Harry Stine
Harry H. Stine is an American billionaire businessman, the founder and owner of Stine Seed. He is the son of Bill and Roselba Stine. In 1871, his great-grandparents, William and Sarah Stine arrived in Adel, Iowa from Pennsylvania, and establish a 160-acre farm there.
- Farm boy turned seed-genetics savant Harry Stine has made a fortune licensing corn and soybean genetics to multinationals like Monsanto and Syngenta.
- Stine founded and runs Stine Seed; his current obsession is tinkering with seed genetics that allow for better yields or pesticide resistance.
- The son of a hardscrabble farmer, Stine became fascinated with seeds when he was a boy growing up in Iowa.
- He started farming at just five years old in Iowa, driving a tractor to pick up straw bales.
- Stine, who is dyslexic and mildly autistic, is also a math and data wiz and a formidable negotiator.
- In the 1990s he struck highly lucrative licensing deals with large multinational corporations across the globe, which form the backbone of his empire.
- He’s donated to numerous Iowa institutions, including McPherson College, Drake University and Spurgeon Manor, a skilled nursing facility for seniors.
