Arthur L. "Art" Williams Jr. (born April 26, 1942) is an American
insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
executive living in
Palm Beach, Florida. He is the founder of A.L. Williams & Associates, known as
Primerica Financial Services
Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI) is a company that provides insurance, investment and financial services to middle income families in the United States and Canada.
Primerica is the parent company of National Benefit Life Insurance Company, Pri ...
since 1991. He also ventured into professional sports, owning the
Birmingham Barracudas
The Birmingham Barracudas were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Barracudas were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States.
Franchise history
In the beginning
Ins ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) and the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) for brief periods.
Early life and education
Born on April 26, 1942, in
Cairo, Georgia
Cairo () is a city in Grady County, Georgia, Grady County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,179. The city is the county seat of Grady County.
History
C ...
.
He obtained his
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in arts and sciences at
Mississippi State University in
Starkville, Mississippi, and his
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in science from
Auburn University. From his early days in high school, Art aspired to be a professional
football coach.
Career
In 1965, Williams's father suddenly died of a heart attack. He had a
whole life insurance
Whole life insurance, or whole of life assurance (in the Commonwealth of Nations), sometimes called "straight life" or "ordinary life", is a life insurance policy which is guaranteed to remain in force for the insured's entire lifetime, provided ...
policy that left their family underinsured. Five years later Art Williams' cousin Ted Harrison introduced him to the concept of
term life insurance
Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance that provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period expires, coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaran ...
, a simpler alternative to
whole life which requires less cashflow and which, at that time, was almost never sold and rarely heard of outside the insurance industry. Williams was taken aback by the idea of not knowing that there was a choice when buying life insurance and described the whole conversation as "disturbing,"
recalling his father's death and referring to the fact that people had no idea of such a product. Believing that families were paying too much for whole life policies that left them poor in the wallet and deeply underinsured, Williams joined his cousin at
ITT Financial Services in 1970. In June 1973, six months before ITT went out of business, he left and went on board with
Waddell & Reed
Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. was an American asset management and financial planning company founded in 1937 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a publicly traded company from 1998 to 2021, and briefly had its headquarters in Overland Park, Kans ...
, another Buy term and invest the difference (BTID) company that saw early success.
Williams gained momentum at W&R and became regional vice-president (RVP) the same year, with a sales force that covered 6 states. Despite the numerous benefits of working at W&R in comparison to ITT, it became clear to Williams that with a corporate structure in which the executives, not the sales force, owned the company, financial decisions would always have priority over the clients and there would be limits on how much the company could grow.
On February 10, 1977, Williams and 85 associates founded their own company
A.L. Williams & Associates on a simple philosophy: "Buy Term and Invest the Difference."
[Williams biography](_blank)
accessed on July 8, 2006 He convinced many customers to switch from their conventional whole-life insurance to term policies. The company's rapid growth to become the largest seller of life insurance in the U.S. was enhanced by his emphasis on promoting his people. He was one of the first to have weekly video conferences on the company's private television broadcast system. This allowed him to personally speak to each of his 225,000 plus agents and to create a family feeling that inspired them to become Financially Independent.
A.L. Williams became Primerica Financial Services.
Williams made a large portion of his fortune from investments, particularly in
Citigroup, in which he owned 21 million shares .
Williams purchased and entirely renovated the old Edwards Inn and Spa in
Highlands, North Carolina
Highlands is an incorporated town in Macon County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located on a plateau in the southern Appalachian Mountains, within the Nantahala National Forest, it lies mostly in southeastern Macon County and slightly i ...
, spending nearly forty million dollars. The inn went from being relatively unknown to the #4 hotel according to
Tripadvisor in 2012.
Sports ownership
Birmingham Barracudas
Williams first entered the ranks of sports ownership in 1995, when he was granted a
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
(CFL) expansion franchise for
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
. He wanted a team nickname that would "scare the spit out of people," and chose the
Barracudas moniker for his franchise.
Like many owners of the CFL's
newer American franchises, Williams was in way over his head, being unfamiliar with Canadian football. He felt Birmingham was a logical choice to place his franchise, due to the popularity of
football in the state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
. The results of his venture, however, told a different story. Fan support and attendance for home games were initially strong during the summer months, but declined considerably when the NFL, NCAA, and high school football seasons started. Knowing the 'Cudas could not even begin to go head-to-head with
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
and
Auburn football, Williams persuaded the CFL to allow the Barracudas to play their September and October home games on Sundays. This was not nearly enough to prevent a steep decline at the gate. Williams estimated he spent $10 million to launch the Barracudas franchise, and lost a substantial amount throughout the course of the season.
[Cudas Apparently Through in Birmingham. Gadsden Times, Associated Press, November 7, 1995, accessed 29 January 2014 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19951107&id=KrwfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FNgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4898,678628]
Williams was outspoken in his criticism of the CFL and its style of play, and along with the other American team owners wanted changes made to several league rules. Amongst these requests were to reduce the size of a CFL field and alter gameplay to match American football standards, and to change the name of the league to better reflect the presence of American teams. He strongly petitioned the CFL to move the season to the spring months, as he was unwilling to risk another season going head-to-head with the other American football leagues, especially college football.
When the league refused to comply with his requests, Williams decided to sell the Barracudas to a group of investors called Ark-La-Tex Football Association, which intended to move the team to
Shreveport as a replacement for the
Shreveport Pirates
The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...
, which had collapsed under the mismanagement of owner
Bernard Glieberman
Bernard "Bernie" Glieberman is an American real estate mogul and the president of Crosswinds Communities. Despite having made his fortune in real estate, Glieberman was perhaps best known for, with his son Lonie, making several unsuccessful and co ...
. The transaction proposal was for $750,000. Williams said it was a significant loss, based on his own estimates. The league rejected the sale and opted to contract the remaining American franchises prior to the
1996 season instead.
Tampa Bay Lightning
In 1998, Williams returned to sports ownership when he purchased the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
's
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...
from Kokusai Green for $117 million, outbidding
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
owner
William Davidson William or Bill Davidson may refer to:
Businessmen
* Bill Davidson (businessman) (1922–2009), Michigan businessman and sports team owner
** William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan, named in honor of Bill Davidson
* William Davidson ...
for the franchise.
Williams was visible and outspoken during the early stages of his ownership of the Lightning. He cleared the majority of the team's debt, which was $102 million at the time of the sale, and added an additional $6 million to the player payroll, allowing the team to acquire established players such as
Wendel Clark
Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...
,
Craig Janney
Craig Harlan Janney (born September 26, 1967) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League from 1987–88 until 1998–99, when blood clots ended his career prematurely.
Playing ca ...
, and
Bill Ranford
William Edward Ranford (born December 14, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and current goaltending coach for the Los Angeles Kings. He was selected in the third round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, 52nd overall, by the B ...
. This would be a stark contrast to Kokusai Green's bargain-basement approach to running the team.
The Lightning drafted
Vincent Lecavalier
Vincent "Vinny" Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently a special advisor to hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens. Lecavalier, played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey ...
with the first overall pick at the
1998 NHL Entry Draft, whom Williams declared to be "The
Michael Jordan of hockey." The statement drew heavy criticism in hockey circles, as it placed lofty expectations on the young forward in addition to revealing how little Williams knew about the sport.
As with his time in the CFL, Williams was seen as being in way over his head as an NHL owner. His lack of knowledge about hockey, combined with his thick Southern accent and
fundamentalist Christian
Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...
views, made him an easy target for ridicule from his NHL colleagues, who often referred him as "
Jed Clampett" behind his back. Williams did not smoke or drink, and used words like "goldangit" in place of profanities.
On the ice, Williams's lone season as team owner was mired in chaos. Despite publicly assuring general manager
Phil Esposito
Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...
and assistant general manager
Tony Esposito
Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (April 23, 1943 – August 10, 2021) was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 15 of those for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of t ...
their jobs were safe, Williams fired them two games into the 1998–99 season, giving head coach
Jacques Demers
Jacques Demers (born August 25, 1944) is a former Canadian Senator, former broadcaster and former professional ice hockey head coach. After a lengthy coaching career in the World Hockey Association and in the National Hockey League, Demers bec ...
exclusive control of the team's hockey operations as both coach and general manager. The team would record a ten-game losing streak early in the season, all but ending any chance of making the playoffs. The Lightning finished the season at 19–54–9.
By the spring of 1999, the team's on-ice performance, along with the turmoil in the front office and long-term financial situation proved to be too much to handle. Williams stopped attending games after the Lightning hosted
1999 NHL All-Star Game
The 1999 National Hockey League All-Star Game took place on January 24, 1999, at Ice Palace (Tampa arena), Ice Palace in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, home to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"North America" and the World
The major criticism of the North Americ ...
in January. He would go on to explain his refusal for being as visible as he was in the early stages of his ownership was his disappointment regarding the venture, citing "this team broke my heart". Williams lost $20 million in the 1998–99 season alone, which was more in one year as he estimated he could have lost in five years. Williams eventually sold the team to Davidson, whom he outbid a year earlier for $115 million, which was $2 million less than his original purchase price.
[Blunderful]
St. Petersburg Times
Wealth
In 1998, he saved the Christian
Liberty University
Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia ( Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Lib ...
in Virginia, donating $70 million and erasing decades of debt. He stated that "My wife and I always knew God wanted us to do something special with our money".
[Chicago Tribune](_blank)
accessed on October 31, 2017
The money donated to Liberty U was used, in large part, to build a football stadium.
During the financial crisis of 2008, the value of his CITI shares (which he acquired as payment for selling off Art Williams Insurance) plunged $800M. He later sued over this loss, but lost his case. That represented a large portion of his net worth.
Books
He wrote five books:
* ''Common Sense''
* ''Pushing Up People''
* ''All You Can Do Is All You Can Do, But All You Can Do Is Enough'' (The New York Times bestseller list in 1988)
* ''The A. L. Williams Way''
* ''Coach, The A. L. Williams Story''
Speeches
Art Williams's best known speech is "Just Do It".
made to the organization of National Religious Broadcasters in 1987.
See also
*
List of billionaires
''The World's Billionaires'' is an annual ranking by documented net worth of the wealthiest billionaires in the world, compiled and published in March annually by the American business magazine ''Forbes''. The list was first published in March ...
*
Williams Stadium
Arthur L. Williams Stadium is a 25,000-seat football stadium located on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. The stadium was built in 1989 and plays host to Liberty Flames football, which is a part of the NCAA Division I - ...
References
* http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/Art_Williams111406.aspx
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Arthur L. Jr.
1942 births
Living people
American billionaires
Auburn University alumni
Mississippi State University alumni
National Hockey League executives
People associated with direct selling
People from Cairo, Georgia
Primerica
Tampa Bay Lightning executives