Roofing company billionaire (high school dropout) dies after falling through roof

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/nation/12/22/1222hendricks.html?cxntlid=inform

Executive suffered head injuries while checking on construction project at his house.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, December 22, 2007

MILWAUKEE — A high school dropout who became a billionaire roofing company executive and one of the nation's richest people died Friday after falling through his garage roof. Ken Hendricks was 66.

Hendricks was the 91st-richest man in the U.S.; he had a net worth of $3.5 billion in September, according to Forbes magazine.


Dan Lassiter
ASSOCIATED PRESS


Hendricks grew up working with his father, a Janesville, Wis., roofer. At age 21, after dropping out of high school, he started his own roofing business, according to a biography supplied by his company.

Tired of dealing with suppliers scattered around the country, he and his wife, Diane, started a national supply distribution chain in 1982.

ABC Supply Co. — based in Beloit, Wis., about 60 miles southwest of Milwaukee — celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. The company has 6,000 employees in 390 locations nationwide and does about $3 billion in business a year.

Hendricks was unfazed by his wealth.

FULL story at link.