Founder of Mercury General Corporation,George Joseph Makes Headlines
George Joseph, aged 102, has been recognized as the world’s oldest billionaire, according to the latest Forbes Billionaire List 2024.
Born in 1921 in Beckley, West Virginia, to Lebanese immigrants, Joseph’s journey to success is as inspiring as it is extraordinary. A graduate of Harvard University, where he majored in Maths and Physics, Joseph’s early years were marked by the hardships of the Great Depression.
During World War II, Joseph served as a flight navigator in the US Army Air Corps, completing an impressive 50 missions over North Africa and Italy. His resilience and determination laid the groundwork for a career that would leave an indelible mark on the insurance industry.
Starting his professional journey as a door-to-door salesman for Occidental Life Insurance Company in Los Angeles, Joseph’s entrepreneurial spirit soon led him to found Mercury General Corporation in 1962. With an initial capital of $2 million, Joseph’s company quickly gained traction, offering cut-rate deals tailored for safer-than-average drivers.
Today, Mercury General stands as a testament to Joseph’s visionary leadership, boasting annual revenues of $4.6 billion and offering a diverse range of insurance products, including automotive, home, and fire insurance.
102-Year-Old George Joseph Crowned World’S Oldest Billionaire
Joseph’s 35% stake in the publicly traded Mercury General has propelled him to the upper echelons of wealth, with Forbes estimating his net worth at a staggering $1.7 billion.
