Charles Butt
Charles Clarence Butt (born February 3, 1938) is an American heir and billionaire. He inherited his family's San Antonio–based H-E-B supermarket chain in 1971. The privately held company has more than 300 stores and $31 billion in sales, according to "Forbes". Early life. Charles Clarence Butt was born on February 3, 1938, the son of Howard Edward Butt Sr. and Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth, and the grandson of Florence Butt, who founded H.E. Butt in 1905. Butt graduated from University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School with a bachelor's degree, where he joined the  Sigma Chi Fraternity. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. Career. He became chairman, CEO and president of the H.E. Butt Grocery Company in 1971. In late 2019, he had a net worth of over US$10 billion according to "Forbes". Awards and recognition. In 2013, AdvisoryCloud ranked Butt as the #5 CEO on its Top Chief Executive List. In November 2001, the Mexican government awarded Butt the Aguila Azteca medal for his philanthropic involvement and business dealings in Mexico. Philanthropy. Butt pledged $50 million to the Raising Texas Teachers scholarship fund to support the training of Texas  public school teachers. In January 2017, he pledged $100 million to Texas public education and created The Holdsworth Center, named after his mother Mary Elizabeth Butt (née Holdsworth). In September 2017, Butt donated $5 million to J. J. Watt's Houston Hurricane Harvey relief fund. As of May 2018, Butt pledges to The Giving Pledge and writes in his release that he intends to help children and teachers. Personal life. Butt is single. Butt and his family were excluded from the annual Forbes list of the world's top billionaires beginning in 2016. The magazine changed its methodology  to exclude individuals from families that share their fortunes.