Bradley Wayne Hughes (September 28, 1933 – August 18, 2021) was an American billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of

Public Storage Public Storage is an American international self storage company headquartered in Glendale, California, that is run as a real estate investment trust (REIT). It is the largest brand of self-storage services in the US. In 2008, it was the large ...

, the largest self-storage company in the U.S. doing business as a

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping cente ...

(REIT). At the time of his death, Hughes had an estimated net worth of US$3.3 billion.

Early life

Hughes was born in

Gotebo, Oklahoma Gotebo is a town in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 226 at the 2010 census, a decline of 16.9 percent from 272 in 2000. The town is named after the notable Kiowa Indian named Gotebo (1847 - 1927) (in Kiowa, ).Thurman, ...

, on September 28, 1933. His family relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

during the

Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) a ...

, before making their home in

El Monte, California } El Monte ( Spanish for "The Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historica ...

. When Hughes was eleven, he was brought to his first horse race at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

by his father. He attended

Mark Keppel High School Mark Keppel High School (MKHS) is a four-year California Distinguished School located in the city of Alhambra, California, in the Alhambra Unified School District. The school is on the southern edge of Alhambra, adjacent to the city of Monterey Pa ...

, graduating in 1951. He was then awarded a scholarship to study at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

, graduating in 1957.

Career

Hughes started his career in Los Angeles real estate until the early 1970s. He subsequently established

in 1972. Initially operating out of a single location in El Cajon, California, it soon expanded to other sites around the country. Hughes served as the company's president and co-CEO from 1980 to November 1991 when he became chairman and sole CEO. He retired as CEO in November 2002 and remained chairman. He was also chairman and CEO from 1990 to March 1998 of Public Storage Properties XI, Inc, which was renamed PS Business Parks, Inc (PSB), an affiliated

REIT A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping ce ...

. In 2011, Hughes founded American Homes 4 Rent (AH4R), now known as American Homes, one of the largest single family rental owners in the United States.

Philanthropy

Hughes created and funded the Parker Hughes Cancer Center in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

that undertakes the research to develop drugs and treatment for children's

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

and cancer. After a $5 million donation to his alma mater, the

Galen Center The Galen Center is a multipurpose indoor arena and athletic facility owned and operated by the University of Southern California. Located at the southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street in the Exposition Park area of Los An ...

's basketball court was named after high school classmate and longtime friend Jim Sterkel. As of 2019, Hughes had donated between $400–450 million to USC, by far the most generous donor in the university's history. Most of the donations were anonymous, and he was friends with many notable USC athletes and athletic administrators, including O.J. Simpson,

Al Cowlings Allen Cedric "A.C." Cowlings (born June 16, 1947) is a former American football player and actor. He began playing for the National Football League (NFL) in 1970, for such teams as the Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Sea ...

Sam Cunningham Samuel Lewis Cunningham Jr (August 15, 1950 – September 7, 2021), nicknamed "Bam", was an American football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons with the New England Patriots. He played college football at ...

, and

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He served on the ...

, the latter of whom Hughes was credited with engineering his position as athletic director.

Politics

Hughes was the largest donor to

American Crossroads American Crossroads is a US Super PAC that raises funds from donors to advocate for certain candidates of the Republican Party. It has pioneered many of the new methods of fundraising opened up by the Supreme Court's ruling in ''Citizens United ...

, a conservative political organization started by Karl Rove. As of 2010, Hughes had contributed $1.55 million to the organization.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Hughes was an owner of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorses since 1972. His horse,

Authentic Authenticity or authentic may refer to: * Authentication, the act of confirming the truth of an attribute Arts and entertainment * Authenticity in art, ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic Music * A ...

, won the 2020 Kentucky Derby and

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

. He acquired the historic

Spendthrift Farm Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky, currently owned by Eric & Tammy Gustavson. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ...

near Lexington, Kentucky, in June 2004. Hughes' other notable horses included Action This Day, who won the 2003

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...

and was voted the

Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the '' Daily Racing F ...

. He also owned Beholder, who won the 2012 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 2012, won the 2013 Breeders' Cup Distaff and was voted

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

for 2013, was voted American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse for 2015, and won the 2016 Breeders' Cup Distaff over champion filly

Songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...

and was voted American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse for 2016.

Personal life

Hughes married Marjorie McKechnie in 1958. Their son B. Wayne Hughes Jr. was born in 1959, and daughter Tamara in 1961. The couple divorced in 1975. He married Kathleen Becker in 1983. They had one son, Parker, born in 1990. Parker died in 1998 at eight years old from

childhood leukemia Childhood leukemia is leukemia that occurs in a child and is a type of childhood cancer. Childhood leukemia is the most common childhood cancer, accounting for 29% of cancers in children aged 0–14 in 2018. There are multiple forms of leukemia t ...

. Hughes married his third wife, Patricia Whitcraft, in 2017. Hughes died on August 18, 2021, at his home on

near Lexington, Kentucky, a month before his 88th birthday. The cause of death was not revealed.

References

External links

Spendthrift Farm official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, B. Wayne 1933 births 2021 deaths People from Kiowa County, Oklahoma American chief executives American racehorse owners and breeders Philanthropists from Oklahoma University of Southern California alumni American billionaires 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American philanthropists Businesspeople from Oklahoma Mark Keppel High School alumni