Whitney MacMillan (September 25, 1929 – March 11, 2020) was 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 ...

heir and businessman.Brian Solomon
The Secretive Cargill Billionaires And Their Family Tree
''

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 ...

'', 9/22/2011Forbes 2008: Whitney MacMillan
/ref>Brenda McDonald
Businessman Whitney MacMillan to receive honorary doctorate from MSU-Bozeman
Montana State University, March 26, 2002 He was the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of his family business,

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

, from 1976 to 1995.

Early life

Whitney MacMillan was born on September 25, 1929. He was the son of Pauline Whitney and

Cargill MacMillan Sr Cargill MacMillan Sr. (October 10, 1900 – October 16, 1968) was an American business executive, serving as the President of Cargill in Minneapolis. Early life MacMillan was born on October 10, 1900. He was the second son of John H. MacMillan Sr. ...

., and the great-grandson of

William Wallace Cargill William Wallace Cargill (December 15, 1844 – October 17, 1909) was an American businessman. In 1865, he founded Cargill, which by 2008 was the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue, employing over 150,0 ...

, the founder of

. He has one brother, Cargill MacMillan Jr. (1927–2011), and one sister, Pauline MacMillan Keinath.Mike Hughlett
Obituary: Cargill MacMillan, 84, company heir
''

The Star Tribune ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', November 15, 2011 He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Business

He was CEO of Cargill from 1976 to 1995, and the last family member to be CEO. During his tenure, Cargill's annual turnover went from $10 to $33 billion over ten years. By the 1980s, it became the world's largest grain company, outstripping its European rivals. He was a director of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund. He owned and ran a cow and calf ranch in

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

, Sweet Grass, and Fergus counties in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Philanthropy

He served on the board of directors of the

International Peace Institute The International Peace Institute (IPI, formerly the International Peace Academy) is an independent non-profit think tank founded in 1970 based in New York. The institute has a regional office in the Middle East ( Manama, Bahrain) and had a regi ...

, the

Salzburg Global Seminar Salzburg Global (formerly known as Salzburg Global Seminar) is a non-profit organization that convenes programs on its five pillar topics of Peace and Justice, Education, Culture, Health, and Finance and Governance. Programs regularly occur at Sc ...

, the Rural Development Institute, the

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, the

Ruckelshaus Institute William Doyle Ruckelshaus (July 24, 1932 – November 27, 2019) was an American attorney and government official. Ruckelshaus served in the Indiana House of Representatives from 1966 to 1968, and was the United States Assistant Attorney General ...

, the Burton K. Wheeler Center for Public Policy in

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. The 2020 United States census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it Montana's fourth-largest city. It is the principal city of the Bozeman, Montan ...

and Yale University's president's council on international activities. He served on the National Advisory Board of the

Museum of the Rockies Museum of the Rockies is a museum in Bozeman, Montana. Originally affiliated with Montana State University - Bozeman, Montana State University in Bozeman, and now also, the Smithsonian Institution. The museum is largely known for its Paleontology, ...

in Bozeman, Montana. He was a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

board on agriculture and natural resources, the

EastWest Institute The EastWest Institute (EWI), originally known as the Institute for East-West Security Studies and officially the Institute for EastWest Studies, Inc., was an international not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank focused on international conflic ...

Care International CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, formerly Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe) is a major international humanitarian agency delivering emergency relief and long-term international development projects. Founded i ...

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

and the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. The Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale is named for him. In 2002, he received an honorary doctorate from Montana State University-Bozeman. He was an executive fellow and teacher at the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Business in Minnesota. Together with the Montana Historical Society, he was restoring the ghost town of Judith Landing, Montana at the confluence of

Judith River The Judith River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 124 mi (200 km) long, running through central Montana in the United States. It rises in the Little Belt Mountains and flows northeast past Utica and Hobson. It is ...

and

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

Personal life

He was married to Betty MacMillan. He lived in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. As of August 2014, he was worth an estimated US$4.8 billion. He died on March 11, 2020, in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, Whitney 2020 deaths 1929 births Businesspeople from Minneapolis Yale University alumni American chief executives of Fortune 500 companies Ranchers from Montana University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) faculty Cargill people American billionaires Cargill family (United States)