Ernest J. Gallo (March 18, 1909March 6, 2007) was an American

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. Gallo co-founded the

E & J Gallo Winery Gallo is an American wine producer and distributor headquartered in Modesto, California. Previously called E & J Gallo Winery, it was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo of the Gallo family, and is the largest exporter of Califor ...

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

Early life

Gallo was born on March 18, 1909, in

Jackson, California Jackson (formerly, Botilleas, Botilleas Spring, Bottileas, Bottle Spring, and Botellas) is a city in and the county seat of Amador County, California. Its population was 5,019 at the 2020 census, up from 4,651 at the 2010 census. The city i ...

.Harvard Business School
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last retrieved March 6, 2007 Gallo's grandparents immigrated from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to the United States. Gallo's father was Giuseppe Gallo, a.k.a. Joseph Edward Gallo Sr, and his mother, Assunta Bianco Gallo, a.k.a. Susie Bianco Gallo. Together with his uncle Michael, his father ran the Gallo Wine Company, a wine distribution company. His mother's family, the Biancos, were winemakers. Gallo's father operated a boarding house for the miners in Jackson, California and a saloon in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. In 1910, at one year old, Gallo lived with his maternal grandparents, Batista Biancos, in

Hanford, California Hanford is the most populous city and the county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley. The population was 57,990 at the 2020 United States census, ...

. At about age 6, Gallo returned to live with his parents. After the 1918 prohibition, Gallo's father had to close the saloon business. Gallo's father bought a 120-acre ranch in

Antioch, California Antioch is the third-most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city is located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The city's population was 115,29 ...

and became a farmer growing 30 acres of grapes. Gallo worked in cultivating in the farm. By age 12, Gallo's father sold the ranch in Antioch and moved to a small vineyard in Escalon, California. In the 1920s, his parents purchased a 40-acre farm near

. Gallo's family also bought a 20-acre farm near Keyes. Gallo's father sold their grapes in Chicago. Gallo had two brothers, Julio Gallo (1910–1993), and Joseph Edward Gallo, Jr. (1919–2007). On June 21, 1933, Gallo's father shot his mother and killed himself. Gallo graduated from Modesto High School in

.''#645 Ernest Gallo''
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Education

Gallo attended

Modesto Junior College Modesto Junior College (MJC) is a public community college in Modesto, California. It is part of Yosemite Community College District along with Columbia College. MJC, and Columbia College, belong to the California Community College system al ...

, but he did not graduate.

Career

In 1926 at 17, Gallo worked for his father. Gallo harvested grapes and shipped them via railway to Chicago. By 18, Gallo was selling grapes in Chicago. During Gallo's travel from Chicago back to California, he met Giuseppe Franzia. In 1933, shortly after the end of prohibition and the death of his parents, Gallo co-founded the E.&J. Gallo Winery, using $5,900 in borrowed cash from his mother-in-law (). He became head of sales, marketing and distribution.

Philanthropy

In 1955, Gallo created The Ernest Gallo Foundation. In 2008, Gallo donated $800k(USD) to the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, $600,000 (USD) to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, and $3.835 million (USD) to

Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health is an independent public charity, devoted exclusively to elevating the priority of children's health and increasing the quality and accessibility of children's health care through leadership and ...

. In 1980, Gallo also donated millions and created Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center in

Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley, California, Berkeley and Oakland, California, Oakland, with a border on the shore of San Francisc ...

, at

University of California, San Francisco The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It is part of the University of California system and is dedic ...

Awards

*1989 Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

* 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award (given by Wine Enthusiast)

Personal life

In 1931, Gallo married Amelia Franzia (died 1993). They had two sons: David Gallo (died 1997), and Joseph Ernest Gallo, the CEO of the E&J Gallo Winery. Gallo was ranked 297th on the 2006

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 ...

list of billionaires, with an estimated wealth of US$1.2 billion. On March 6, 2007, Gallo died in

, twelve days shy of his 98th birthday. Gallo is buried at St. Stanislaus Catholic Cemetery.

References

External links

''E. & J. Gallo Winery''Gallo Family Vineyards

''Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center''

The Modesto Bee ''The Modesto Bee'' is a California newspaper. It has about 70 employees and is delivered throughout central California, reaching places such as Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale, Ceres, Patterson and Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y ...

**Excerpt of
Ernest_Gallo
''California Wine Industry Oral History Series'',

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

Ernest Gallo
Frontline,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallo, Ernest 1909 births 2007 deaths American people of Italian descent People from Modesto, California 20th-century American businesspeople American wine merchants American billionaires People from Jackson, California Modesto Junior College alumni James Beard Foundation Award winners Gallo family