William Clay Ford, 1925–2014

last updated 8 January 2015

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.

As a child, Ford liked to sit with his father, Edsel, painting watercolors of luxury cars, said Forbes.com. That passion for design carried over into his career, and he played an integral part in the development and design of the Lincoln Continental Mark II, one of Ford’s signature models. “We have a tremendous pride in the Ford name,” he told shareholders at the company’s 100th anniversary in 2003, “and a great desire to see the Ford name in the forefront of world transportation.”