American businessman, philanthropist and chairman of The Fuqua Companies and Fuqua Enterprises. The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University is named after him, as is the Fuqua School in Farmville, Virginia.
His mother died two months after he was born, and he was adopted by his maternal grandparents and raised on a small tobacco farm. With the adoption, his last name changed to Fuqua.
As an adolescent, Fuqua educated himself by requesting books from the Duke University Library to be mailed to his farm. He credited Duke’s lending program with enabling him to learn about business techniques.
From the 1950s to the 1990s, Fuqua developed a sizable business empire, including Snapper lawnmower dealerships, multiple media outlets, among them a TV station, real estate, life insurance, banking, soft drink manufacturing, and auto finance under the name Fuqua Industries.
Fuqua was active in politics for much of his life. He was a close friend and supporter of presidents Jimmy Carter and Lyndon B. Johnson, and former Savannah Mayor and billionaire Julius Curtis Lewis Jr.
In the 1970s, Fuqua demonstrated his considerable gratitude to Duke University by donating $10 million to its business school, which was subsequently renamed after him, becoming the Fuqua School of Business. His giving to the university totaled almost $40 million.
J.B. Fuqua died on 5 April 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 87.
Link to Wikipedia biography