biography
| name: |
Durant, William C(rapo)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1861–1947)
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| biography:
| Manufacturer, born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was raised in Flint, MI, where he left high school to work in his grandfather's lumber yard and at various other jobs. In 1885 he organized the Flint Road Cart Co, which became a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn carriages. He invested in the failing Buick Motor Car Co (1904), which he expanded to form the General Motors Co (GMC) (chartered in New Jersey in 1908) by acquiring several firms such as Buick, Cadillac, and Oldsmobile, as well as parts manufacturers. GMC was taken over by a banking house (1910) and he joined Louis Chevrolet to form the Chevrolet Motor Co (1911); its success enabled him to regain control of GMC as president in 1916. The company again ran into trouble under Durant's insistent involvement in all facets of the organization, and in 1920 Pierre Du Pont, president of General Motors, paid off Durant's debts in return for his resignation. The next year Durant opened Durant Motors, which built the low-priced ‘Star’, but failed in 1933. Bankrupt by 1935, he listed only his clothes as assets. World War 2 thwarted his last business venture, a chain of bowling alleys in Flint. |
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