Thomas Fearn Frist Jr. (born August 12, 1938) is an American billionaire physician and businessman.Forbes /ref> He is a co-founder of
HCA Healthcare
HCA Healthcare is an American for-profit operator of health care facilities that was founded in 1968. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and, as of May 2020, owns and operates 186 hospitals and approximately 2,000 sites of care, including sur ...
, and the wealthiest person in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
.Hospital Corporation of America press release /ref>BusinessWeek biography /ref> ''
BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
''Avondale Partners biography avondalepartnersllc.com; accessed September 6, 2015.
Early life
Thomas F. Frist Jr. was born on August 12, 1938. His father was Thomas F. Frist Sr., a prominent internal medicine specialist in Nashville. His mother was Dorothy Cate. He has four siblings: physician and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader
Bill Frist
William Harrison Frist (born February 22, 1952) is an American physician, businessman, and politician who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as Senate Majority Lea ...
; Dr. Robert A. Frist; Dorothy F. Boensch; and Mary F. Barfield.
Frist grew up in Belle Meade, a western suburb of Nashville. He attended
Montgomery Bell Academy
Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861&nb ...
, a Nashville prep school for boys. In 1956, Frist played
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
for
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
's state championship football team. Frist's halfback on the team was Frank Drowota, who became the chief Justice of the
Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice.
Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state leg ...
. Frist graduated from
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
and received an MD from
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
. He was a member of the Vanderbilt chapter of Phi Delta Theta.Vanderbilt Graduates /ref> He served as a flight surgeon in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
.
Business career
In 1968, he co-founded the
Hospital Corporation of America
HCA Healthcare is an American for-profit operator of health care facilities that was founded in 1968. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and, as of May 2020, owns and operates 186 hospitals and approximately 2,000 sites of care, including sur ...
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', March 4, 2011.
In 1977, he became president of HCA and, in 1987, chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO). He served as chairman in 1994, after the merger with Columbia, and after the merger with HealthTrust Inc. in April 1995, as vice chairman. He returned as chairman and CEO of the company in 1997 after the resignation of Rick Scott, who later became
Governor of Florida
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
.
He was chairman and CEO until January 2001 and chairman until January 2002. In 2006, he accepted $21 billion in
private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
investments from
Bain Capital
Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
,
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...
and Merrill Lynch and took HCA private. The deal valued HCA at $33 billion.David Benoit Schulze Looks to Join Kinder, Hefner in Founder Buyouts ''The Wall Street Journal'', August 6, 2012 He holds the record for the biggest leveraged buyout of all time and biggest private equity–led IPO of all time. In 2009, he stepped down from the board of directors, and his son, Billy Frist, joined the board. Frist was replaced as Chairman by Jack Bovender.
From 1984 to 1995, he served on the Board of Directors of IBM. He was the chair of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce from 1999 to 2000. He is a member of
Nashville Post
''NashvillePost.com'' is an online news service covering business, politics and sports in the Nashville metropolitan area. It is locally owned and available by subscription.
''NashvillePost.com'' competes with other daily news media in the Middl ...
'', August 24, 2008E. Thomas Wood Opening the floodgates? ''Nashville Post'', July 27, 2008 They have business interests in Cixi, China. He is president of Okeechobee Hospital Inc. and Galen Of Florida Inc.
Frist is president of Tomco II LLC, an aircraft company."Aircraft owned by Tommy Frist in fatal crash" ''Nashville Post'', July 20, 2006. In 2000, Scott Mercy, chairman and CEO of LifePoint Hospitals Inc. and chairman of America Service Group Inc., died in a crash.David A. Fox Health-care exec Scott Mercy dies in plane crash ''Nashville Post'', May 31, 2000. Similarly, in 2006, another aircraft belonging to Frist crashed.
Philanthropy
He was inducted into the Healthcare Hall of Fame. He served as vice president of the Vanderbilt University board of trust from 1995 to 1997. He is a recipient of the distinguished graduates award of Vanderbilt University. He is chairman of the Frist Foundation and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. He is a member of the
Nashville Public Library
Nashville Public Library is the public library serving Nashville, Tennessee and the metropolitan area of Davidson County. In 2010, the Nashville Public Library was the recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The library ...
Foundation.
He was a co-founder of the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Society.United Way of America He also served as chair of the board of governors for
United Way of America
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016.
United Way organizations raise funds ...
. The ''Dr. Thomas F. Frist Jr. Excellence in Volunteer Leadership Award'' of the United Way was established in 1996. In 2012, he received the United Way Lifetime Achievement Award.Frist Gets United Way Lifetime Achievement Award , '' NewsChannel 5'', May 3, 2012. In October, 2020, Nashville's
Belmont University
Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It be ...
announced the creation of a new medical school to be named the "Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine, being established in partnership with HCA's clinical facilities branded as TriStar Health.
Personal life
Frist was married to
Patricia C. Frist
Patricia Champion Frist (September 28, 1939 – January 5, 2021) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist from Tennessee.
Early life
Patricia Champion Frist was born as Patricia Champion in Ridgely, Tennessee in 1939. She was the daught ...
from 1961 until her death in 2021, and he has three children. They reside in an $18-million house in
Belle Meade, Tennessee
Belle Meade is a city in Davidson County, Tennessee. Its total land area is , and its population was 2,912 at the time of the 2010 census.
Belle Meade operates independently as a city, complete with its own regulations, a city hall, and police f ...
. They have two sons and a daughter, who is married to investor Charles A. Elcan.
He is the wealthiest person in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and #35 on the
Forbes 400
The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is pub ...
, with an estimated wealth of $20 billion.
Awards and honors
*Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...
(1984)
*Vanderbilt's Distinguished Alumni Award (2002)
*Healthcare Hall of Fame (2003)
*United Way Lifetime Achievement Award (2012)