Tom Monaghan

Thomas Stephen Monaghan (born March 25, 1937) is an American entrepreneur who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960.

The term "Gyrene" was used in the 1940s and 1950s as a nickname for Marines.

At Gyrene Burger, Monaghan provided franchise incentives to eligible Marines and veterans of the other military branches.

The flagship store for the brand was located in Naples, FL, before relocating to Knoxville, TN.

After his father died when Monaghan was four years old, Monaghan's mother had difficulties raising him alone, and at age six, in 1943, Monaghan and his younger brother Jim ended up in an orphanage until their mother collected them again in 1949.

The orphanage, St. Joseph Home for Children in Jackson, Michigan, was run by the Felician Sisters of Livonia; one of the nuns there inspired his devotion to the Catholic faith and he later entered St. Joseph's Seminary, in Grand Rapids, with the desire to eventually become a priest.

Subsequently, he was expelled from the seminary for a series of disciplinary infractions.

In 1956, Monaghan enlisted in the United States Marine Corps by mistake; he had meant to join the Army.

He received an honorable discharge in 1959.

Monaghan returned to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1959, and enrolled in the University of Michigan, intending to become an architect.

While still a student, he and his brother James borrowed $900 to purchase a small pizza store called DomiNick's in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

"I started out in architecture school, and got into the pizza business to pay my way through school," he has said.

"The pizza business was losing so much money I never got back into architecture."

This business would, after a lawsuit from Domino Sugar, grow into Domino's Pizza.

Tom, after opening a further three stores, traded his brother James a Volkswagen Beetle for his half of the business.

Monaghan dropped sub sandwiches from the menu and focused on delivery to college campuses, inventing a new insulated pizza box to improve delivery.

The new box, unlike its chipboard predecessors, could be stacked without crushing the pizzas inside, permitting more pizzas per trip, and keeping them warm until they arrived.

He and his wife, Marjorie Zybach, whom he met while delivering some pizza, were married in 1962 and have four daughters: Margaret, Susan, Mary and Barbara.

As Monaghan spread his model to other college towns through a tightly controlled franchising system, by the mid-1980s there were nearly three new Domino's franchises opening every day.

He also owned the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 1992.

In 1983, Monaghan bought the Detroit Tigers, who won the World Series a year later.

He also owns the Domino's Farms Office Park, located in the Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, which he first started building during 1984.

In 1984, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

He became close to Major League Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who remained a close friend, business associate and participant in his many philanthropic works.

In 1989, the National Organization for Women (NOW) called for a boycott of Domino's because of his active opposition to abortion, but it is unclear what effect, if any, that had on the company's sales.

However, after reading a passage by C. S. Lewis on pride (from Mere Christianity ), Monaghan divested himself of most of his more ostentatious possessions, including the Detroit Tigers in 1992.

He gave up his lavish office suite at Domino's headquarters, replete with leather-tiled floors and an array of expensive Frank Lloyd Wright furnishings, turning it into a corporate reception room.

He also ceased construction on a huge Wright-inspired mansion that was to be his home.

(The house remains half-finished.)

Monaghan ultimately sold the Tigers to his competitor Mike Ilitch of Little Caesar's Pizza in 1992.

Monaghan is a devout Catholic and announced his retirement in 1998 after 38 years with Domino's Pizza, Inc.

Monaghan sold 93 percent of the company to Bain Capital for around $1 billion, ceased being involved in day-to-day operations of the company, and subsequently dedicated his time and considerable fortune to Catholic causes.

A supporter of the anti-abortion movement and other Catholic teachings "to combat the nation's 'moral crisis, Monaghan has spent hundreds of millions of dollars promoting them.

In 1998, Monaghan reportedly sold his 93% of stock ownership of Domino's Pizza to Bain Capital, an investment firm based in Boston, for an estimated $1 billion.

Domino's Pizza is an American restaurant chain and the international franchise pizza delivery corporation is headquartered at the Domino's Farms Office Park (the campus itself owned by Monaghan ) in Ann Arbor Township, Michigan, United States, near Ann Arbor.

In December 2011, Monaghan embarked on his second quick service restaurant brand by starting Gyrene Burger Company.

The military-themed burger delivery concept was a throwback to Monaghan's days in the U.S. Marines.

As of 2014, they have 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

As of August 2018, no locations are in operation.

The wealth Monaghan amassed from Domino's Pizza enabled a lavish lifestyle.