Jack C. Taylor

Jack Crawford Taylor (April 14, 1922 – July 2, 2016) was an American businessman and billionaire who founded the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company. Taylor also was a fighter pilot for the United States Navy during World War II.

Early life and education Taylor was the elder of two sons born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Melburne Martling Taylor and Dorothy Crawford Taylor. Taylor enrolled in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis in 1940. He left school to join the U.S. Navy. His clients were big department stores and he picked up packages and delivered them to their customers. , which required that he take a 50 percent pay cut and put up $25,000 for a 25% interest in the business. Unlike his competitors, who focused on business rentals at airports, Taylor concentrated on the hometown market offering home pickup services which led to Enterprise's "We'll Pick You Up" slogan.

Philanthropy Among other gifts, Taylor gave: $45 million to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri, part of which established the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute to pursue green energy projects. $40 million to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra $92.5 million to 13 cultural institutions and charities, mostly in the St. Louis area

Personal life Taylor was married and divorced twice. In 1945, Taylor married the former Mary Ann MacCarthy, and the couple had two children: Andrew C. Taylor, who is the executive chairman of Enterprise, and Jo Ann Taylor, who runs the Taylor family philanthropic activities. Taylor and Orrison divorced in 2008. In 1978, Taylor's first wife married E. Desmond Lee, a widower and a prominent businessman and philanthropist in his own right.

Taylor died on July 2, 2016, in St. Louis at the age of 94.

Honors In 2021, the United States Naval Institute in Annapolis named its new conference center for Taylor.