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William Alton Carter (March 29, 1937 – September 25, 1988) was an American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician. The younger brother of U.S. President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
, he promoted
Billy Beer Billy Beer is a brand of beer first made in the United States in July 1977, by the Falls City Brewing Company. It was promoted by Billy Carter, whose older brother Jimmy Carter, Jimmy was then the president of the United States. In October 1978, ...
and Peanut Lolita; and he was a candidate for mayor of
Plains, Georgia Plains is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 573. It is well-known as the home of Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, who were the 39th president and first lady of the Un ...
.


Early life

William Alton "Billy" Carter was the fourth and youngest child of Lillian and James Earl Carter Sr. He attended
Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
, served in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
, and later worked in the Carter family's peanut business.


1970s and later

In 1970, Billy Carter was managing partner and 15% owner of the Carter family's peanut business. By 1976, Billy had increased revenues to $5 million per year. In 1972, Carter purchased a gas and service station in Plains. He owned and operated it for most of the decade. At its peak he sold 2,000 cases of beer a month and more than 40,000 gallons of gas. In 2009, the station became the ''Billy Carter Service Station Museum'', via the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
. Carter ran for mayor of Plains in 1976 but lost the election, 97 to 71 votes, to A.L. Blanton, an Albany airport air traffic controller. In the 1970s, Billy Carter was the official spokesperson for Peanut Lolita liqueur. In 1977, although a Pabst Blue Ribbon drinker, he endorsed
Billy Beer Billy Beer is a brand of beer first made in the United States in July 1977, by the Falls City Brewing Company. It was promoted by Billy Carter, whose older brother Jimmy Carter, Jimmy was then the president of the United States. In October 1978, ...
, introduced by the Falls City Brewing Company, who wished to capitalize upon his colorful image as a beer-drinking Southern good ol' boy. Billy Carter's name was occasionally used as a gag answer for a Washington, D.C. trouble-maker on 1970s episodes of ''
Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...
''. He was known for his outlandish public behavior; he once urinated on an airport runway in full view of the press and dignitaries. By 1979, he drank half a gallon of vodka and whiskey a day. In February 1979, Carter was admitted to seven weeks of rehabilitation at the
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
Navy Hospital alcohol treatment facility. He later became sober and reportedly extended support to other addicts in their own recovery. In 1981, he was forced to sell his Plains properties to pay taxes and debts and moved to Haleyville, Alabama where he worked in sales for Tidwell Industries. In 1985, he became Vice President of Scott Housing Systems.


Relationship with Libya

In late 1978 and early 1979, Billy Carter visited
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
three times with a contingent from Georgia. He eventually registered as a foreign agent of the Libyan government and received a $220,000 loan of which,
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
speculated, only $1,000 was repaid. However, Edwin P. Wilson claimed he had seen a telegram showing that Libya paid Billy Carter $2 million. This led to a
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
hearing on alleged influence peddling which the press named Billygate. A Senate sub-committee was called ''To Investigate Activities of Individuals Representing Interests of Foreign Governments (Billy Carter—Libya Investigation)''. A 1985 ''Wall Street Journal'' article suggested that a series of Billygate articles written by Michael Ledeen and published in ''The New Republic'' in October 1980 were intended to influence the outcome of that year's presidential election. According to the reporting, Francesco Pazienza, an officer of the Italian intelligence agency
SISMI (; , ) was the military intelligence agency of Italy from 1977 to 2007. With the reform of the Italian Intelligence Services approved on 1 August 2007, SISMI was replaced by Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna (AISE).Legislative Act n.12 ...
, alleged that Ledeen was handed Billygate information by the Italian Intelligence agency and he co-authored the articles with Arnaud de Borchgrave. Pazienza was later tried and convicted ''in absentia'' for using "extortion and fraud to obtain embarrassing facts about Billy Carter".


Death

Carter was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
in the fall of 1987 and received unsuccessful treatments for the disease. He died in Plains the following year at age 51, five years after the death of his sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton, who also died of pancreatic cancer at age 54. A year and a half later, his older sister, Gloria Carter Spann, died at age 63 from pancreatic cancer. Their father, James Earl Carter Sr., also died of the disease at age 58. His mother, Bessie Lillian Gordy, died from
breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
at age 85. His older brother
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
died at age 100 in 2024. After Billy died, his wife Sybil opened a cafe.


Bibliography

* Carter, William "Buddy" (1999'') Billy Carter: A Journey Through the Shadows'' (). *


See also

* List of scandals with "-gate" suffix


References


External links


Carter, Billy, 1937-1988
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
FBI file on Billy CarterBilly Carter's "Redneck Power Pick-up" model
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Billy 1937 births 1988 deaths United States Marines Billy Gordy family Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats People from Plains, Georgia Emory University alumni Businesspeople from Georgia (U.S. state) Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American businesspeople