Jack Carroll Massey (June 15, 1904 – February 15, 1990) was an American venture capitalist and entrepreneur who owned

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's s ...

, co-founded the

Hospital Corporation of America HCA Healthcare, Inc. (historically known as Hospital Corporation of America) 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, owned and operated 186 ...

, and owned one of the largest franchisees of

Wendy's Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...

.Glenn Fowler
Jack C. Massey, an Entrepreneur In Hospitals and Food, Dies at 85
''

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 ...

'', February 16, 1990Belmont University biography
/ref> He was the first American businessman to take three different companies public.

Early life

Massey was born in 1904 in Tennille, Georgia. He graduated with a degree in pharmacy from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Business career

Massey began his business career working as a delivery boy in his uncle's drugstore. He then received a pharmacist's license when he was 19 and bought his first drugstore when he was 25. He built the store into a pharmacy chain, selling it six years later. He founded Massey Surgical Supply in 1930. He sold it to the A.S. Aloe division of the

Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees in ...

for $1 million. Massey acquired

from its founder, Harland Sanders, for $2 million in 1964. With John Y. Brown Jr., Massey embarked on a rapid expansion program, growing the business to approximately 3,500 franchises and grossing $700 million in annual revenue. Seven years later he sold the company to Heublein for $239 million. In 1968, Massey co-founded

with Thomas F. Frist Sr. and Thomas F. Frist Jr. in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. Massey hired the

law firm Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP to assist with the company's incorporation and later complete many healthcare mergers and acquisitions for several decades. The company became the nation's largest chain of for-profit hospitals and Massey left active management in 1978. Massey transformed Winners Corporation, one of the largest franchisees of Wendy's hamburger outlets into a major fast-food franchise operation. Finally, he listed Volunteer Capital Corporation (a holding company of Wendy's Restaurant fast food franchises) on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. Massey was an initial investor in the

Corrections Corporation of America CoreCivic, Inc. formerly the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is a company that owns and manages private prisons and detention centers and operates others on a concession basis. Co-founded in 1983 in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas W. ...

in the 1980s.

Philanthropy

Massey was a donor to

Belmont University Belmont University is a Private university, private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporate ...

, where the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business was named in his honor. He also supported

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

and the

Montgomery Bell Academy Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. The school is located in the Whitland Area Neighborhood. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American ...

in Nashville. His alma mater, University of Florida, named the Jack C. Massey Professorship Fund for him. Massey was the founder of the Saint Thomas - Midtown Hospital in Nashville. He was also a donor to the

Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art Cheekwood is a historic estate on the western edge of Nashville, Tennessee that houses the Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. Formerly the residence of Nashville's Cheek family, the Georgian architecture, Georgian-style mansion was opened as a botani ...

and the

Tennessee Performing Arts Center The Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) is located in the James K. Polk Cultural Center at 505 Deaderick Street in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It occupies a city block between 5th and 6th Avenues North and Deaderick and Union Streets. ...

in Nashville. Additionally, he made contributions to the Nashville and Palm Beach chapters of

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

Personal life and death

His first wife, Elizabeth Polak Massey, died in 1968.Link to Gravestone
Find a Grave for Elizabeth Polak Massey He later married Alyne Queener. He had a daughter, Barbara Massey Rogers and three grandchildren. He also had an adopted son Don who pre-deceased him. Massey resided in Nashville. He was the owner of "403 feet of oceanfront property directly in front of

Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( , ) is a resort and National Historic Landmark on a barrier island in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It spans 126 rooms and built on of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of t ...

" in

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...

, which

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

purchased for $2 million. Massey was a member of the

Belle Meade Country Club Belle may refer to: People and fictional characters * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people * Southern belle, a stock character representing a young woman of the American South's uppe ...

Belle Meade, Tennessee Belle Meade is a city in Davidson County, Tennessee. Its total land area is , and its population was 2,901 at the time of the 2020 census. Belle Meade operates independently as a city, complete with its own regulations, a city hall, and police ...

; the Everglades Club and the Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach, Florida; the Bathing Corporation and the Meadow Club in

Southampton, New York Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stre ...

; and the

Links Club The Links is a private club in New York City. It is located at 36 East 62nd Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Charles B. Macdonald, a golf champion and founder of the United States Golf Association, started the Links i ...

in New York City. Massey died of pneumonia on February 15, 1990, at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, at age 85. His funeral was held at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Belle Meade, and he was buried in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. His obituary in '' The Palm Beach Daily News'' called him "a legend in American business."

Bibliography

*Bill Carey, ''Master of the Big Board: The Life, Times and Business of Jack Massey'' (Cumberland House Publishing, 2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, Jack C. 1904 births 1990 deaths People from Tennille, Georgia Businesspeople from Nashville, Tennessee University of Florida alumni American philanthropists KFC people Wendy's International HCA Healthcare people Belmont University people CoreCivic people 20th-century American businesspeople Deaths from pneumonia in Florida Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville) American company founders