William P. Mills, III

One of nine children, William “Will” Mills was born in 1948 in Lafayette, Louisiana, where his father, a World War II veteran, worked as an accountant. His mother came from a family that owned one of the earliest car dealerships in Lafayette. Throughout Mills’ childhood, his parents struggled with both alcohol and finances while trying to raise their large family. “My grandmother, on my mother’s side, took an interest in her grandchildren’s Catholic upbringing and education,” he says. “She paid for me to attend a Catholic elementary school and an all-boys Catholic high school.”

Mills describes his younger self as independent. He had jobs from the time he was 12. He mowed lawns and had a paper route. He also shined shoes, bagged groceries, and fried chicken.

Mills loved to go fishing and hunting with his father. “As long as I was outside, I was happy,” he says. The outdoors provided solace from a tumultuous family life and jobs provided financial independence.

Academics did not come easy to Mills, likely due to his undiagnosed ADHD, but he dedicated himself to his studies and eventually attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology and later a master’s in fisheries biology. He helped pay his way through school by working on boats dredging the Mississippi River and other odd jobs each summer.

When he was 28, Mills opened his first environmental business, obtaining wetland permits for oil and gas exploration companies. His business evolved and he became an independent landman. Two years later, he founded WPM Exploration, which bought and sold leases and drilling rights. By the early 1980s, Mills became one of the most successful independent oil and gas leaseholders under the age of 40 in Louisiana. He sold leases to all the big companies, including Exxon, Mobil, Shell, and Amoco. At that time, he also began acquiring real estate and founded MPW Properties in 1980.

Disastrously, Mills lost 90 percent of his wealth during the oil crisis in the mid-1980s. However, with grit and perseverance, he rebounded by acquiring distressed real estate properties in the late 1980s and early 1990s through MPW Properties. Now, this umbrella management group oversees the ongoing operations of 30-plus LLCs, including vacation rental properties, office buildings, boutique shopping centers, elite subdivisions, and other investments across seven states. MPW also administers Mills’ numerous oil and gas investments through WPM Exploration and Mills Energy.

“When I lost most of my wealth,” Mills says, “that was a teachable moment in my life. My goal had always been to make a bunch of money, but when I lost my wealth and looked around at my life, I realized that was a very shallow way to live. I changed my life by changing my priorities to God and family first. It made all the difference in the world.”

In 1992, Mills and his wife, Sandra, were expecting their fifth child when their unborn daughter, Emily, was diagnosed with an incurable chromosomal disorder. They continued with the pregnancy until natural birth. Tragically, Emily died in her father’s arms two hours after her birth. Family remains a top priority for Will Mills. He has taught his children the importance of integrity, honesty, respect, and the value of all life.

In addition to the Mills Family Foundation, he co-founded the New Life Foundation for drug and alcohol addiction treatment. He is also a board member of other foundations that focus on children’s educational needs and quality of life. In remembrance of the gift of education that his grandmother bestowed on him, he endowed the David Caffery Mills Memorial Scholarship at his alma mater, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Mills is quick to say that the values that drive him are faith and family. “Everything else comes after that,” he says. “It’s the fruit of life, but it took me a long time to understand that. I hope that young people who experience adversity early in life come to see their challenge as an opportunity—as a teachable moment.”

When offering advice to young people, he encourages them to follow their God-given talents. “We all have something that we are innately good at,” he says. “Be grateful for your talents and pursue them with passion. For me it’s all gratitude and attitude. Have a great attitude about what you are pursuing in life.”

Thinking back on his life, Mills says, “Growing up with limited financial means while also facing other significant challenges at home and at school instilled in me the importance of hard work, perseverance, and compassion. I’m certain many of today’s Horatio Alger Scholars are working to overcome adversities similar to those I dealt with early in my life. I hope my story can serve as an inspiration to them on their journeys, and I look forward to meeting and supporting them as they pursue higher education and postgraduate careers.

Considering his Horatio Alger Award, Mills says, “I have a passion for helping others, and I have great admiration and respect for the Horatio Alger Association’s outstanding members and scholarship programs, which so closely align with my values. The Association’s mission—Ensuring the American Dream for Future Generations—echoes my personal and decades-long belief in helping young people achieve their full potential.”

For Mills, success in life comes down to the choices we make. “You can, for example, choose to learn from your adversities or you can choose to be a victim of them. I vote for the teachable moment.”