Donald Friese
$1.22B
as of 10/04/24
About Donald Friese
Donald Friese's fortune stems from C.R. Laurence, which manufactures or distributes more than 65,000 products for the glass industry.
In 2015 he sold C.R. Laurence to a big customer, Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope, a subsidiary of Irish conglomerate CRH, for $1.3 billion in cash.
Friese grew up a poor orphan in rural Pennsylvania, going to work on a dairy farm at age 12 before enlisting in the Army after high school.
After a three-year tour, he moved to California with just $125 and landed in the warehouse of C.R. Laurence, then a small distributor of supplies.
He climbed the ladder, amassing equity in the company until he owned 100%, and expanded by purchasing competitors and moving into manufacturing.
Personal stats
Citizenship
United States of AmericaSource of wealth
ManufacturingResidence
Los Angeles, CaliforniaMarital status
MarriedBirth date
10/03/40 (age 84)Self-made
self-madeDonald Friese’s fortune is worth
20K
troy ounces of gold
19K
median U.S. household
12K
median U.S. income
0.024%
U.S. credit card volume
0.005%
GDP of the United States
0.004%
United States debt
Net worth history
Annual ranking
Related people
Did you know?
When Friese sold C.R. Laurence, he gave his employees $85 million. All 1,600 longtime workers got a bonus check -- some for more than $1 million.
Net worth over time
Real-time ranking
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