Rank #2109
Joe Rogers Jr
Net worth $2.0B
Waffle House · United States
- Born
- Dec 02, 1946
- Age
- 79
- Source
- Waffle House
- Residence
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Citizenship
- United States
- Marital status
- Married
- Children
- 0
- Education
Net worth over time
Biography
- Joe Rogers Jr. is the longtime chairman of Waffle House and the son of one of the 24-hour breakfast chain's cofounders.
- There are now 2,100 locations in 25 states and estimated annual revenue of over $1 billion.
- He was 26 in 1973 when he took the helm of the chain, which had two family ownership groups, mounting debt and control of only 30% of the locations.
- Rogers consolidated ownership within his family, which now has a controlling share, while ending the company's reliance on debt.
- Rogers also created an employee ownership plan that now provides 3,500 workers (mostly hourly) with a piece of the business.
- Rogers made a point of keeping his diners defiantly open in the face of calamity and showed up in Charleston in 1989 to pour coffee after Hurricane Hugo hit.
- In March 2020, the Waffle House index flashed red as sales dropped 70%, 20% of locations closed and thousands of workers were furloughed.