Shahid Khan Biography

Shahid Khan is a Pakistani-American billionaire and business tycoon best known for being the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL), Fulham F.C. of the English Football League Championship, and Professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he is lead investor. He is also the owner of the automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate in Urbana, Illinois.

Shahid Khan Education

Khan moved to the United States in 1967 at age 16 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. When he went to the United States, Khan spent his first night in a $2/night room at the University YMCA, and his first job was washing dishes for $1.20 an hour.

He joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the school. In 1971, he graduated from the UIUC College of Engineering with a BSc in Industrial Engineering in 1971. Khan later was awarded the Mechanical Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999.

Shahid Khan Business Career

Flex-N-Gate

Shahid Khan worked at the automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate Corporation while attending the University of Illinois. When Khan graduated he was hired as the engineering director for the company.

In 1978, Khan started Bumper Works, which made car bumpers for customized pickup trucks and body shop repairs. The transaction involved a $50,000 loan from the Small Business Administration and $16,000 of his savings.

In 1980, he bought Flex-N-Gate from his former employer Charles Gleason Butzow, bringing Bumper Works into the fold. He grew the company so that it supplied bumpers for the Big Three automakers.

In 1984, Khan began supplying a small number of bumpers for Toyota pickups. By 1987 it was the sole supplier for Toyota pickups and by 1989 it was the sole supplier for the entire Toyota line in the United States.

Adopting The Toyota Way increased company efficiency and ability to change its manufacturing process within a few minutes. Since then, it has grown from $17 million in sales to an estimated $2 billion in 2010.

By 2011, Flex-N-Gate had 12,450 employees and 48 manufacturing plants in the United States and several other countries, and took in $3 billion in revenue.

In May 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Flex-N-Gate $57,000 for health violations at its Urbana plant.

Shahid Khan Professional sports

Jacksonville Jaguars

Shad Khan’s first attempt to purchase a National Football League team came on February 11, 2010, when he entered into an agreement to acquire 60% of the then-St. Louis Rams from Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, subject to approval by other NFL owners. However, Stan Kroenke, the minority shareholder of the Rams, ultimately exercised a clause in his ownership agreement to match any proposed bid.

On November 29, 2011, he agreed to purchase the Jacksonville Jaguars from Wayne Weaver and his ownership group subject to NFL approval. Weaver announced his sale of the team to Khan later that same day. The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed, other than a verbal commitment to keep the team in Jacksonville, Florida. The purchase price was estimated to have been $760 million.

On December 14, 2011, the NFL owners unanimously approved the purchase. On January 4, 2012, the sale was finalized making Khan the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team.

Khan is a board member of the NFL Foundation.

He is one of three owners born outside of the United States of America, the other two being Zygi Wilf, born in Germany, and Kim Pegula, born in South Korea.

Fulham F.C.

In July 2013, Shahid negotiated the purchase of the London soccer club Fulham of the Premier League from its previous owner, Mohamed Al Fayed. The deal was finalized on July 12, 2013, with the amount estimated between £150–200 million. An official purchase price for the club was not announced with him stating that it was “highly confidential”.

All Elite Wrestling

In 2019, Khan was revealed the lead investor behind the professional wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling alongside his son Tony where he is the president of the promotion.

Shahid Khan Age

Khan was born on July 18, 1950 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. He is 68 years old as of 2018.

Shahid Khan Family

Khan was born to a middle-class family who were involved in the construction industry. His mother (now retired) was a professor of mathematics.

Shahid Khan Wife

Khan married Ann Carlson Khan an American social worker in 1977. The two met while they both were attending the University of Illinois is 1967. The couple has two children together, Tony Khan born in 1982 and Shanna Khan.

Shahid Khan Daughter

Khan has a daughter namedd Shanna Noelle Khan. She graduated from the University of Illinois. She is married to Justin Charles McCabe, the son of Janet A. McCabe of Three Lakes, Wis.

Shahid Khan Net Worth

As of May 2019, Shad Khan’s net worth is $6.8 billion. He is ranked 65th in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, and is overall the 224th wealthiest person in the world. Khan is also the richest person of Pakistani origin.

Shahid Khan Yacht

Kismet is a 95.2m Superyacht which was built by the Lürssen shipyard in 2014. The yatch is managed by the Moran Yacht and Ship chartering business and is associated with billionaire Shahid Khan. It was finished in a luxurious style by Reymond Langton and Espen Øeino. The fittings were specified to be better than a five star hotel and included a deck of black marble and a large bath made of solid onyx.

Shahid Khan Awards and Honors

Shahid has received a number of awards from the University of Illinois, including a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999 from the Department of Mechanical Science and Industrial Engineering. He has also received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2006 from the College of Engineering, and (with his wife, Ann Carlson) the Distinguished Service Award in 2005 from the University of Illinois Alumni Association.