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Alec E. Gores (born 1953) is an American billionaire businessman who began making his fortune through leveraged buyouts of technology firms at the firm The Gores Group. He has also been instrumental in popularizing SPACs, beginning in the mid-2010s.[1]
Alec Gores | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) Nazareth, Israel |
| Nationality | American, Israeli |
| Alma mater | Western Michigan University |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouses | Lisa (divorced)Kelly Noonan (m. 2016) |
| Children | 6 |
| Family |
|
Gores was born in 1953 in Nazareth, Israel. He is from a Catholic family, the son of a Greek father and a Lebanese mother.[2][3] His family moved to Flint, Michigan in November 1968 when he was 15 years old. He began working at his uncle's store in Flint, bagging groceries for 25 cents an hour. He attended Genesee High School in Genesee, Michigan. He obtained a degree in computer science from Western Michigan University, and was the first in his family to attend college.[4][5]
Gores began working for General Motors after completing college. He left within six months, starting his own company that bought and distributed computers.[6] In 1978, he founded Executive Business Systems with an $8,000 investment from his father.[4] By 1986 the company employed over 200 people and was acquired by CONTEL for approximately $2 million.[7]
Following the acquisition, Gores began acquiring and operating non-core businesses. In 1987 he founded The Gores Group, a private equity firm that has since acquired or invested in over 130 companies.[8] Gores pioneered the operational approach to private equity investing, initially deploying his own personal capital, followed by ~$4 billion of institutional capital across multiple investment vehicles. Marquee investments during this time included the carve-out of The Learning Company from Mattel;[9] Verifone from HP; Therakos from Johnson & Johnson; Lineage, which ultimately sold to GE; and Sagemcom, which evolved into one of France’s premier technology companies.[10]
Gores and his brother Tom have been involved in a number of deals together including the 2011 acquisition of Alliance Entertainment, which distributes DVDs, CDs and video games to stores such as Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and Target.[11]
In 2020, Forbes ranked Gores No. 391 on the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest people.[12] He was selected as 2021 Business Person of the Year by LA Business Journal.[13] Gores has also been profiled in The Wall Street Journal.[1]
Gores launched Gores Holdings VII and Gores Holdings VIII in 2021,[14] and publicly filed for Gores Technology Partners and Gores Technology Partners II,[15] as well as Gores Guggenheim,[16] the latter in partnership with Guggenheim Partners.
As of 2009, Gores is a practicing Catholic.[17]
Gores has six children. He is married to Kelly Noonan-Gores, producer and director of the award-winning documentary HEAL.[18] He has a former wife, Lisa.[19]
He is the older brother of Tom Gores, founder of Platinum Equity,[20][21] and Sam Gores, the head of Paradigm Talent Agency.[22]
Gores commissioned the 2005 film The Kid & I, which co-stars his son Eric.[23]
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