Age, Biography and Wiki

Les Schwab was born on 3 October, 1917 in Bend, Oregon, is an American businessman and tire chain founder (1917-2007). Discover Les Schwab's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 89 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation Businessman
Age 89 years old
Zodiac Sign Libra
Born 3 October 1917
Birthday 3 October
Birthplace Bend, Oregon
Date of death 18 May, 2007
Died Place Prineville, Oregon
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 3 October. He is a member of famous businessman with the age 89 years old group.

Les Schwab Height, Weight & Measurements

At 89 years old, Les Schwab height not available right now. We will update Les Schwab's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Les Schwab's Wife?

His wife is Dorothy Harlan (b. 1917) (m. 1936–2007, his death)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Dorothy Harlan (b. 1917) (m. 1936–2007, his death)
Sibling Not Available
Children 1 son, 1 daughter

Les Schwab Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Les Schwab worth at the age of 89 years old? Les Schwab’s income source is mostly from being a successful businessman. He is from United States. We have estimated Les Schwab's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income businessman

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Timeline

1917

Leslie Bishop Schwab (October 3, 1917 – May 18, 2007) was an American businessman from Oregon.

He was the founder of Les Schwab Tire Centers, a company which Modern Tire Dealer called "arguably the most respected independent tire store chain in the United States."

Schwab wed his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Harlan (1917-2016), in 1936 and they were married over 70 years.

1929

The family moved back to Central Oregon in 1929, where Schwab was schooled in a railroad boxcar at the Brooks Scanlon logging camp, with his mother as schoolteacher.

1933

While in high school in Bend at age 15, Schwab and his three siblings became orphans in 1933 when both parents died within months (his mother died of pneumonia; his alcoholic father was found dead in front of a Moonshine joint).

While an aunt and uncle offered to take him in, Schwab instead rented a room in a boarding house for $15 a month.

He began delivering the Oregon Journal newspaper while continuing to attend Bend High School.

1935

At the paper, Schwab would eventually cover all the routes in Bend, nine in all, outearning his high school principal, and he graduated in 1935.

1936

He married his high school sweetheart in 1936 and they became parents in 1940.

1940

Their two children died before their parents; son Harlan Lee Schwab (1940–1971) was killed in an automobile accident and daughter Margaret Joyce Schwab Denton (1952–2005) succumbed to cancer.

1942

Schwab became circulation manager for the Bend newspaper, The Bulletin, in 1942 and served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

1952

A native of Oregon, he served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II before starting his business in 1952.

Born in Bend, Oregon, his family moved to Minnesota two years later with young Les in tow.

Les Schwab's venture into the tire business began when he bought an OK Rubber Welders franchise store in nearby Prineville in early 1952.

Schwab was 34, with an expecting wife and an 11-year-old son, and had never even fixed a flat tire.

He sold his house, borrowed from a relative, and borrowed from his life insurance policy to purchase the franchise for $11,000, which had one employee and included a small shack that did not even have running water or a bathroom.

By the end of the first year, he had improved the sales nearly five-fold, from $32,000 to $150,000.

1953

A second store was opened in 1953 in Redmond and a third in Bend in 1955.

1956

The name of the business changed to "Les Schwab Tire Centers" in 1956, dropping the OK franchise.

1971

From this grew a tire empire based in Prineville that had 34 stores in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho in 1971, and 410 stores in the western U.S. and $1.6 billion in annual sales by 2007.

The company he built was based on the loyalty of the employees that was earned by giving them generous shares of the profit (half of a store's profit went to employees of that store), lucrative benefits, and only promoting from within the company.

In the communities served by these stores, the company became known for their advertising featuring employees running out to meet customers, an annual free beef promotion, and the company slogan: "If we can't guarantee it, we won't sell it." Despite the success of the company, Schwab refused to take the company public.

1980

In the late 1980s he gave up day-to-day control of the company.

1986

In 1986, he wrote an autobiography, Les Schwab, Pride in Performance, Keep it Going.

1990

In the early 1990s, Schwab and his wife donated funds to the local hospital to fund an expansion in honor of his son, Harlan.

2005

In late 2005, following the death of his daughter, his own health began to deteriorate.

2007

He died at age 89 in 2007.

2008

The company moved its corporate headquarters from Prineville to Bend in December 2008.

Announced two years earlier, it exchanged its modest one-story Cinder Block offices (externally resembling a tire store) for an upscale, three-story executive campus.

The new site in Bend at Juniper Ridge is on 12 acre and cost $33 million.

2016

His wife died in 2016.

They were survived by four grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren.

He was buried in Prineville.

The Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend was named the Les Schwab Amphitheater, up until November 2021, in his honor.