Marian Ilitch

Marian Bayoff Ilitch is an American billionaire businesswoman, and the co-founder of Little Caesars Pizza with her late husband, Mike Ilitch. As of March 2018, Ilitch was one of the world’s seven richest women, according to Bloomberg.

  • Marian Ilitch and her husband, Mike, who died in February 2017, cofounded Little Caesars Pizza in 1959.
  • Mrs. I, as she’s known, now owns the pizza chain, which hauls in more than $4 billion in annual systemwide sales.
  • She also owns the Detroit Red Wings and MotorCity Casino Hotel; Mike’s Detroit Tigers are now in a family trust.
  • Ilitch is helping build a $1.4 billion sports and entertainment district in Detroit that includes new headquarters with pizza shaped windows.
  • She had to keep her husband from giving away free pizzas in the early days.