James Ray Cargill (October 9, 1923 – March 26, 2006) was an American billionaire heir and businessman.

Early life

James Ray Cargill was born on October 9, 1923, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. His father was

Austen Cargill Austen Stowell Cargill (April 8, 1888 – May 24, 1957) was an American businessman. He was the son of William Wallace Cargill, the founder of Cargill, the largest privately held company in the United States. Early life Austen Cargill was the ...

and his mother, Anne Ray Cargill. His grandfather,

William Wallace Cargill William Wallace Cargill (December 15, 1844 – October 17, 1909) was an American businessman. In 1865, he founded Cargill, which by 2008 was the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue, employing over 150, ...

, was the founder of Cargill, an agribusiness corporation. He grew up in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. He was educated at the

Lake Forest Academy Lake Forest Academy (also known as LFA) is a co-educational college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12. The school is located on the North Shore in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States, about 30 miles north o ...

in Lake Forest, Illinois. He also worked at Cargill during the summers of 1939 through 1941. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in Europe for three years during World War II. He graduated from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

Career

In 1947, he started his career at Cargill, working in advertising. By 1989, he retired as senior vice president of Cargill. He served on its board of directors from 1963 to 1995. He was a major shareholder of Cargill. In 1992, he acquired J. B. Hudson Jewelers, a retailer of jewelry, china and crystals. He was worth US$1.8 billion in 2006.

Philanthropy

He donated to his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, from which he was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. He established Dinnaken Properties, student residences which were affordable yet good quality, at UM. He was a donor to

Ducks Unlimited Ducks Unlimited (DU) is an American nonprofit organization 501(c) dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It has had a membership of around 700,000 since January 2013. ...

and

Trout Unlimited Trout Unlimited (TU) is a US non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of freshwater streams, rivers, and associated upland habitats for trout, salmon, other aquatic species, and people. It is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. T ...

Personal life

He married Mary Janet Cargill. They had three children: * James R. Cargill II * Austen S. Cargill II * Marianne Cargill Liebmann

Death

He died on March 26, 2006, in

Edina, Minnesota Edina ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States and a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis. The population was 53,494 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th most populous city in Minnesota. Edina began as a small farming and mil ...

Legacy

Each of his children inherited a 1/18 share of Cargill.

References

1923 births 2006 deaths Businesspeople from Chicago Businesspeople from Minneapolis Lake Forest Academy alumni University of Minnesota alumni American billionaires Philanthropists from Illinois Cargill people 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1920s-stub