Diane Hendricks was up on a dairy farm in Osseo, Wisconsin, and she always saw herself working in a city, driving a fancy automobile, and wearing suits. With an estimated net worth of $20.9 billion as of right now, the 77-year-old has nearly doubled her reported net worth from just two years ago. She has also topped Forbes' most recent list of America's Richest Self-Made Women for seven consecutive years.
The main source of her wealth is her roofing supply company, ABC Supply. In 1982, Hendricks and her late husband founded the corporation headquartered in Beloit, Wisconsin, of which she currently serves as chairwoman. The corporate website states that she is the sole owner of the business. Forbes reports that ABC Supply generated $20.4 billion in revenue in the previous year and has over 900 branch locations.
Hendricks told Forbes last year that she decided she didn't want to marry a farmer and that she didn't want to be a farmer when she was ten years old and gazed out of a window. Rather, she imagined herself driving a great automobile, being independent, and dressing in a blue suit. Hendricks claimed that this realization, along with seeing her parents labor on the farm, inspired her to pursue her career. After that, she became pregnant at the age of 17, and she lived at home to complete her senior year of high school.
After divorcing her high school love three years later, she supported herself as a single mother by taking on a variety of odd jobs, including waitressing at Playboy Bunny, all the while pursuing a real estate career, she said. That's when I began to consider a future in business, which is what I'd always wanted to do," Hendricks remarked. She co-founded ABC Supply with roof contractor Ken Hendricks after they were married in the 1970s. In 1998, the company's annual sales surpassed $1 billion for the first time.
Success hasn't been without controversy, either. Hendricks "didn't pay a dime in state income tax from 2012 through 2014," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2016, the first year she topped America's Richest Self-Made Women list. Additionally, the news outlet reported that in 2010, she owed no money in state taxes. Tax director Scott Bianchini of ABC Supply told CNBC Make It in 2022 that it's not necessarily illegal.
During those years, the corporation converted from a C-corp to an S-corp for tax purposes. According to Wisconsin state law, corporations may choose to be C-corps in the state and S-corps in the federal government. This means that ABC Supply can elect out of the state tax-option status, which may include any checks the firm writes to Hendricks, provided that all federal taxes have been paid. Hendricks remains headquartered close to Beloit, a town of fewer than 37,000 people.
According to Forbes, she has spent millions of dollars on neighborhood initiatives to restore abandoned properties and attract new businesses to the state. She has also purchased and renovated a number of the town's historic buildings and older businesses. To provide middle and high school students with skill seminars on subjects like coding and construction, Hendricks created a local job center in 2017. She told Forbes at the time that the program's goal was to teach teenagers "the value of a job."
"Wow, is that how a welder works?" is what kids say. stated Hendricks. "They can enroll in a trade program and earn $50,000 annually as a welder. Those are excellent positions. Excellent work.
