What is Diane Hendricks' Net Worth?
Diane Hendricks is an American businesswoman who has a net worth of $12 billion. Diane Hendricks owns the Beloit, Wisconsin-based companies Hendricks Holding and ABC Supply, both of which she co-founded with her late husband Ken. ABC is the largest roofing, siding, and window distributor in the United States. She also serves as the co-chair of the economic development initiative Rock County 5.0, and has served on the boards of various philanthropic organizations. Additionally, Hendricks is a mega-donor to Republican politicians. Diane is the richest woman in Wisconsin, the second richest person overall in Wisconsin, the richest self-made woman in America. Diane sits on the boards of multiple foundations, including the Beloit Foundation, and the Hendricks Family Foundation, which she founded with her late husband in order to manage their philanthropic work.
Early Life
Diane Hendricks was born as Diane Smith in 1947 on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. As an adolescent, she went to Osseo-Fairchild High School, from which she graduated in 1965.
ABC Supply
In 1975, Hendricks was selling custom-built homes. She soon married and became business partners with roofing contractor Ken Hendricks, with whom she co-founded the roofing supply company ABC Supply in 1982. Based in Beloit, Wisconsin, the company expanded from a single store to more than 700 branches throughout the United States, amassing sales of over $11 billion. In addition to roofing materials, ABC Supply sells windows, gutters, and siding for both commercial and residential buildings. The company made its biggest acquisition yet in 2010 when it purchased Bradco Supply.
Hendricks Holding
The same year they co-founded ABC Supply, Diane and Ken Hendricks co-founded the conglomerate Hendricks Holding. The company's portfolio includes various enterprises in numerous fields, including transportation, insurance, real estate, dining, and logistics. Among its holdings are American Aluminum Extrusion Company; American Westbrook Insurance Services; Federal Heath Sign Company; GEM Pharmaceuticals; Humane Manufacturing; Rivers Edge Foundry; and Universal Recycling Technologies.
Film Producing
Hendricks has served as a producer on a few feature films. In 2008, she had a producing credit on the Persian-language film "The Stoning of Soraya M.," starring Shohreh Aghdashloo and Jim Caviezel. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film won the Director's Choice Award. Also in 2008, Hendricks served as a producer on David Zucker's satirical comedy "An American Carol," a send-up of American liberalism. The film was a major bomb at the box office.
Philanthropy
On the philanthropic side of things, Hendricks serves as a co-chair of Rock County 5.0, a five-year initiative designed to advance the economic development plan of Rock County in Wisconsin. She has also sat on numerous boards of philanthropic organizations, including Beloit Memorial Hospital, Forward Janesville, the Beloit Foundation, and Stateline Boys & Girls Club. Meanwhile, Hendricks is a notable donor to WisconsinEye, a non-profit cable network airing coverage of the Wisconsin Legislature, committee meetings, and sundry civic programs and events.
Political Donations
Over the years, Hendricks has established a reputation as a mega-donor to Republican politicians and conservative causes. In 2012, she donated $500,000 to Wisconsin governor Scott Walker's campaign to avoid recall, becoming his biggest donor of the year. Two years after that, Hendricks donated $1 million to the Republican Super PAC Freedom Partners Action Fund, created by the Koch brothers. She continued to donate millions to the fund in 2015 and 2016.
During the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Hendricks donated more than $5 million to the Republican super PAC Reform America Fund. She also served as an economic advisor on the campaign of Donald Trump. Among her other contributions, Hendricks has donated to former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt and Georgia representative and far-right conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Personal Life
With her second husband, Ken, Hendricks has seven children: Kendra, Kathy, Kim, Kevin, Kara, Konya, and Brent. In December of 2007, Ken was killed when he fell through a subfloor in his home that was under construction. Diane Hendricks resides in the community of Afton, Wisconsin.
Like other billionaires, Hendricks has drawn considerable controversy for her avoidance of taxes. In four of the five years from 2010 to 2014, she paid zero state income tax. Meanwhile, an investigation of her 8,500-square-foot home found that the property had been fraudulently assessed as a much smaller 1,663-square-foot ranch. Hendricks subsequently denied a tax assessor access to her home. She eventually ceded data on her house to the assessor, changing her property's value from under $500,000 to over $1 million.
