Henry Ford taught him to drive. Charles Lindbergh piloted his first airplane ride. Edisons and Rockefellers were guests at his wedding. Such were the advantages of being born William Clay Ford, the last surviving grandson of automotive icon Henry Ford. And it was thanks to his persistence that the company started by his grandfather in 1903 still remains in family control. Before the company went public in 1956, Ford clashed with his eldest brother, Henry Ford II, then the Ford chairman, and insisted that the family retain a minimum 40 percent of the voting rights. “I don’t care if it flies or not,” Ford told company advisers worried that the precondition would sink the IPO. “That’s the way it’s going to be.” His son, William Clay Ford Jr., is the company’s current executive chairman.
Ford was named to Ford’s board of directors in 1948 at age 23, said The Washington Post, and served as vice chairman from 1980 to 1989. In 1963, he bought the NFL’s Detroit Lions, which despite his free spending and often high expectations amassed a losing record of 310–441–13, with just one playoff victory in 50 seasons. Praised by players and staff for his uncommon generosity, Ford showed a penchant for being “frustratingly loyal” to poorly performing coaches and team executives, creating a somewhat uneasy relationship with Lions fans.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Pig kidney transplant recipient diesSpeed Read Richard Slayman has passed away two months after undergoing the historic procedure
-
Putin replaces defense minister with economistSpeed Read In a surprising shake-up, Putin replaced Sergei Shoigu with civilian economist Andrei Belousov
-
Today's political cartoons - May 13, 2024Cartoons Monday's cartoons - a portrait of humanity, cool re-brand, and more
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soulWhy Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25Speed Read
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96Speed Read
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84Speed Read
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everagefeature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s lookfeature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
