Tom Monaghan net worth: Tom Monaghan is an American entrepreneur who has a net worth of $400 million dollars. He earned his fortune as the co-founder of Domino’s Pizza. He was the company’s sole owner in 1998 when he sold Domino’s to Bain Capital for $1 billion. He

Tom Monaghan was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His father died when he was four years old. His struggling single mother couldn’t manage to care for Tom or his older brother James. She was forced to give the boys to foster homes and then an orphanage. Tom lived in an orphanage from ages six to twelve. At one point he wanted to become a priest. He went on to study in Mission, B.C. but was expelled due to a series of disciplinary issues. In 1956 he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. He reportedly intended to join the Army. He served in the Marines for three years, receiving an honorable discharge in 1959.

After returning to Michigan, he enrolled at the University of Michigan, and began working toward a degree in architecture. In 1960, Tom and his brother James paid $500 for a small pizza parlor called DomiNick’s. They put $500 down and got a $900 bank loan to help with operations.  The store struggled initially, but then he hit on a plan to focus on delivering to college campuses. He developed a pizza delivery box that allowed for more pizzas to be delivered at once, and carefully rolled out his stores in college towns. In the mid 1960s, the original owner of DomiNick’s asked Tom to stop using his name on the expanding empire. Tom agreed and ultimately landed on a new name: Domino’s.

Domino’s expanded rapidly throughout the 80s and 90s. Along the way Tom became extremely rich.

Rich enough to buy the Detroit Tigers in 1983 for $53 million. He sold the team for $85 million in 1992, ironically to another pizza tycoon – Little Caesars Pizza founder Mike Ilitch.

He also bought nearly 300 cars, including an extremely rare Bugatti that cost more than $8 million.

He bought a Gulfstream private jet, a yacht and a helicopter.

He bought most of an island in Michigan and built a personal resort.

In the late 1990s Tom Monaghan had a life-changing experience. After reading the book “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis, specifically a chapter on pride, Tom decided to change his life.

In 1998 he sold Domino’s to Bain Capital for $1 billion.

From that point on he decided to dedicate his life to philanthropy.

As of this writing Tom has given away more than $500 million of his fortune. He intends to give his entire fortune to charity away.

His philanthropic efforts have been primarily focused on Catholic charities. Tom has founded several Catholic colleges. In 1998 he founded Ave Maria College in Michigan and Ave Maria University in Florida.

Today he manages Ave Maria Mutual funds, an investment firm that focuses on socially responsible investments.