John L. Morris (born 1948) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businessman, and the founder, majority owner, and CEO of

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass Pr ...

, a hunting and fishing retail chain in the US and Canada. As of September 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$7.1 billion.

Early life

John Morris was born in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

in 1948. Morris was educated at

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and grad ...

Career

Morris founded Bass Pro Shops in 1972 when he began selling fishing equipment in the back of one of his father's

Brown Derby Brown Derby was a chain of restaurants in Los Angeles, California. The first and best known was shaped like a derby hat, an iconic image that became synonymous with the Golden Age of Hollywood. It was opened by Wilson Mizner in 1926. The chain ...

liquor stores in Springfield. According to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

, Morris has a net worth of $4.1 billion. Morris is also the founder of the

White River Marine Group BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass Pr ...

. Morris opened the

Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium The Johnny Morris Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium, also known as simply Wonders of Wildlife is a not-for-profit educational conservation-themed attraction in Springfield, Missouri. It is located adjacent to the Bass Pro Shops Nat ...

in Springfield, in 2017. The museum helps bring visitors to Bass Pro's store there, with which it shares a location. In September 2017, Bass Pro acquired

Cabela’s Cabela's Inc. is an American retailer that specializes in hunting, fishing, boating, camping, shooting and other outdoor recreation merchandise. The chain is based in Sidney, Nebraska. Cabela's was founded by Richard N. Cabela in 1961. Cabela's ...

, another retailer of outdoor merchandise, for $4 billion. Morris and his family were presented with the

Audubon Medal The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

in February 2019, in recognition of their conservation efforts. Morris also founded the Top of the Rock golf course in Branson, Missouri, which houses one of the largest collection of Native American arrowheads and art in the region. Top of the Rock experienced a 70-foot wide sinkhole on May 22, 2016.

Personal life

He is married, with four children, and lives in Springfield, Missouri.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Johnny 1948 births Living people American businesspeople American billionaires Drury University alumni People from Springfield, Missouri