Theodore William "Ted" Waitt (born January 18, 1963) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman 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 ...

. Waitt is a co-founder of Gateway, Inc.Executive Profile: Theodore W. Waitt Ph.D.
Bloomberg Business (accessed December 28, 2015).

Career

On September 5, 1985, Waitt, his brother Norm Jr., and Mike Hammond started ''Gateway 2000'' with a $10,000 loan secured by Waitt's grandmother. The company began on Waitt's father's cattle ranch in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

, moved to Sergeant Bluff, Iowa and later to North Sioux City, South Dakota, where they continued to develop their "down-home" branding, complete with computer boxes printed in a black and white Holstein cow pattern. Waitt led a move of the company's headquarters from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Poway, California Poway () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Poway's rural roots influenced its motto "The City in the Country". The city had a population of 48,841 as of the 2020 United States census. Poway is part of San Diego's East ...

in 1998. Waitt relinquished his post as CEO of Gateway in late 1999 to Jeffrey Weitzen, but returned to the post in January 2001. In 2004, after the acquisition of

eMachines eMachines was a brand of economical personal computers. In 2004, it was acquired by Gateway, Inc., which was in turn acquired by Acer Inc. in 2007. The eMachines brand was discontinued in 2013. History eMachines was founded in September 1998 by ...

, Waitt turned over day-to-day operations of Gateway and the title of CEO to Wayne Inouye, the former CEO of

. In May 2005, he resigned as chairman of the company, ending a near 20-year run with the company he co-founded. Waitt has been featured on numerous lists by Forbes magazine. He has held a spot on both the Forbes 400 Richest in America as well as Forbes list of the World's Billionaires. He has also been listed on Fortune Magazines "40 Richest Under 40", a list of the 40 wealthiest self-made Americans under the age of 40 in the United States. The 2008 Forbes 400 List listed Waitt with a net worth estimated at $1.4 billion. Waitt fell off the Forbes 400 list in 2009 with a net worth estimate of $900 million. Forbes speculated that the drop from the previous year was as a result of "souring real estate" and a divorce settlement. According to the September 2002 issue of Fortune Magazine, Waitt sold $1.1 billion in Gateway stock during the dot-com era. In August 2007, Gateway was acquired by Acer Inc. for $1.90 per share or $710 million. Labeled a maverick by national business and technology publications, he has gone on to form four enterprises that are his chief interests: Avalon Capital Group, Inc., a wholly owned, billion-dollar private investment company with diverse interests in technology, health care, energy, finance, and real estate; and the Waitt Foundation, Waitt Institute and Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention, nonprofit organizations dedicated to the improvement of mankind's knowledge through historical and scientific exploration. Waitt served as chairman of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies Board of Trustees from November 28, 2016, until November 20, 2017. He originally joined the Salk Board of Trustees in 2004 and has served in numerous roles while donating millions of dollars to the institute.

Personal life

Waitt is married to former model Michele Merkin. He and his first wife Joan Theresa Peschel had four children, Hailey Peschel, Emily Rose, Maxwell Griffin, and Sophia Marie. Waitt's eldest daughter, Hailey, is married to former soccer player Jordan Gafa. Waitt was romantically linked to Ghislaine Maxwell, after she ended her relationship with

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( , ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School, despite lacking a col ...

. Waitt owns homes in the Bird Streets area of Hollywood Hills West, Los Angeles (put up for sale for $20 million in September 2015) and in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

(purchased in 2005 for $13.32 million and put for sale for $22.9 million in November 2015).Neal J. Leitereg
Billionaire Ted Waitt lists his loaded estate in La Jolla for $22.9 million
''Los Angeles Times'' (November 24, 2015). Waitt also owns a home in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. In 2020 he bought the

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

residence of designer James Perse.

Awards and honors

Waitt was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of South Dakota.

Philanthropy

''Business Week'' named Waitt one of America's 50 most generous philanthropists due to his work with the Waitt Foundation. The Foundation funds partnerships and projects, sometimes in conjunction or collaboration with the Waitt Institutes, focused on marine conservation. Established in 1993, the Foundation initially focused on

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

prevention and community development. The Waitt Institute is a founding member, along with National Geographic Pristine Seas, Oceans 5, and Dynamic Planet, of the Blue Prosperity Coalition which aims to support governments in sustainable oceans management by providing financing, expertise, and tools to create

marine protected areas A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuary, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human ...

(MPA). On November 1, 2019, the Blue Prosperity Coalition announced a ten-year, $150 million commitment from the Waitt Foundation towards its ocean conservation efforts. On 15 Sept, 2016, the Waitt Foundation joined with the

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a global 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, with a mission to save "wildlife and wild places across the globe". Founded in ...

(WCS), the blue moon fund (bmf), and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to commit a combined $48 million towards expansion of the world's

(MPA). On 1 May 2008, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies announced the grant of $20 million from the Waitt Foundation to fund the creation of an Advanced Biophotonics Center. On 18 December 2008, th
William J. Clinton Foundation
released a list of all contributors. It included Theodore Waitt, who gave between US$10–25 million.Contributor Information to the William J. Clinton Foundation
On April 23, 2011, the Sioux City Public Museum had its grand opening. $4 million of its $13 million development budget was donated by the Waitt Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waitt, Ted 1963 births Living people American billionaires American computer businesspeople American investors American philanthropists Businesspeople from San Diego Gateway, Inc. People from Sioux City, Iowa University of Iowa alumni American technology company founders People from Union County, South Dakota People from Poway, California