William J Pulte | |
Birth Name: | William John Pulte |
Birth Date: | 16 May 1932 |
Birth Place: | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
Death Place: | Naples, Florida, U.S. |
Height: | 5'8 |
Known For: | Founder of PulteGroup |
Children: | 14 |
William John Pulte was the founder and chairman of PulteGroup, one of the largest home construction and real estate development companies in the United States.
William J. Pulte attended De La Salle Collegiate School in Detroit. He was a three sport varsity athlete in football, track and basketball.[1]
In 1950, just after graduating high school, William J. Pulte and 5 friends built a 5-room bungalow near Detroit City Airport, which they sold for $10,000.[2]
In 1956, he founded William J. Pulte Inc.[3] In 1959, he built his first subdivision.
In 2016, after Richard Dugas Jr., the former chief executive officer of the company, moved the headquarters of the company from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan to Atlanta and initiated a change in direction for the company, William J. Pulte, who owned 9% of the company at the time, pressured Dugas to resign. Dugas resigned, and the stock price fell 6.57%.[4]
William J. Pulte had 14 children (and was predeceased by one). He divorced his first wife, and married Karen Koppal in 1993. William J. Pulte died at his home in Naples, Florida, on March 7, 2018, at the age of 85.[5] [3] [2]