous people or powerful politicians. Instead, she spent her early years working on a Wisconsin dairy farm, developing a work ethic that eventually helped her build a successful business.
Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women was topped last week by Hendricks, who has a net worth of $11.6 billion and has done well for herself five times over. The construction supplies business she founded with her late husband in 1982, ABC Supply, is a major contributor to her wealth. She is currently the organisation’s chairwoman.
Hendricks claimed to Forbes in 2017 that she learned a strong work ethic from witnessing her parents manage the family farm around the clock. This was significant because Hendricks had to finish her senior year of high school while living at home after becoming pregnant at the age of 17. She divorced her high school sweetheart at age 21 and, as a single mother, survived on various odd jobs in offices rather than choosing one vocation and pursuing success in it with all of her might. Later, she decided to pursue a real estate license.
Hendricks remarked, “Motherhood got in the way real quick, and I grew up really fast.” It didn’t deter me from trying to fulfill my dream, though. I believe my attention was even more narrowed on my goals.
Hendricks recalled that some of her aspirations were straightforward, such as relocating to a metropolis and working every day in a suit. Their aspirations changed once she married roofer Ken Hendricks in the 1970s. In Beloit, Wisconsin, the two merged their abilities and co-founded ABC Supply.
By 1994, the business had 100 locations. Four years later, according to Forbes, it produced more than $1 billion in yearly revenue for the first time.
Hendricks has run ABC Supplies since her spouse passed away in 2007. According to its website, the business now operates at over 840 sites. According to Forbes, it is the 23rd-largest private corporation in the nation. The company’s website also states that in the past five years, ABC Supply has bought the assets of 18 other businesses, demonstrating its dominance in the industry.
The achievement wasn’t without controversy, though. In 2016, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Hendricks “didn’t pay a penny in state income tax from 2012 through 2014,” the first year she topped the Forbes list. According to the news source, she also owed no state taxes in 2010.
That’s not always against the law. According to ABC Supply’s tax director, Scott Bianchini, the company switched from being a C-corp to an S-corp during those years. If all of ABC Supply’s federal taxes were settled, the company could choose to elect out-of-state tax-option status, potentially including any cheques made out to Hendricks, under Wisconsin state law, which allows corporations to apply to be S-corps on the federal level and C-corps on the state level.
Hendricks is still headquartered in Beloit, a town with fewer than 37,000 inhabitants today. Forbes claims she has invested millions of dollars in regional initiatives to renovate vacant homes and attract new businesses.
Hendricks established a neighbourhood job centre in 2017 that offers programmes to teach middle and high school students technical skills like coding and building. According to her, the programme seeks to educate youth on “the value of a job.”
She remarked that youngsters often ask, “Wow, is that how a welder works?” They can enrol in a welding programme and earn $50,000 per year as welders. They do excellent work.
