By Sam Wyly and Andrew Wyly, Foreword by Walter Isaacson
About Sam Wyly and Andrew Wyly
Sam Wyly was raised in small-town Louisiana. Sam got his MBA from the University of Michigan in 1957, and began his career as a salesman for IBM, then worked as a manager for Honeywell. At the age of 28, he created his first company, University Computing, which married computer technology services to telephone technology and became the first of six enterprises Wyly grew to over $1 billion valuations. Over the next fifty years, Wyly became one of America’s top multiple entrepreneurs, building companies such as Michaels Stores, Bonanza Steakhouses, Maverick Capital and Green Mountain Energy. He resides in Dallas and Aspen with his wife, Cheryl, and has six children, twelve grandchildren, and two great- grandchildren. Wyly’s memoir, 1,000 Dollars & An Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire, was published in 2008, and his illustrated business biography, Beyond Tallulah, by Dennis Hamilton, was released in 2011.
Andrew Wyly is an entrepreneur, investor, and film producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, with some schooling in Switzerland, he has been a Texan by choice since 2004. After earning a BA in history from Denison University, Andrew worked as a sales agent for Green Mountain Energy and managed a hedge fund portfolio. He is an active participant in several political organizations. In 2007, he created the Andrew Wyly Film Company. Blood Shot, his first feature film, was completed last year.
About Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson, CEO of The Aspen Institute, has been chairman of CNN and the managing editor of Time magazine. He is the author of Steve Jobs; Einstein: His Life and Universe; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; and Kissinger: A Biography. He lives in Washington, D.C.