Gerald Ford
- Gerald Ford has been buying distressed banks and turning them around since 1975, when he bought his first bank.
- His first big success was in 2002, when he and his billionaire friend Ronald Perelman sold Golden State Bancorp to Citigroup for $6 billion in stock.
- Ford has a 17% stake in publicly traded banking firm Hilltop Holdings, which owns PlainsCapital Bank and property insurer National Lloyds Corp.
- Ford’s son Jeremy Ford is CEO of Hilltop Holdings, and his son-in-law Corey Prestidge is general counsel and executive vice president of the firm.
- In September 2019, Ford’s Mechanics Bank tripled its assets, now over $13 billion, after acquiring nearby rival Rabobank for $2.2 billion.
