American entrepreneur and multimillionaire who, in 1963, opened First Travel Corporation with one employee and $5000. By 1977, he owned the second largest travel company in the U.S. that was taking in revenues of over $300 million annually. He was not publicly known, though, until he became the President of the Los Angeles Olympic Organization Committee, a post which he took over on 4/01/1979, and which was followed by his role as Commissioner of Baseball. As an avid sportsman, he has broken his nose five times in water polo.
Ueberroth earned his BA in business in 1959 and moved to Hawaii to work with nonscheduled airlines. When in Hawaii, he started his own air shuttle, D962, but went bankrupt. Following his failed air bus venture he started First Travel.
In 1989 he bought strike-bound and bankrupt Eastern Air Lines for $464 million, aiming to get their fleet back into business swiftly. The ownership of the restructured airline was divided among Ueberroth and his investors, who get 30% of the carrier, Eastern employees, 30% and other new stockholders, 40%. His core group of investors put up nearly $200 million in cash.
He married his college sweetheart in September 1959 and they have had four kids. His family life is important to him and takes a priority in his busy schedule. Still an avid sportsman, he enjoys golf, skin diving, body surfing, tennis, and spear fishing. His family maintain homes in Laguna Beach, CA and in New York City.
Link to Wikipedia biography