Ernest Garcia II

Ernest García II (born May 1, 1957) is an American billionaire businessman, the owner of DriveTime, and a major shareholder in Carvana. In 1990, he pleaded guilty to a felony bank fraud charge for his role in the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association collapse. As of May 2026, his net worth was estimated at US$23.9 billion.

Early life Ernest García II was born May 1, 1957, the son of Ernest Garcia, who co-owned a liquor store with Frank Colaianni, and was once the mayor of Gallup, New Mexico. He dropped out, but eventually earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona.

In 1991, García bought Ugly Duckling, a bankrupt rent-a-car franchise, for under $1 million and merged it with his own fledgling finance company, and turned it into a company selling and financing used cars for sub-prime buyers with poor credit history. In 1999, Garcia was involved in six lawsuits alleging he had "abused his position to profit" from a real estate deal where he ultimately acquired 17 company properties at a 10% discount.

As of April 2021, García's net worth is estimated at $15.9 billion.

It was announced in September 2021 that Garcia had sold more than $3.6 billion of Carvana stock since the previous October, which amounted to 16% of his holdings in the company.

Personal life He is married, and lives in Tempe, Arizona. His son, Ernest Garcia III, is CEO of Carvana.

Garcia owns an apartment in New York's Trump Tower.