Daniel Truett Cathy (born March 1, 1953) is an American businessman. He is the chairman of fast-food chain

Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A, Inc. ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in Chicken burger, chicken sandwiches. Headquarter ...

, which was founded and expanded by his father,

S. Truett Cathy Samuel Truett Cathy (March 14, 1921 September 8, 2014) was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist who founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946. Early life Cathy was born on March 14, 1921, in Eatonton, ...

. He has a net worth of $10.6 billion as of October 2024.

Early life

Cathy was born in

Jonesboro, Georgia Jonesboro () is a city in and the county seat of Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,235 in 2020. The city's name was originally spelled Jonesborough. During the American Civil War, the final skirmish in the Atlanta ...

, in 1953 as the first child of Jeanette ( McNeil) and

. His father had recently started a restaurant known as the Dwarf House. Cathy has a younger brother,

Bubba Cathy Donald M. "Bubba" Cathy (born April 22, 1954) is an American billionaire businessman, EVP, Chairman, STC Brands & Chick-fil-A Ambassador of the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, founded by his father, the late S. Truett Cathy. He is president of t ...

and sister Trudy. In addition their family fostered numerous children over the years. He began doing radio commercials for his father's original Dwarf House restaurant in

Hapeville, Georgia Hapeville, established 1891, is a city in Fulton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,553 at the 2020 census, an increase of 180 residents from the 2010 census. Etymology Hapeville is named for Dr. Samuel Hape, one of the ar ...

, in the late 1960s while he was attending local schools. By that time, his father was establishing additional restaurants around Atlanta and Georgia as he created the franchise chain known as

. Cathy earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

in 1975. After graduation, he began working full-time for his father's company, which had already been established as a franchise chain.Gatlin, Greg (October 7, 1998)
"Chick-fil-A hatches expansion plans"
''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

''; accessed September 14, 2014.

Career

Cathy started as director of operations, eventually being promoted in 2013 to chairman and CEO. Cathy spends much of his time visiting the chain's 2,000 restaurants. Dan Cathy in late 2021 stepped down as CEO of Chick-fil-A, Inc. but remained Chairman of the Board. Cathy holds honorary doctorates from the

University of West Georgia The University of West Georgia is a public university in Carrollton, Georgia, United States. The university offers a satellite campus in Newnan, Georgia, Newnan, Georgia, select classes at its Douglasville Center, and off-campus Museum Studies c ...

, Anderson College, Carver College, and

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

. His family runs the WinShape Foundation, a non-profit which supports a group of

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

ministries. During a discussion at Atlanta's Passion City Church, Cathy told a story about racism and repentance. He then shined African American musician Lecrae Moore's sneakers, saying that the world needs to have an "apologetic heart."

Views on same-sex marriage

Cathy said in July 2012 that he opposes

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and supports conservative Christian causes. Tax records obtained in 2011 showed that Chick-fil-A's operators, the WinShape Foundation, and the Cathy family spent millions of dollars to defeat same-sex marriage initiatives and to provide

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

.Severson, Kim (July 25, 2012)
"Chick-fil-A Thrust Back Into Spotlight on Gay Rights"
''

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 ...

''; accessed September 14, 2014. In March 2014, Cathy told the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

'' that it had been a "mistake" for the WinShape Foundation to "support political or social agendas" in the period before 2012, when this was reported and a national controversy broke out at a time of debate about same-sex marriages. Despite this statement, Cathy continued to contribute to campaigns focused on his ideological political agenda. He said:

While we evaluate individual donations on an annual basis, our giving is focused on three key areas: youth and education, leadership and family enrichment and serving the local communities in which we operate. Our intent is to not support political or social agendas. This has been the case for more than 60 years. The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect and to serve great food with genuine hospitality.

In June 2021, ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...

'' reported that the National Christian Charitable Foundation (NCF), to which Cathy is reportedly a major donor, was helping to fund opposition to the Equality Act.

Personal life

Cathy is married with two children. He and his family live in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia.

Honors

In 2022, he was inducted as a Georgia Trustee. The honor is given by the

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...

, in conjunction with the

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of

Trustees Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

, which governed the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752.

References

External links

Dan T. Cathy President and Chief Operating Officer
via

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathy, Dan T. Living people 1953 births Cathy family Georgia Southern University alumni Southern Baptists Chick-fil-A People from Jonesboro, Georgia American billionaires 20th-century American businesspeople American anti-same-sex-marriage activists