Dennis Ray Albaugh (born 1949) is an American businessman, and the founder and chairman of Albaugh LLC, a pesticide and fertilizer company. He is a car collector, especially

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

s, and owns one of the biggest collections of Chevy convertibles in the US.

Early life

Albaugh is the son of Dean Floyd Albaugh and Lorna Lee Albaugh (née Markert, 1929–2017). His parents farmed near Rockwell City and

Somers, Iowa Somers is a city in Calhoun County, Iowa, United States. The population was 128 at the time of the 2020 census. History Somers was platted in 1900 as a shipping point on the railroad. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, th ...

, and later moved to rural Elkhart and Ankeny. He is the second of four children: Mickey, Dennis, Sheryl, and Roland. Albaugh was born in Des Moines, Iowa and was educated at

Des Moines Area Community College Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) is a Public college, public Community colleges in the United States, community college in central Iowa. The college served 35,488 credit students and 29,021 noncredit students in 200 programs in 2019. Hi ...

Career

Albaugh started in business in 1979, selling fertilizer and seeds. After

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best-known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed ...

's patent ran out on

glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by EPSP inhibitor, inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-en ...

in 2001, the chemical used in their best-selling

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

Roundup A roundup is a systematic gathering together of people or things. Roundup, Round Up or Round-up may also refer to: Agriculture * A muster (livestock) (AU/NZ) or a roundup (US/CA) is the process of gathering livestock. * Roundup (herbicide), a M ...

, Albaugh began to sell a generic version of the product and bought a factory in Argentina to make it at a competitive price, allowing him to expand the business worldwide. In 2008, his net worth was estimated by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' at .

Car collector

Albaugh LLC is based in Ankeny, as is Albaugh's collection of 150 classic cars, especially

convertibles. Albaugh started the collection with the purchase in 1998 of a 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible from a golfing friend and told his wife he would stop when he completed the Tri-Five Chevrolets, the 1955, 1956 and 1957 models. His collection of about 150 vehicles, mostly convertibles, includes the Tri-Five Chevrolets as well as Chevy models from 1912 to 1975 and is housed in a garage in Ankeny. Albaugh is known to do mechanical work on some of the cars in his collection as time allows. When younger, his father had refused to let him buy a convertible, feeling they were not safe enough. According to Murl Randall, a Chevrolet historian and collector, the collection is "probably the best assemblage of convertible Chevys in the country."

Personal life

Albaugh is married to Susan. They have two daughters and live in Ankeny, a suburb of

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

, Iowa. In August 2018, he sold his house in Ankeny to Todd Rueter, an Elkhart businessman, for $2.32 million, having built a slightly smaller home nearby. He owns a private 19-hole golf course, Talons Golf, in Ankeny.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albaugh, Dennis 20th-century births Living people American billionaires American company founders People from Ankeny, Iowa People from Marco Island, Florida American car collectors Year of birth uncertain