Forrest Lee Preston (born March 22, 1933) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the founder, owner, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Life Care Centers of America, a long-term elderly care company that he founded in 1970.
Forrest Preston | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 22, 1933[1] Massachusetts, US |
| Alma mater | Walla Walla College Oregon State University |
| Spouse | Kathleen Marchant (d.2017) |
Early life
editForrest Lee Preston was born and raised in Massachusetts, the son of a Seventh-day Adventist pastor father,[2][3] Benjamin M. Preston and his wife Ethel Preston.[4] His father died in 1994, and Preston endowed the Benjamin M. Preston scholarship at Atlantic Union College, of which his father was an alumnus.[5]
He was educated at Walla Walla College and Oregon State University.[6] His original intent was to become a medical doctor, and he became a certified X-Ray technician.[7]
Career
editPreston moved to Cleveland, Tennessee, in the late 1950s a few years after his brother Winton Russell Preston, who had come to study at Southern Missionary College in nearby Collegedale.[4][7]
Together with his brother Winton, he co-founded a company called Hospital Publications to create patient booklets and public relations materials for hospitals, and the company operated until 1972.[4] The idea had come from his work in hospitals, where he concluded that there was a need for better public relations in the healthcare system. Through this business, he observed the conditions of elderly patients in hospitals, and concluded that there was a need for better long-term care.[7]
In 1970, Preston founded Life Care Centers of America in Cleveland, and is the sole owner, chairman and CEO.[8] It later grew to be the largest privately owned long-term care facility chain and the third largest privately owned long-term care facility in the United States.[2]
As of September 2015, he had an estimated net worth of US$2.1 billion.[6]
Personal life
editPreston was married to Kathleen Marchant (1936–2017) until her death.[9] He lives in Cleveland.[6] His residence is located near the residence of fellow businessman Allan Jones.[2][1] He is of the Baptist faith, and attends First Baptist Church in Cleveland.[9]
He married Kim Phuong Nguyen, his former caretaker, in 2018. In October 2024 his son Aubrey filed a legal complaint against Kim and her family over his father's finances.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b 220 Anatole Lane NW, Cleveland, Tennessee 37312, Cleveland, Tennessee: Bradley County Register of Deeds, 1995, p. 3
- ^ a b c Green, Alex (27 April 2015). "How Forrest Preston built Life Care Centers into the biggest privately held company in the industry". timesfreepress. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ^ "Cleveland, Tennessee". citiesofpromise.com. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ a b c "Preston, Winton Russell". chattanoogan. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ^ "Following god's leading in our lives" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.
- ^ a b c "Forrest Preston". Forbes. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ^ a b c "Preston Named Honorary Alumnus of the Year". Lee University. November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^ "Executive Profile Forrest L. Preston". bloomberg. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ^ Jemima McEvoy (November 9, 2024). "Billionaire's Son Says His Father's Much Younger Wife Is Abusing, Robbing His Dad". Forbes. Retrieved November 9, 2024..
