Eric Smidt

Eric Smidt is an American businessman. He is Chairman and CEO of Harbor Freight Tools, which operates over 1000 retail hardware stores in 47 states and generated revenue of approximately $2 billion according to an April, 2012 Moody’s Investors Service report.

Eric Smidt was a teenager when he started Harbor Freight Tools with his dad Allan in 1977. He is now CEO of the $4.7 billion (sales) hardware company.
In the beginning, Harbor Freight was a mail-order business that sold tools out of a small warehouse in North Hollywood.
Smidt became president of the company in 1985 and CEO and sole owner in 1999. Today, Harbor Freight has over 1,000 stores in 48 states.
In 2010, his father sued Eric for “looting” the company and leveraging it to finance his own lavish lifestyle. The case was settled out of court.
That same year Allan was allegedly kicked off the board by his son; he died in 2016.

Eric Smidt Harbor Freight Tools