Marian Bayoff Ilitch (born January 7, 1933) is an American billionaire businesswoman, and the co-founder of Little Caesars Pizza with her late husband,

Mike Ilitch Michael Ilitch Sr. (July 20, 1929 – February 10, 2017) was an American entrepreneur, founder and owner of the international fast food franchise Little Caesars Pizza. He owned the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and Detroit Tig ...

. As of March 2018, Ilitch was one of the world's seven richest women, according to

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...

Personal life

She was born in 1933 and raised in Dearborn, Michigan, the daughter of Macedonian immigrants from the village of Bouf (modern day Akritas,

Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

). She met her future husband

, also a child of Macedonian immigrants, in 1954 when the two went on a blind date arranged by his father. A year later, they married. The couple has seven children together.

Business

The Ilitches founded Little Caesars Pizza in 1959, which they expanded as a franchise. They have since expanded their interests to include restaurants, entertainment, sports and gaming.

Casinos and Indian gaming

One of the original investors in Detroit's

MotorCity Casino MotorCity Casino Hotel is a casino and hotel in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It was opened in December 1999 and is one of three casino hotels in the city. There are four hotels in the Detroit–Windsor area, including the Ontario-owned ...

, Ilitch realized an opportunity to purchase total interest in the casino resort complex from various minor stakeholders and Mandalay Resort Group in 2005. Marian solely paid $600 million to buy MotorCity Casino from the other investors and for subsequent renovations. Michigan gaming laws prohibit one company from owning more than one Detroit casino property. With Ilitch as owner, MotorCity Casino is reportedly one of the largest independently owned casino enterprises in the United States—likely the largest woman-owned casino in the U.S. Ilitch and a partner, Michael J. Malik, Sr., have pursued other

casino gambling A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

interests outside of Detroit, and from coast to coast. They have acted as a developer of casinos for

federally recognized tribes This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

of Native Americans, who have started to use this as a means of generating revenues. They have worked with the

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Little River Band of Ottawa Indians ( oj, Gaaching-Ziibi Daawaa Anishinaabe) is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recog ...

, developing Little River Casino Resort in

Manistee, Michigan Manistee ( ') is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in southwestern Manistee County, it is part of the northwestern Lower Peninsula. Manistee is the county seat of Manistee County, and its population was 6,259 at the 2020 census. Th ...

. Ilitch has partnered with the Shinnecock Indian Nation in

Hampton Bays, New York Hampton Bays is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. It is considered as part of the region of Long Island known as The Hamptons. The population was 13,603 at the ...

on plans to develop a casino on Long Island. Ilitch also partnered with Barwest, LLC and the

Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Cahuilla and Cupeño Indians, who were Mission Indians located in California.Barstow, California Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. Located in the Inland Empire region of California, the population was 25,415 at the 2020 census. Barstow is an important crossroads for the In ...

Ilitch Holdings, Inc.

Ilitch served as vice chairwoman and secretary-treasurer of all of her family's various holdings until 1999, when

Ilitch Holdings, Inc. Ilitch Holdings, Inc. is an American holding company established in 1999 to provide all companies owned by Mike and Marian Ilitch with professional and technical services. Its privately held businesses include Little Caesars Pizza, the National H ...

was formed as the parent company for her family's widespread interests. She became chairwoman upon her husband's death. Ilitch Holdings includes Little Caesars Pizza, Blue Line Foodservice Distribution, Little Caesars Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, Champion Foods, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Olympia Entertainment, Olympia Development and various food service and entertainment venues within these businesses. Marian and Mike bought the Red Wings for $8 million in 1982. The Detroit Red Wings have won four Stanley Cups under Ilitch family ownership: 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008. Marian Ilitch and three daughters are among only 12 women to have had their names engraved on the trophy. Mike Ilitch's Detroit Tigers, a baseball team, logged losing records in 12 out of 13 seasons but turned the team around in 2006. They made the playoffs for the first time since 1987. The Ilitches successfully spearheaded a public/private partnership with the taxpayers of the greater Detroit area to build a new home for the Tigers in downtown Detroit. The $300 million plus

Comerica Park Comerica Park is a baseball stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It has been the home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers since 2000, when the team left Tiger Stadium. History Construction Founded in 1894, the Tigers had played at the c ...

opened in April 2000. Ilitch Holdings, Inc. manages the stadium and parking.

Investing in the community

The MotorCity Casino contributed about $1 million to local charity groups in Detroit. In 1985, Ilitch and her husband established the Little Caesars Love Kitchen Foundation, which consists of a mobile pizza restaurant. The Love Kitchen has fed more than 2 million people, aiding the hungry and disaster victims across the U.S. and Canada. Three presidents, President Ronald Reagan, President George Bush Sr, and President Bill Clinton have recognized the work of the Love Kitchen. Besides donating millions of dollars to charitable organizations, Ilitch and her husband have established Ilitch Charities for Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in the areas of health, education, and recreation. The charity has sponsored numerous programs in the Detroit area, including amateur sports sponsorships for hundreds of thousands of children.

Ilitch family

Ilitch and her husband have seven children: Christopher Paul Ilitch (born June 1965) is CEO and president of

; Denise D. Ilitch (born November 1955) is an attorney and former co-president, with her brother, of Ilitch Holdings. Other children are Ronald "Ron" Tyrus Ilitch, Michael C. Ilitch, Jr., Lisa M. Ilitch Murray, Atanas Ilitch (born Thomas Ilitch) and Carole M. Ilitch. Ron Ilitch was found dead in his hotel room in February 2018 at the age of 61.

Legacy and honors

*1988, Ilitch received the Roundtable for Women in Foodservice Pacesetter Award. *1994, the Greater Detroit Chapter of the

National Association of Women Business Owners The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is an organization in the United States founded in 1975 that has the purpose of networking the approximately 10.6 million women-owned businesses so as to provide mutual support, share resourc ...

recognized Ilitch as one of Michigan's Top 25 women business owners. *1996, recognition from American Red Cross of Southeastern Michigan for aiding emergency services and the work of the Red Cross friends. *1997, Hospice of Southeastern Michigan Council Crystal Rose Award *1999, Michigan Executive of the Year by the

Wayne State School of Business Administration Wayne may refer to: People with the given name and surname * Wayne (given name) * Wayne (surname) Geographical Places with name ''Wayne'' may take their name from a person with that surname; the most famous such person was Gen. "Mad" Antho ...

*2001, inducted into

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

*2004, she was named one of Detroit's Enterprising Women by the Detroit Historical Society in partnership with the Women's Economic Club, National Association of Women Business Owners, Greater Detroit Chapter and ''Crain's Detroit Business.'' *2005, ''Crain's Detroit Business'' Top Women in Business Honoree. *2008, she was elected to the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...

and inducted in 2010. *She was recognized by '' Working Women Magazine'' as the number one woman business owner in the nation.

References

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External links

Ilitch Holdings, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilitch, Marian Bayoff 1933 births Living people American billionaires American food company founders American people of Macedonian descent American women in business American casino industry businesspeople Detroit Red Wings owners Detroit Tigers owners Female billionaires Fordson High School alumni Little Caesars People from Dearborn, Michigan Pizza chain founders Stanley Cup champions American women company founders American company founders Ilitch family 21st-century American women