Kenneth G. Langone

Ken Langone, the second of two sons, was born in 1935 in Roslyn Heights, New York. Neither of his parents, who were the children of Italian immigrants, attended school beyond junior high. Langone's father was a plumber, and his mother worked in the cafeteria at the small public school across the street from their house.

During Langone's youth, the Great Depression had weakened the economy, and his father worked only sporadically. As an hourly union laborer, his father would be laid off at the end of a project until a new project began. In addition to financial struggles, Langone's father suffered from manic depression. When he went into what the family referred to as "dark periods," Langone's mother would take charge. "My mother never complained," he says. "She had an enormous sense of optimism, and I got that from her. Both my parents had a wonderful capacity to give their sons unconditional love. It wasn't for sale, and it wasn't traded. It didn't come with good grades or get lost with bad grades. They could be unhappy or angry, but underneath it all there was this enormous, endless well of unconditional love. That was a powerful force behind me when I later moved out into a competitive world."

Both of Langone's parents came from large families, and he grew up on Long Island, surrounded by dozens of relatives. "They were all of modest means," says Langone. "I had an uncle who worked in the sand pits, mining the sand used to build most of New York City. One uncle sold kerosene house to house. One was a truck driver. I had an aunt who was a seamstress. Two of my distant cousins became a policeman and fireman, both of whom were killed on 9/11. They weren't even on duty that day, but they wanted to try to help. These are the people I come from, humble, hardworking, loving people."

Langone began working at the age of 12. He sold wreaths from door to door during the Christmas season and cut lawns in the summer. When he was 14, his brother entered the U.S. Army, and Langone inherited his brother's job at the local meat market. Langone worked three hours a day after school and all day on Saturday. A few years later, he caddied and worked for either United Parcel Service or the U.S. Postal Service during the peak Christmas season. He also worked evenings in a service station. When time permitted, he served as a plumber's helper to his father. "My parents wanted me to attend college," says Langone, "but my father thought if I learned a trade I would always have that to fall back on if all else failed."

Langone did little to distinguish himself academically in high school. Looking back on those days, he believes he was unable to relate academic accomplishment with success. On the night of his high school graduation, the principal, a man Langone greatly admired, told his parents they were wasting their limited resources by sending him to college. He felt Langone would flunk out by the end of his first semester.

A few months before graduating, Langone visited friends at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Before leaving, he met with the registrar, and soon after, he received a letter of acceptance to Bucknell. At the bottom of the typed letter, there was a handwritten message from the registrar, which said, "In college, you will have to work much harder than you did in high school."

Langone's parents mortgaged their house to send their son to college, and during his first semester, it seemed he would fulfill his principal's prophecy; by the end of the first term, he was flunking every course. His economics professor, Russell A. Headley, called him into his office; took out a recent test booklet of Langone's; and explained that although the student's writing was horrible, his understanding of the subject was impressive. Asked how he was doing in his other classes. Langone was honest and told the professor he was failing all of them. Headley promised Langone that he would contact the other professors to see if the semester could be salvaged, provided Langone put in maximum effort. Before ending the meeting, Headley asked Langone if anyone had ever told him he was stupid. Langone said that several of his high school teachers had indeed told him he was stupid and that he was not college material. Headley told Langone it was sad his teachers had felt that way, but even sadder that Langone believed them.

True to his word, Headley contacted the other professors and, with their encouragement, Langone was able to save the semester. From that point on, he did well in school. Because he did not have enough money to stay for four years, he took enough courses to finish in three and a half years. "At that time in my life, I realized my success was due to a group of people who saw in me qualities I didn't see in myself," Langone says. "I also came to realize that there is no such thing as a self-made person. Along life's journey, we succeed in our endeavors in good part because of the help and encouragement we receive from others."

With one semester remaining in college, Langone got married. Upon graduation, his father-in-law arranged for Langone to have an interview with the investment department of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, where he then began his career. While at Equitable Life, he attended night classes toward an MBA at New York University. He did so well that NYU invited him to become an adjunct instructor. From 1960 to 1965, he taught at the university's night business program, which was renamed to the Langone Program and is based on his own educational experience.

In 1962, after spending a year in the Army as a recalled reservist, Langone became an associate at R. W. Pressprich & Co. By 1966, he became a partner in that Wall Street brokerage firm. Soon after, he saw a unique opportunity with businessman H. Ross Perot and a young company named Electronic Data Systems (EDS), which Langone took public in 1968. "That was a defining moment of my career," he says. "It put me on the map."

By the early 1970s, Langone had developed an interest in the medical industry. In 1974, he left Pressprich and founded Invemed Associates, a small investment bank that specializes in healthcare and high technology companies. A few years later, he teamed up with Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank to found a home improvement company, The Home Depot. The first two stores opened their doors in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1979. The nationwide chain eventually became the largest home improvement retailer in North America.

Langone has achieved great financial success in his life, but to define success, he says, "For sure, it's not by how much money you've made. In fact, financial wealth wouldn't even be on my list. Success in business is when someone you have dealt with previously would be willing to do business with you again. That speaks volumes. I'm proud of the business relationships I have built over the years, and I can't think of one person or company I have dealt with in the past that would not do business with me again today. Reputation is everything to me."

Langone says that Yankee Stadium could not hold all the people who have helped him along the way. "I am not a self-made man," he explains. "Without my parents, my wife, my children, my in-laws, my friends, my teachers, my associates, I would not be where I am today. I am even thankful to my old principal who predicted I would fail. When I made partner at Pressprich, the firm announced it in the New York Times. My high school principal cut out the ad and wrote a message on it and sent it to me. It said, '˜How wrong I was!' And I'm glad that in college I finally took responsibility for myself and set a course I could enthusiastically follow."

In advising young people, Langone acknowledges the importance of hard work. "I did work hard in my career, but that isn't all it takes," he says. "A kind word, a thoughtful gesture, and enthusiasm for what you are doing, those three things are critical to getting all you can out of life. I also think it's important to develop a sense of independence. Don't look to other people to do things you can do for yourself."

As a philanthropist, Langone has donated close to $250 million to his favorite charities, led by his two alma maters. Langone and his wife donated $11 million to Bucknell University, where he was a trustee for 15 years, to build the Kenneth G. Langone Athletics and Recreation Center in 2003. In addition, 64 students have won financial scholarships to Bucknell in his name, in recognition of their high integrity, loyalty, and steadfast determination. Likewise, the donations made by the Langones to New York University have funded professorships, curriculum, and student services to the Kenneth G. Langone Part-Time Evening MBA Program at the NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business. The Langones are among NYU's most generous supporters, and he is a trustee of the NYU Langone Medical Center, named for Langone and his wife in 2008.

Langone has served as a trustee of the Harlem Children's Zone and was chairman of the Promise Academy, HCZ's charter school. He was also a board member of the Ronald McDonald House as well as the Robin Hood Foundation, a New York City institution that raises money to fund effective programs and services to end hunger and poverty.

As a co-founder of Home Depot, Langone funded Ken's Krew, a program that trains special-needs adults between the ages of 18 and 21 through employment with Home Depot and other corporate partners. Ken's Krew hires full-time coaches to train members of the programs in its stores. Ken's Krew is a registered nonprofit program that has helped dozens of young adults with special needs to live more independent lives.