Richard Hayne (born May 26, 1947) is the president and CEO of

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland, the United Arab Em ...

, an American chain of clothing retailers. Hayne has served as chairman and president since 1976. In 2012, he became CEO following the retirement of Glen Senk. According to the

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 ...

, Hayne dropped off the

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 in 2015. As of March 2019, Hayne ranked #1818 on Forbe's Billionaires 2019 list.

Early life and career

Hayne is a 1969 graduate of

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU), in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, is a private university, private research university. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer. Lehigh University's undergraduate programs have been mixed ...

with a degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

. He co-founded Urban Outfitters, Inc., in 1970 with former wife, Judy Wicks. The couple divorced a year later. The first store was located on the campus of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Today, the company operates over 400 stores under four brands:

, Free People,

Anthropologie Anthropologie is an Economy of the United States, American retailer operating in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and the UK that sells clothing, jewelry, home furniture, decorations, beauty products, and gifts. Anthropologie is part of Urban ...

and Terrain, a gardening brand which has standalone stores in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...

, Devon, Pennsylvania and Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.

Personal life

Hayne's current wife, Margaret Hayne, joined Urban Outfitters in August 1982. He and his wife have been criticized for donating about $13,000 to then-Senator

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum Sr. ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, author, and political commentator who represented Pennsylvania in the United States Senate from 1995 to 2007. He was the Senate's Chairman of the United Sta ...

until 2006, when Santorum lost his seat to Bob Casey, Jr. They also came under fire after Urban Outfitters hastily retracted a shirt advocating support for

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 ...

in the wake of the passage of California's Prop 8 in 2008. The company later partnered with the National Center for Lesbian Rights to release a different shirt expressing support for same-sex marriage in 2009. He has avoided stating his own views on

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...

. The company also partner with gay YouTuber Connor Franta to sell a limited clothing line at the 8 largest stores to raise money for GLSEN. The Haynes have five children, David, Jonathan, Sarah, Annesley ’12, and Judson. They reside in Coatesville, Pennsylvania where they operate the Doe Run Dairy farm.

References

{{Urban Outfitters , state=collapsed American businesspeople in retailing Living people Drexel University alumni Lehigh University alumni 1947 births Businesspeople from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Republicans American billionaires