Dave Thomas

Birthname

David Rex "Dave" Thomas

Birthplace

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States

Deathdate

January 8, 2002

Education

Coconut Creek High School

Profession

Businessman

Net worth

$4,200,000,000

Source of Wealth

Wendy's

Nationality

United States

Country

United States

Marital Status

Widow (Lorraine Thomas)

Children

1 (Wendy Thomas)

American businessman Dave Thomas was best recognized as the founder of the fast-food restaurant chain Wendy's. In addition to being the founder, Dave Thomas served as the chief executive officer of the restaurant chain. He was worth $4.2 billion at his time of death.

David Rex Thomas was born on July 2, 1932 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. At age 69, Thomas died of carcinoid and neuroendocrine cancer on January 8, 2002. At the time of death, Wendy's already had over 600 branches in Northern America.

After working as a head cook for Kentucky Fried Chicken in mid-1950s, Dave Thomas opened his first Wendy's restaurant in November 1969 in Columbus Ohio. The restaurant was named after his daughter Melinda, nicknamed Wendy.

From 1989 through 2002, he has appeared in over 800 commercial advertisements for Wendy's. In the 1990s, a survey was conducted and it was found out that almost 90% of the American respondents knew who Dave Thomas was, leading led experts to believe that he plays a very crucial role in the current status of the restaurant. It is the world's third most popular burger restaurant.