William "Billy" Dunavant, Jr. (born 1932) was a

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

industrialist. He died September 11, 2021 at 88 years old.

Biography

Early life

Dunavant was born on December 19, 1932 to William and Dorothy Dunavant. He was educated first at

The McCallie School The McCallie School is a boys college-preparatory school located on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. The school was founded in 1905 and now has 250 boarding students in grades 9–12 and 669 day students in grades 6–12 ...

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, then at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, and received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

. His maternal grandfather, T.J. White, was a cotton farmer from

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the Uni ...

. His paternal grandfather, Colonel William P. Dunavant was in the railroad business and created one of the main cotton transporting railroads of the time. His father began working for T.J. White and Company at the age of 21. After White retired, the company was passed to Dunavant's father and renamed Dunavant Enterprises. When the senior Dunavant died in 1961, Dunavant inherited the company at the age of 29.

Career

When Dunavant took over the company in 1961, it handled around 100,000 bales of cotton a year, and ninety percent of their sales were in the United States. Today, the company sells over 4 million bales of cotton to more than 80 countries around the world
Dunavant Enterprises
is on the

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is publ ...

list of largest private companies
Forbes Ranking
and according to the

Memphis Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...

, it is the largest private company in Memphis. According to a 1976 article in the

Memphis Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, also ...

, "Dunavant's company was one of the first to go into ' future contracting,' whereby a farmer agrees to a price before he plants. It's a risky venture speculating on future cotton prices but Dunavant prospered while others floundered." On March 13, 2007 Dunavant was inducted into the Futures Industry Association's Hall of Fame for his work in the cotton futures business. After a successful career in the cotton industry, Dunavant stepped down as chief executive officer in 2005. Before his retirement Dunavant completed gross sale of $225 million to China, the second-largest cotton sale in history. Although Dunavant is no longer the CEO, he intends to remain chairman of the board. Dunavant is active in Memphis-area philanthropy, working with institutions such as

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges a ...

Memphis University School , motto_translation = Truth and Honor , streetaddress = 6191 Park Avenue , city = Memphis , state = Tennessee , zipcode = 38119 , province = , country = United States , coordinates ...

, and

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

. Dunavant's love of tennis inspired him to build the Memphis Racquet Club in 1972. His aspirations for a professional football team resulted in him selling the Racquet Club in 1992. Dunavant was the owner of the

Memphis Showboats The Memphis Showboats were an American football franchise in the United States Football League. They entered the league in its expansion in 1984 and made the 1985 playoffs, losing in the semifinal round to the Oakland Invaders. Perhaps the mo ...

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

and a principal investor in the

Memphis Hound Dogs The Memphis Hound Dogs were a proposed NFL team in the early-1990s. Former Memphis Showboats owner William Dunavant, Paul Tudor Jones, Fred Smith and Elvis Presley Enterprises were the members of the potential ownership group. In 1993, the NFL ...

, a proposed

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

expansion team that was rejected in 1993.

References

Sources

* "Coffee Break – Dunavant among 19 named to Futures hall." The Commercial Appeal. 10 March 2007: C1. * Coleman, Laura. "Dunavant now king in cotton." The Commercial Appeal. 21 November 1987: A1.. * "Cotton Has Played Big Role In Life of Carnival Rulers." Press Semiter. 9 April 1973. * "Dunavant steps aside." The Commercial Appeal. 2 August 2005: B4. * "Dunavant Steps down in June – Innovative cotton merchant opened markets around globe." The Commercial Appeal. 6 January 2005: C1. * "Dunavant to get humanitarian award." The Commercial Appeal. 20 August 1991: C5. * Gatewood, Dallas. "Cotton Carnival King William Dunavant Jr." The Commercial Appeal. 8 April 1973 * Mark, Roy. "'Impetuous' Dunavant Plants his projects in High Cotton.'" The Commercial Appeal. 28 March 1976. * Maum, Emmet. "Dunavant's 'Knack for Timing' Fosters International Success In Cotton Market." The Commercial Appeal. 15 March 1981. * Porteous, Clark. "Cotton Dealing is 24-Hour Business for Dunavant." Press Semiter. 8 January 1977. * Roberts, Jane. "From a cotton empire to a Montana ranch." The Commercial Appeal. 31 July 2005: A14. * "Scouts will salute Dunavant." The Commercial Appeal. 26 Oct. 2005: C1. * VanWyngarden, Bruce. "Q. and A. with William B. Dunavant." Memphis Flyer 19 Feb 2001 30 Sep 2007 http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A6748 * "William Buchanan Dunavant, Jr." Marquis Who's Who TM. Marquis Who's Who, 2007. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2007. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunavant, William 1932 births People from Tennessee Living people Vanderbilt University alumni