Bill Lebold Harbert (July 21, 1923 – June 27, 2010) was an American businessman and founder of the international construction firm

B.L. Harbert International B.L. Harbert International, LLC, is a construction company based in Birmingham, Alabama, that was founded in 2000 by Billy L. Harbert, as a division of Harbert Corporation. B.L. Harbert has two main operating divisions, the U.S. Division and the ...

. He was the brother of businessman

John M. Harbert John Murdoch Harbert III (July 19, 1921 – March 31, 1995) was an American businessman. He is best known for building his international construction company, Harbert Corporation, into one of the world's largest, along with creating a personal w ...

Life

Harbert was born in Indianola, Mississippi on July 21, 1923. Soon after his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, Harbert enrolled at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

, where he graduated in 1948 after serving in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Following his graduation from Auburn, he and his older brother, John M. Harbert, founded Harbert Construction Company. The company, which later changed its name to Harbert Corporation, became one of the world's largest construction and engineering companies. In the early 1990s Harbert Corporation sold its domestic construction division to Raytheon in an effort to focus more on investment management. Soon after, the international division was sold to Bill Harbert. The international division became part of Bill Harbert International Construction (BHIC) in 1991. In 2000, Bill Harbert retired and assets of BHIC were sold. The company changed its name to B.L. Harbert International and is headed by Bill's son Billy Harbert. On June 27, 2010, Harbert died at the age of 86 in Birmingham, Alabama. He was survived by his son Bill L. Harbert Jr. and his daughters Anne Harbert Moulton, and Elizabeth Harbert Cornay.Birmingham's Bill Harbert, construction industry giant, dies at 86
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbert, Bill L. 1923 births 2010 deaths People from Vestavia Hills, Alabama Auburn University alumni American military personnel of World War II Harbert family People from Indianola, Mississippi