Thomas H. Friedkin
| Tom Friedkin | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 29, 1935 San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Businessman, Philanthropist, Pilot |
| Known for | Founder of Gulf States Toyota |
| Net worth |
 US $ 1.7 billion (March 2013) |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Friedkin |
| Children |
Dan Friedkin Tomisu Friedkin Dawley Dorothy Friedkin Kenneth Friedkin |
| Parent(s) |
Kenny Friedkin Jean Friedkin |
Thomas Hoyt Friedkin is an American billionaire businessman, airplane pilot, actor, and big game hunter who founded Gulf States Toyota Distributors.
Thomas Friedkin is the son of Jean and Kenny Friedkin. His father was a combat pilot and trainer with the British Royal Air Force during World War II. After the war, his father opened Friedkin Aeronautics, a flight school in San Diego, California, before founding Pacific Southwest Airlines in 1949 with a single leased DC-3. In 1958, it carried nearly 300,000 passengers. Friedkin learned to fly while he was a youth and in 1962, started working as a pilot for PSA.
In 1962, Friedkin's father died abruptly of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 47. In 1963, PSA went public and soon after, his mother also died, making the younger Friedkin the largest shareholder of the airline. Although he had a seat on the Board of Directors, he continued working as a full-time pilot for the carrier. The airline continued operating until 1986 reaching $500 million in revenues, when US Airways purchased the carrier for $400 million. Friedkin received just $3.4 million.
During the 1960s, one of Friedkin's hobbies was racing cars. He was friends with Carroll Shelby who had turned down an offer to become a distributor for Toyota Motors. Shelby introduced Friedkin to Toyota and Friedkin founded Gulf States Toyota Distributors (GST). Friedkin has built GST into a multibillion-dollar franchise that buys Toyota, Scion and Lexus cars wholesale and sells them—as well as parts and service—to about 150 dealerships in his franchise states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Texas. GST's sales account for nearly 13% of Toyota sales in the United States. GST is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Friedkin Companies and ranked 53rd on the Forbes 2008 list of America's Largest Private Companies with revenues estimated at $5.7 billion.
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