Randall Rollins facts for kids

Richard Randall Rollins (born November 5, 1931 – died August 17, 2020) was a very successful American businessman. He was known for leading Rollins Inc., which is the biggest pest control company in the United States. This company owns famous brands like the Orkin Exterminating Company. Before his business career, Randall Rollins served in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Early Life and Service

Randall Rollins, sometimes called "Triple R", was born in Georgia on November 5, 1931. His parents were O. Wayne Rollins and Grace Crum Rollins. He also had a younger brother named Gary. Randall spent his early years on his grandparents' farm near Ringgold, Georgia. His father and uncle, John W. Rollins, later decided to start businesses instead of farming.

After high school, Randall worked with his father and uncle. He learned how their companies worked. He then joined the United States Coast Guard and served until 1953.

Building a Business Empire

Randall's father and uncle bought a radio station in Virginia. This became the Rollins Broadcasting company. His uncle also owned a company called Rollins Leasing. After leaving the Coast Guard, Randall started working for both family businesses.

Growing Rollins Broadcasting

In 1961, Rollins Broadcasting became a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold by anyone. By 1964, the company had grown to own 10 radio and TV stations. In the same year, it also had the fourth largest outdoor advertising company in the U.S. The company also started to own different types of businesses. These included citrus farms and a cosmetics company called Satin Soft.

Leading Orkin Exterminating

In 1964, Rollins Broadcasting bought the Orkin Exterminating Company. This was a huge deal, costing $62.4 million. It was one of the first "leveraged buyouts" in U.S. history. This is when a company buys another using a lot of borrowed money. Randall was put in charge of Orkin. He also kept working to make Rollins Broadcasting bigger. His brother Gary worked with him on these family businesses. All of them were part of a larger company called Rollins Inc. By 1969, Rollins' total earnings had grown to over $106 million.

Expanding into New Areas

In 1984, Rollins Inc. split into three separate companies. All of them were publicly traded. These new companies were:

• Rollins, Inc. (which focused on pest control through Orkin)
• Rollins Communications (for media and advertising)
• RPC Energy Services Inc. (for oil and gas services)

Randall became the president and chief operating officer of Rollins Communications. He was also the chairman of the board for Rollins Inc. For RPC Energy Services, he was the chairman, CEO, president, and chief operating officer. In 2001, another company, Marine Products Corporation, was created from RPC Energy Services. He was also chairman of this new company. Marine Products Corporation makes fiberglass boats like Chaparral and Robalo. He also served as a director for other companies like Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment.

Randall Rollins' Wealth

In 2014, Randall Rollins was listed on The Forbes 400 list. This list names the richest people in the U.S. He was ranked No. 225 with an estimated wealth of $2.7 billion. By August 2020, Forbes estimated his wealth to be about US$5.1 billion. This made him the 148th richest person on the Forbes 400 list.

Giving Back: Philanthropy

Randall Rollins and his wife Peggy were very generous. In 1991, they started a charitable foundation. It was first called the Peggy and Randall Rollins Foundation. Later, it was renamed the Ma-Ran Foundation. This foundation helps many different groups. It supports education, health organizations, community projects, and faith-based groups.

Key Donations

In July 2016, Randall and Peggy donated $1 million through their foundation. This money helped build the new Lewes Public Library in Delaware. The old Lewes library was renamed the Margaret H. Rollins Community Center.

Rollins also gave money to many organizations in Atlanta. These included the Winship Cancer Institute. He also helped start the Rollins School of Public Health in 1990. In 2018, the R. Randall Rollins Charitable Lead Annuity Trust and the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation gave money to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. In 2019, the foundation donated $65 million to fund the R. Randall Rollins building at Emory University. The foundation also supported the Candler School of Theology and the O. Wayne Rollins Research Center.

In 2020, Randall and Peggy donated $1 million to the COVID-19 Relief Fund at Beebe Healthcare. After Randall's death in 2020, his family continued his legacy. In March 2022, the Beebe Medical Foundation received a $3 million gift from the Rollins family. This gift helped create the R. Randall Rollins Center for Medical Education.

Personal Life

Randall Rollins married Peggy Hastings in 1953. They had six children together. Their first two children were born while they lived in Lewes, Delaware. The family later moved to Wilmington, Delaware, and then made their home in Atlanta, Georgia. Sadly, one of their children, Rita Anne Rollins, passed away before Randall. Their other children are Richard, Pamela, Robert, Timothy, and Amy.

Randall and his wife were members of the Lewes Yacht Club. Randall Rollins passed away on August 17, 2020, at the age of 88, after a short illness.