Joe Ricketts facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Ricketts
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Ricketts in 2018
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| Born | July 16, 1941 Nebraska City, Nebraska, U.S.
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| Education | Creighton University (BA) |
| Occupation | Businessman MLB owner/executive |
| Known for | founding TD Ameritrade |
| Title | Owner, Chicago Cubs |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
Marlene Volkmer (m. 1963)
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| Children |
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| Awards | 2016 World Series champion |
John Joseph Ricketts (born July 16, 1941) is an American businessman. He is famous for starting TD Ameritrade, a big company that helps people buy and sell investments. Forbes magazine says he is worth about $3.1 billion as of 2024.
Joe Ricketts has also started other businesses. These include High Plains Bison, which sells bison meat, and The American Film Company, which makes movies. He also supports many good causes through his foundations. Since 2009, his family has owned the Chicago Cubs, a well-known baseball team.
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Early Life and Family
John Joseph Ricketts was born and grew up in Nebraska City, Nebraska. His parents were Florence M. and Donavon Platte Ricketts. He went to Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, and earned a bachelor's degree in 1968.
Joe Ricketts is married to Marlene Margaret Volkmer. They have four children: Pete, Thomas, Laura, and Todd. His children were raised in the Roman Catholic faith. Today, Joe Ricketts lives in Little Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Starting TD Ameritrade
In 1975, Joe Ricketts and some friends each put in $12,500 to start a company. They called it First Omaha Securities. This company helped people buy and sell stocks. Over time, it grew a lot through joining with other companies. It eventually became what we know today as TD Ameritrade.
Joe Ricketts stopped being part of the TD Ameritrade board in October 2011. He wanted to focus more on starting new businesses and helping others.
Other Business Ventures
Joe Ricketts has started several different kinds of businesses.
High Plains Bison
In 2004, Ricketts started High Plains Bison. This company sells natural bison meat. You can buy their products online or in stores. High Plains Bison is also the official seller of bison meat at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Some of the bison are raised on a ranch in Wyoming that Ricketts owns. There is also a lodge on the ranch called The Lodge at Jackson Fork Ranch.
The American Film Company
In 2008, Ricketts created The American Film Company. This company makes movies based on real stories from American history. Their first movie was The Conspirator in 2010. It was a historical drama film directed by Robert Redford.
DNAinfo.com
In 2009, Ricketts launched DNAinfo.com. This was a digital news service that reported on local news in New York City and Chicago. Ricketts closed it down on November 2, 2017. This happened one week after its employees voted to form a union. Other news sites like Gothamist and Chicagoist also closed. However, archived versions of these sites later became available again.
Owning the Chicago Cubs
In October 2009, the Ricketts family bought most of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. They also bought Wrigley Field, the Cubs' home stadium. The Ricketts family became the eighth group to own the team in its long history.
Joe Ricketts is not directly involved in running the team every day. His son, Tom Ricketts, is the chairman of the Cubs. His other children, Pete, Laura, and Todd, are on the team's board of directors. In 2016, seven years after buying the team, the Cubs won the World Series. This was a huge win, ending a 108-year wait for a championship!
Political Involvement
Joe Ricketts has been active in politics. He helped start a group called the Campaign for Primary Accountability (CPA). This group aimed to challenge politicians from both major parties in primary elections.
In 2010, Ricketts led a campaign against "earmarks." Earmarks are special spending requests added to bills by politicians. He felt they led to wasteful government spending. He started an organization called Taxpayers Against Earmarks. This group tried to show which members of Congress supported or opposed earmarks.
The group worked with others to create a list of earmarks requested by Congress members. They helped push for a temporary stop on earmarks in 2010. Later, Taxpayers Against Earmarks changed its name to Ending Spending. This showed they were focusing on a wider range of spending issues.
Ricketts also created and funded The Ending Spending Fund. This was a political action committee (PAC). It spent money on advertisements in various elections. These ads highlighted politicians' views on earmarks. Ricketts chose to reveal that he was funding this PAC because he believes in transparency.
Joe Ricketts was on the board of the American Enterprise Institute from 1999 to 2007. His son, Pete Ricketts, is a member of the Republican National Committee. Pete was elected governor of Nebraska in 2014 and is now a U.S. senator. His daughter, Laura Ricketts, supports gay rights. Another son, Todd Ricketts, became the CEO of Ending Spending in 2013.
In 2012, a proposal was made to the Ending Spending Action Fund. It suggested a large ad campaign to criticize President Obama. The president of the Ending Spending Action Fund said this idea was "a nonstarter." He stated that Joe Ricketts did not support this kind of political approach.
In the 2016 presidential election, Ricketts gave a lot of money to support Donald Trump. He also helped raise money for other groups that supported Trump. Even though he had supported groups against Trump earlier, Ricketts explained he changed his mind for economic reasons. He felt that Hillary Clinton's policies would not help the middle class.
Joe Ricketts and his wife also gave $2.2 million to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign in 2020.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
Joe Ricketts started the Opportunity Education Foundation. This foundation helps pay for training teachers and students in developing countries. It supports a program through Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana. This program trains teachers in East and West Africa.
In 2013, Louisiana College recognized Joe Ricketts and his brother, Jim. They received awards for their great service. Joe Ricketts said, "The little help that we give is really absorbed and used a great deal." Jim Ricketts, who leads the foundation, added, "We're serving the poor in ways that have never been done before."
