Billy Joe "Red" McCombs was a self-made millionaire by the time he was 30-years-old and is currently one of the few billionaires in San Antonio. He built his fortune in car dealerships, sports franchises, communications, real estate, oil, cattle and other smart investments.
Former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Vikings, McCombs was one of the founding partners in San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications in 1972. McCombs is married with three children and eight grandchildren. Currently, he has a net worth of $1.3 billion.
McCombs was born in 1927 in the small West Texas town of Spur. His family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas when Red was 16. He attended Southwestern University and played football there briefly before serving in the military in 1946 and 1947.
After his stint in the Army, McCombs enrolled at The University of Texas in Austin and went on to attended their business school and law school.
In his early 20's, he was visiting a friend in Corpus Christi who encouraged him to become a cars salesman. McCombs found quick success and had his first dealership by the age of 25. In 1958, he and wife Charline moved to San Antonio where he partnered in a Ford dealership from which McCombs built his automobile empire.
He went on to own the sixth largest auto conglomerate in the United States with over 50 dealerships. Currently, Red McCombs Automotive Group now consists of five local dealerships in San Antonio.
On the success of his automobile dealerships, McCombs began investing in the sports industry at the age of 25, when he purchased his first professional sports team - the Corpus Christi Texas Clippers.
McCombs later purchased two NBA teams, the San Antonio Spurs (1972) and Denver Nuggets (1985). In 1998, McCombs purchased the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL for $246 million. The team became and instant success. McCombs sold the franchise for a nice profit in 2005.
McCombs and a business associate Lowry Mays formed Clear Channel Communications in 1972. Clear Channel began operations that year and became a publicly traded corporation in 1984. Presently, the company owns or operates 1,100 radio and 40 television stations in the United States and has interests in nearly 250 radio stations internationally. Clear Channel also operates nearly 900,000 outdoor advertising displays (billboards) throughout the world.
Today, his Clear Channel stock is worth $130 million.
In addition to his automotive interests and Clear Channel, McCombs diversified his ventures and investments. He owns and operates Koontz McCombs, a San Antonio-based land and real estate development company, which handles commercial investment property.
McCombs has also been active in the energy industry for several decades. He currently owns McCombs Energy, an onshore and offshore gas production and exploration company.
Additionally, throughout the years, McCombs has been involved in various insurance and ranching companies.
McCombs established himself as a civic leader throughout Texas through charitable contributions and hard work. He was one of the key figures in bringing the Alamodome and Sea World to San Antonio. He has given substantial contributions to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and Southwestern University. In 1997, he made the largest donation ever to women's athletics at The University of Texas at Austin.
Three years later, McCombs donated $50 million to UT's Business School, the largest single donation in the school's history. In acknowledgement, the University renamed the school as the McCombs School of Business.
In 1949, McCombs met his future wife Charline in Corpus Christi. It was love at first sight for Red and the couple wed in 1950. Red and Charline had three daughters - Lynda, Marsha and Connie. Red, Charline, their married daughters and their eight grandchildren all reside in San Antonio.
McCombs in a recovering alcoholic. At age 48, McCombs had some sort of seizure and Charline thought he was having a stroke. He was rushed to the hospital in San Antonio and it was found he had a severe attack of hepatitis, made worse by his overuse of alcohol.
McCombs was unconscious and it was thought he may not survive. Fortunately, he did not have major liver damage and fully recovered. The hospital stay, though a near death experience, served as a detox for McCombs. He had been a heavy drinker for years and acknowledged his alcoholism. He took his last drink in November 1977 and hasn't taken a sip since.