Arthur L. Williams, Jr.
Encyclopedia
Arthur L. "Art" Williams, Jr. is a billionaire
insurance
executive living in Palm Beach, Florida
. He is the founder of A.L. Williams & Associates, known as Primerica Financial Services
since 1991.
. He obtained his bachelor's degree
in arts and sciences at Mississippi State University
in Starkville, Mississippi
and his master's degree
in science from Auburn University
. From his early days in high school Art always aspired to be a professional football
coach.
policy that left their family underinsured. Five years later Art Williams' cousin Ted Harrison introduced to him the concept of term life insurance
, a much cheaper and simpler alternative to whole life
which at that time was almost never sold and rarely heard of outside the insurance industry. Williams was taken aback by the idea of not knowing that there was a choice when buying life insurance and described the whole conversation as "disturbing," recalling his father's death and referring to the fact that people had no idea of such a product. Believing that families were paying too much for whole life policies that left them poor in the wallet and deeply underinsured, Williams joined his cousin at ITT Financial Services in 1970. In June 1973, six months before ITT went out of business, he left and came on board with Waddell & Reed, another BTID
company that saw early success.
Williams gained momentum at W&R and became regional vice-president (RVP) the same year, having a sales force that covered 6 states. Despite the numerous benefits of working at W&R in comparison to former ITT, it became clear to Williams that with a corporate structure where the executives, not the sales force, owned the company, financial decisions would always have priority over the clients and there would be limits on how much the company could grow.
On February 10, 1977 Williams and 85 associates founded their own company A.L. Williams & Associates
on a simple philosophy: "Buy Term and Invest the Difference." He convinced many customers to switch from their conventional whole-life insurance to term policies. The company's rapid growth to the largest seller of life insurance in the U.S. was enhanced by his emphasis on "pushing up" his people. He was one of the first to have weekly video conferences on the company's private television broadcast system. This allowed him to personally speak to each of his 100,000 plus agents and to create a family feeling that inspired them to want to please him, by succeeding.
Today, what was formerly ALW Marketing is now Primerica Financial Services.
Art will be present at the 2011 Primerica convention.
Williams has made a large portion of his fortune from investments, particularly in Citigroup
, of which he owns 21 million shares.
's Tampa Bay Lightning
, beating out Detroit Pistons
owner William Davidson
. Although Williams knew very little about hockey, he wasted little time clearing away a massive debt load that he'd inherited from previous owner Kokusai Green.
Williams was often the butt of jokes from his fellow NHL owners due to his thick Georgia accent and his fundamentalist Christian views (he does not smoke or drink, and has been known to use words like "goldangit" in place of profanity). Some of them called him "Jed Clampett
" behind his back.
Williams sold the Lightning to Davidson after only nine months of ownership after losing $20 million—more than he expected to lose in two years.
list of the "World's Billionaires" with an estimated wealth of $1.4 billion.
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
executive living in Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
. He is the founder of A.L. Williams & Associates, known as Primerica Financial Services
Primerica Financial Services
Primerica, Inc. is a referral marketer of financial products and services using a hybrid model of direct selling, franchising and distribution....
since 1991.
Early life and education
Williams was born on April 26, 1942 in Cairo, GeorgiaCairo, Georgia
Cairo is a city in Grady County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,607. The city is the county seat of Grady County.-Syrup City:...
. He obtained his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in arts and sciences at Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
in Starkville, Mississippi
Starkville, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.4 people per square mile . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile...
and his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in science from Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
. From his early days in high school Art always aspired to be a professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach.
Career
In 1965, Williams' father suddenly died of a heart attack. He had a whole life insuranceWhole life insurance
Whole Life Insurance, or Whole of Life Assurance , is a life insurance policy that remains in force for the insured's whole life and requires premiums to be paid every year into the policy.-History:...
policy that left their family underinsured. Five years later Art Williams' cousin Ted Harrison introduced to him the concept of term life insurance
Term life insurance
Term life insurance or term assurance is life insurance which provides coverage at a fixed rate of payments for a limited period of time, the relevant term. After that period expires coverage at the previous rate of premiums is no longer guaranteed and the client must either forgo coverage or...
, a much cheaper and simpler alternative to whole life
Whole life insurance
Whole Life Insurance, or Whole of Life Assurance , is a life insurance policy that remains in force for the insured's whole life and requires premiums to be paid every year into the policy.-History:...
which at that time was almost never sold and rarely heard of outside the insurance industry. Williams was taken aback by the idea of not knowing that there was a choice when buying life insurance and described the whole conversation as "disturbing," recalling his father's death and referring to the fact that people had no idea of such a product. Believing that families were paying too much for whole life policies that left them poor in the wallet and deeply underinsured, Williams joined his cousin at ITT Financial Services in 1970. In June 1973, six months before ITT went out of business, he left and came on board with Waddell & Reed, another BTID
Buy term and invest the difference
Buying term and investing the difference is a concept involving term life insurance and investment strategies that allows individuals to eventually "self Insure" and provides an alternative to permanent life insurance. Generally speaking term insurance premiums are considerably less expensive in...
company that saw early success.
Williams gained momentum at W&R and became regional vice-president (RVP) the same year, having a sales force that covered 6 states. Despite the numerous benefits of working at W&R in comparison to former ITT, it became clear to Williams that with a corporate structure where the executives, not the sales force, owned the company, financial decisions would always have priority over the clients and there would be limits on how much the company could grow.
On February 10, 1977 Williams and 85 associates founded their own company A.L. Williams & Associates
Primerica Financial Services
Primerica, Inc. is a referral marketer of financial products and services using a hybrid model of direct selling, franchising and distribution....
on a simple philosophy: "Buy Term and Invest the Difference." He convinced many customers to switch from their conventional whole-life insurance to term policies. The company's rapid growth to the largest seller of life insurance in the U.S. was enhanced by his emphasis on "pushing up" his people. He was one of the first to have weekly video conferences on the company's private television broadcast system. This allowed him to personally speak to each of his 100,000 plus agents and to create a family feeling that inspired them to want to please him, by succeeding.
Today, what was formerly ALW Marketing is now Primerica Financial Services.
Art will be present at the 2011 Primerica convention.
Williams has made a large portion of his fortune from investments, particularly in Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
, of which he owns 21 million shares.
Tampa Bay Lightning
In 1998, Williams bought the National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the...
, beating out Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
owner William Davidson
William Davidson
William Morse "Bill" Davidson, J. D. was an American businessman who was President, Chairman and CEO of Guardian Industries, one of the world's largest manufacturers of architectural and automotive glass...
. Although Williams knew very little about hockey, he wasted little time clearing away a massive debt load that he'd inherited from previous owner Kokusai Green.
Williams was often the butt of jokes from his fellow NHL owners due to his thick Georgia accent and his fundamentalist Christian views (he does not smoke or drink, and has been known to use words like "goldangit" in place of profanity). Some of them called him "Jed Clampett
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
" behind his back.
Williams sold the Lightning to Davidson after only nine months of ownership after losing $20 million—more than he expected to lose in two years.
Wealth
, he ranks number 843 on the ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
list of the "World's Billionaires" with an estimated wealth of $1.4 billion.
See also
- List of billionaires