| Gail Miller | |
| Birth Name: | Karen Gail Saxton |
| Birth Date: | 14 October 1943[1] |
| Birth Place: | Sandy, Utah, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Chairwoman and owner, LHM Group Former chairwoman and owner, Utah Jazz |
| Spouse: | Larry H. Miller (1965–2009) Kim Wilson (2013–present) |
| Children: | 5 |
Karen Gail Miller (née Saxton; born October 14, 1943), is an American businesswoman. Following the death of her husband, Larry H. Miller, she assumed the role of chairwoman of the Larry H. Miller Group (LHM) of Companies, now known as the Larry H. Miller Company (LHMCO). From 2009 until the sale of the team in 2020, she maintained a majority interest in the Utah Jazz, a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise located in Salt Lake City, Utah. As of 2023, she continues to retain a minority stake in the team and its associated businesses. Miller is a major supporter of Big League Utah, a campaign to bring a Major League Baseball team to Utah. She engages in philanthropy through her family foundation.
In 2009, when her husband died, Miller assumed control of their businesses (LHMCO), which then consisted of 54 car dealerships, a movie theater chain, and the Utah Jazz. As of 2022, many of these assets have been sold and the company has expanded into new businesses, such as real estate and healthcare.[1] In November 2020, her estimated net worth was $1.9 billion.[1] As of early 2020, her businesses employed 11,000 people.[2]
As of July 2023, Miller was the richest person in Utah. At the time, Forbes estimated her net worth to be $4.2 billion.[3]
As of 2023, LHMCO's board was chaired by Steve Miller, the Millers' third son.[4]
In May 2024, the Larry H. Miller company rebranded its sports and entertainment brands including the Salt Lake Bees and their ballpark in Daybreak, Big League Utah, Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatres, and Larry H. Miller Megaplex Entertainment as Miller Sports + Entertainment.[5]
See main article: Utah Jazz.
The Miller family started construction on the Delta Center, which would later become the Vivint Arena, in 1990. It was completed in 1991. The arena has been an economic boon for downtown Salt Lake City. It has attracted large amounts of foot traffic and numerous businesses have been established nearby.
Gail Miller assumed ownership upon her husband's death. In 2017, she transferred ownership of the Jazz and Vivint Arena into a trust to keep the franchise in Utah for generations.[6] The Millers are often credited with saving the team and keeping it in Utah when the franchise was experiencing financial problems in the 1980s.[7] [8] [9]
In 2017, the Miller family spent $125 million renovating the Vivint Arena.
In 2019, a fan verbally abused NBA player Russell Westbrook. Miller later addressed the home crowd to speak out against the boorish behavior and proclaimed, "This should never happen. We are not a racist community."[10]
In 2020, Jazz player Rudy Gobert donated $200,000 to team employees who were furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Miller announced that the LHM Group would "more than match" this number.
In October 2020, the Miller family agreed to sell the Jazz and Vivint Arena to Ryan Smith, founder of Qualtrics, for $1.66 billion. This price is about 70 times what the Miller family originally paid. Smith had a long-standing interest in the team. He even sponsored a jersey patch that raised $25 million for charity. Smith made proposals to the Miller family on several occasions before finally reaching acceptable terms. Terms of the deal require the team to remain in Utah and the Miller family will retain a minority interest. The Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League and management of the Salt Lake Bees minor league baseball team were also part of the deal. The Miller family said they planned to use the profits from this sale to diversify their businesses and engage in more extensive philanthropy. The Millers rejected previous offers to buy the Jazz.[11]
In 2022, the Miller family announced that it was selling a portion of its remaining interest in the Utah Jazz. The transaction placed a value of $2.25 billion on the Jazz. The transaction was the result of an agreement made when the Millers sold their majority interest in the team.[12]
In early 2023, Miller, her family, and the LHM Company started an effort to bring an MLB team to Salt Lake City. This has been called the "Big League Utah" campaign. A "shovel ready" site in the Rocky Mountain Power District in west Salt Lake City has been identified to build a stadium. This site was selected because of its position between the airport and downtown.[13]
Miller's late husband, who died in 2009, spent a whole chapter of his autobiography on his love of ballparks, baseball, and softball. Miller described her efforts to bring MLB to Utah as extremely important to her and to her family.[14]
In early 2023, the LHMCO purchased billboards reading "Utah wants the A's" around Salt Lake City while representatives of the team were visiting to meet with the company. LHMCO made an effort to get the A's to temporarily relocated to Utah while waiting for the completion of its new stadium in Las Vegas.[15]
In 2023, the Larry H. Miller Company's real estate subsidiary purchased a 12-acre site near the proposed stadium. It was previously owned by ABF Freight, a shipping and logistics company. LHMCO expressed interest in buying the former Ramada Inn near the proposed baseball stadium. If LHMCO were to close on this property it would then have control of 18 acres of land near the stadium. These sites are part of the small amount of privately controlled land in the area not owned by Rocky Mountain Power.[16]
In late 2023, Big League Utah announced the formation of honorary and community advisory boards. The honorary board includes Gail Miller, Gov. Spencer Cox, and Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall. Zions Bank President Scott Anderson, Vivint Smart Home founder Todd Pedersen, and Salt Lake Chamber CEO Derek Miller sit on the community advisory board. In the same announcement, Big League Utah said that it would form a foundation to address the needs of the people and businesses that occupy the area near the proposed stadium.[17]
In February 2024, the Larry H. Miller Company announced plans to invest $3.5 billion to develop the Power District. The firm released renderings of the proposed development. The plans include a stadium intended for Major League Baseball. LHMCO worked closely with the Utah State Fairpark board, Salt Lake City, the Jordan River Commission, and other policymakers to ensure compliance with land use planning.[18]
In early 2024, Utah state legislature passed HB 562. This bill pledges $900 million for the proposed Major League Baseball stadium. The Larry H. Miller groups would be obligated to invest another $900 million.[19]
See main article: Salt Lake City Stars. The Salt Lake City Stars are a semi-professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in West Valley City, Utah, and are affiliated with the Utah Jazz. The Stars play their home games at the Maverik Center. The team was originally known as the Stampede. It was founded as a member of the Continental Basketball Association in 1997 and was league runner-up in the 2003–04 season, losing to the Dakota Wizards. After the 2005–06 season, the Stampede announced that the team would be joining the NBA Development League. From 2005 to 2015, the team played as the Idaho Stampede at the CenturyLink Arena in Boise. Before then, they played home games at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa. The Stampede's sole NBA affiliate is the Utah Jazz, with whom they originally had a hybrid partnership. However, on March 24, 2015, the Utah Jazz and the Idaho Stampede announced that the Jazz had purchased the Stampede, becoming the 8th NBA team to become owners of their D-League affiliate.[20] They also had past affiliations with the Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics, Toronto Raptors and most recently the Portland Trail Blazers, with the Jazz taking sole affiliation after the 2013–2014 season.[21]
See main article: Salt Lake Bees. This franchise dates from 1994, when Joe Buzas, a former major league player and the owner of the PCL Portland Beavers, moved the team to Salt Lake City. Buzas made a deal wherein the city would build a new ballpark on the site of historic Derks Field in exchange for relocating the team. The new ballpark, Franklin Quest Field, opened in 1994 with the renamed Salt Lake Buzz drawing 713,224 fans to home games during their inaugural season—breaking the PCL single-season attendance record that had stood for 48 years.[22] Buzas owned the team until his death in 2003. The team was purchased by Larry H. Miller, who also owned the NBA's Utah Jazz. Miller died in February 2009, and the team is owned by his widow, Gail Miller. Known as the Salt Lake Buzz from 1994 to 2000, the team changed its name to the Salt Lake Stingers in 2001. The change was forced by a trademark dilution lawsuit filed by Georgia Tech, whose yellowjacket mascot is named Buzz.[23]
See main article: Megaplex Theatres. The first location anchored the newly built Jordan Commons restaurant and entertainment complex in Sandy when it opened on November 1, 1999, with 20 screens. The theater was built on the former site of Jordan High School. Since its opening, the Sandy location has grown to be one of the highest-grossing theaters locally while also ranking among the top theaters nationwide on some films.[24]
See main article: Swig (soft drink shop). In late 2022, the LHM Company acquired a majority stake in Swig. Savory Fund, along with Swig founder Nicole Tanner, and partners Chase Wardrop and Dylan Roede, maintained substantial minority equity in the chain. In 2023, Swig revealed its plans to open 25 corporate-owned locations and launch a franchising program. Additionally, Megaplex Theatres was set to start selling Swig products the same year. Swig marked the opening of its 50th location in Prosper, Texas, in April 2023 with a day-long celebration including a 50% discount on all items.[25] [26] [27]
In August 2023, Swig announced that it had firm plans to open 250 locations in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, and Idaho. The new locations will be operated by 12 franchisees.[28]
The LHM Company expanded its healthcare business into skilled nursing, assisted living, home health, and hospice care and has formed LHM Senior Health.[29]
In January 2021, the LHM Group announced its purchase of Advanced Health Care (AHC), a chain of high-end nursing homes and hospices that also provides in-home health care. AHC patients are generally transitioning from in-hospital acute care to living at home. The purchase price was undisclosed. The LHM Group said the acquisition was part of a broader effort to diversify their portfolio of businesses. AHC was founded in Idaho in 2001 and runs 22 facilities, including six in Utah. The other facilities are in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, and New Mexico. AHC was founded roughly 20 years before its acquisition by LHM Group. The deal was finalized after two years of negotiations. This was LHM Group's first acquisition in health care.[30] [31] The Larry H. Miller Company took over tasks such as accounting, real-estate management, and future redevelopment so that AHC can focus on its core competencies.[32] AHC was founded by Lehi-native Brett Nattress, a general authority for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2023, AHC announced acquisitions in both Cleveland and Cincinnati.[33]
The facility formerly known as the Harmony Hills Assisted Living Center in Lehi, Utah was purchased by AHC in 2022. As of early 2023, the facility was undergoing renovations and re-opened in May 2023. The renovation includes a large salt-water fish tank, a new gym, a new hair salon, and a new library. The facility was renamed the Aspen Ridge Residences. It will be AHC's first assisted living center. Studio and one-bedroom apartments will be on offer. The Aspen Ridge Residences were open as of 21 June 2023.[34]
See main article: Daybreak (community). In 2021, the LHM Group's real estate subsidiary acquired the remaining 1,300 acres undeveloped of land and numerous buildings in Daybreak, a mixed-use development in South Jordan in Salt Lake County. It was acquired from Varde Partners. The LHM Group plans to build approximately 6,000 additional homes in Daybreak.[35]
In early 2022, LHM Group announced that its real estate division had acquired builder Destination Homes. LHM planned to retain the Destination Homes name and its staff.[36]
In March 2022, it was reported that LLCs controlled by LHM Real Estate had purchased 950 acres in Richardson Flat in unincorporated Summit County.[37] In early 2024, The Larry H. Miller Company made an offer to build affordable housing on its holdings in Richardson Flat.
Park City annexed the eastern half of LHMCO's holdings in Richardson Flat. A subsidiary of LHMCO sued to stop the annexation but failed to prevail in court. Hideout attempted a similar annexation. As of early 2024, the case had been heard by the Utah Supreme Court but no decision had been rendered.[38]
In April 2024, LHMCO announced that it had invested in ATTYX. ATTYX is based in Lehi, Utah. It sells and installs windows, roofing, insulation, HVAC, and solar panels. The firm has a special emphasis on energy efficiency.[39]
In April 2024, Torus announced that it had received an investment from the Larry H. Miller Company. Torus is based in Lehi, Utah. It designs and manufactures energy management and storage systems.[40]
On June 17, 2022, the LHM Company announced that it was investing an undisclosed sum in Recyclops, a Utah start-up company that recycles materials such as polystyrene, film, batteries, lightbulbs, and textiles that are difficult to handle and serves often neglected rural areas. Recyclops operates on a subscription model. Recyclops was founded in 2014. As of 2022, it operated in 18 states.[41]
In mid-2022, Recylops expanded service in Kentucky to Bowling Green and Warren County.[42]
In 2023, Recyclops received B Corp certification from B Lab.[43]
As of 2024, Recyclops had expanded to at least 30 states.[44]
Recylops generally takes anything that can be recycled to the nearest metro area with a recycling program Recyclops aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by avoiding the use of garbage trucks. They also claim their vehicles do dramatically less damage to roads than garbage trucks. They partner with businesses to dispose of items that are difficult to recycle. These include things like the insulated liners that come with cold food and diapers.
The Millers acquired and renamed a Toyota dealership in 1979. Miller and her husband built a successful chain of car dealerships. These dealerships produced estimated sales of about $5.4 billion in 2019.[45]
In September 2021, Asbury Automotive announced that it was purchasing LHM Group's car dealerships for about $3.2 billion. This price included $740 million for real estate.[46] The dealerships will retain the LHM branding.[47] Corwin Auto Group of North Dakota purchased LHM Liberty Toyota and the LHM Toyota dealership in Boulder, Colorado.[48]
While under the ownership of the Miller family, their car dealerships started an annual food drive to benefit local food banks.[49]
In 2007, Miller and her husband established the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation.[50]
In 2019, it was reported that Miller had set up a process for young members of her family, starting at the age of 12, to participate in philanthropy. They may select registered non-profit organizations and then prepare proposals to support them for submission to the board of the family foundation.
In 2000, Brigham Young University (BYU) announced that the Millers had made a significant financial contribution towards the new 4,000-seat, $7 million baseball and softball complex. Built on campus, the project was named Miller Park and the softball field was christened Gail Miller Field and the baseball field is called Larry H. Miller Field.[51]
Starting in 2002, the Miller family has supported the Larry H. and Gail Miller Enrichment Scholarship. As of 2022, this supported has totaled roughly $13 million.[52]
In 2007, Miller and her husband founded the Driven 2 Teach program. This program, which is also funded by Zions Banks, takes primary and secondary school history teachers on trips to historic sites throughout the United States.[53]
Miller supported a state law in Utah to provide menstruation products to students free of charge. She donated $50,000 to SisterGoods, a group working on this issue.[54] In early 2022, the Miller family foundation agreed to fund the distribution of period products in public schools, in partnership with the Andrus Family Foundation.[55]
In March 2022, the Miller donated $2.1 million from her foundation to Southern Utah University (SUU) to support its Entrepreneurship Center. This donation was a matching grant. The foundation has donated a total of $3.6 million to the Entrepreneurship Program.[56]
In 2022, the Miller family donated $3 million to endow a directorship at the Utah Valley University Center for Constitutional Studies. Among other projects, the center offers education on the United States Constitution to the university as well as primary and secondary schools in Utah.[57]
Miller donated $500,000 to create centers to help homeless students in public schools. Miller donated another $1 million dedicated to such centers in the Davis School District the same year.[58] [59]
In 2022, through her foundation, Miller donated $3.5 million to open the Miller Advanced Research and Solutions Center (MARS). MARS is a center at Weber State University that conducts research related to national defense with student participation. It is located near Hill Air Force Base. The new Missile and Energy Research Center is located in the same building as MARS.[60]
Miller sits on the board of trustees as an emeritus member at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). She has been a major donor to the school for decades.[61] In 2022, Miller and her family foundation donated $10 million to SLCC. The donation will be used to improve the building where the business school resides, which is now known as the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Business Building. The business school is now known as the Gail Miller School of Business. This is the only business school in Utah named after a woman and one of only a few in the entire United States.[62] [63]
As of 2024, the Sterling Scholar program was sponsored by the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation. The program awards scholarships to outstanding high-school seniors.[64]
In 2024, it was reported that Miller donated $2.5 million to the Huntsman School of Business at the University of Southern Utah through her family foundation.[65]
In 2019, the Gail Miller Resource Center, dedicated to helping the homeless, opened in Salt Lake City.[66]
Miller donated $50 million to Intermountain Healthcare (IHC), a non-profit group of hospitals and clinics that serves children in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Alaska. This donation was the start of a $500 million fundraising campaign.[67] Miller has served as a member of IHC's board of trustees since 2013 and its chair since 2018. She has since resigned as chair[68]
In late 2020, Miller decided to sell her late husband's coin collection, worth about $25 million, and donate the proceeds to Intermountain Health. The donation was used to build a second campus for the Primary Children's Hospital in Lehi.[69]
Miller donated $50 million towards the construction of the second Primary Children's Hospital campus in Lehi. The campus was named in honor of her family. The hospital plans to start accepting patients in February 2024.[70] The 38-acre Lehi location is formally referred to as the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Campus.[71]
In 2022, Miller donated $5 million to the Utah Housing Preservation Fund to preserve older housing and affordable housing to renovate for future tenants.[72]
Miller's foundation and other organizations such as the Huntsman Family Foundation and Zions Bank, donated $2 million to the Utah Community Foundation to support victims of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Retail locations controlled by LHM Group accepted in-kind donations.[73]
For Thanksgiving in 2022, the Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Foundation, the LHM Company, and local governments worked together with non-profits to provide about 3,000 meals and many other services at the Salt Palace Convention Center. This was the 24th-straight year the Miller family has helped to provide Thanksgiving meals to the homeless and those experiencing food insecurity. In addition, participants were given vaccinations for the flu and COVID-19, diabetes testing, free feminine hygiene products, dental cleanings, clothes, legal help, free public transit passes, and free bicycle repairs.[74]
In 2023, Miller donated $250,000 through her foundation to help build a transitional housing facility in Ogden, Utah. The shelter is designed for the benefit of victims of domestic violence.[75]
As of 2023, the Miller family and the Larry H. Miller Company had worked with other organizations to serve thousands of Thanksgiving dinners to the homeless and hungry for 25 years straight. In 2023, the event also included dental cleanings, hygiene kits, mental health counseling, bicycle repair, etc.[76]
In 2023, the Miller family foundation donated $3.5 million to the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation.[77]
As of early 2024, the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation was a major donor to the Utah Impact Partnership. The Utah Impact Partnership is primarily aimed at fighting homelessness.[78]
In January 2024, the Utah Food Bank opened a new distribution center in Springville that was partially funded by a donation from the Miller family foundation.[79]
Miller sits on the board of Shelter the Homeless.[80]
In 2024, Miller, through her family foundation, made a matching grant of $850,000 to Southern Utah University to fund mental health services.[81]
Miller is a co-founder and board member of the Utah Impact Partnership.[82]
Miller's late husband provided initial funding for a team of experts at BYU that examined documents from the early history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). This team later compiled The Joseph Smith Papers, intended as a comprehensive examination of documents created by or at the direction of the church's founder Joseph Smith (1805–1844). In addition to the books with Smith's papers, the project generated a companion television series. Miller funded this project with a donation of $10 million in bonds and additional cash contributions. The project published its 27th and final volume in 2023.[83] Miller continued her husband's financial support of the Joseph Smith Papers.[84]
Through her family foundation, Miller donated $5 million for the renovation of a softball facility at Big Cottonwood Regional Park which has since been renamed the LHM Softball Complex.[85]
Miller donated $4 million through her family foundation to renovate the Larry H. Miller Softball Complex at Valley Regional Park in Salt Lake County.[86] The donation enabled improvements to the field, stands, and other amenities including the drainage system. The project was completed in cooperation with Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation.[87]
In late 2023, the Miller family foundation funded renovations to baseball fields at Riverside Park in partnership with Salt Lake City.[88]
In early 2024, the Miller family foundation announced a $22 million donation to Salt Lake City's Ballpark NEXT fund. This fund, managed by the Salt Lake City, is conducting a $100-million program to improve the neighborhood including and surrounding Smith's Ballpark.[89]
In February 2024, the Miller family foundation announced a $2.2 million donation to support water conservation efforts through the Antelope Island Learning Center. The related efforts including renovation of the learning center and the addition of a theater are being coordinated with the Utah Department of Natural Resources and Utah Water Ways.[90]
As of 2023, Miller, through her foundation, provided financial support for Utah Honor Flight. This group provides free trips to war memorials for veterans.[91]
Miller was born in Sandy, Utah, on October 14, 1943.[92] Her father was a shoemaker, and her mother a housekeeper. Her family was largely impoverished and at one time had only one lightbulb, which they moved from room to room.[93]
Miller is descended from pioneers who were among the first whites to settle in Utah. One of Miller's great-great-grandfathers was Johan Otte. Otte was born in Prussia in 1843. He met his wife, Ane Sorensdatter, in Denmark. Ane died giving birth to Ane Maria. Ane Maria was taken in by close friends of the couple due to Otte's grief. These friends had recently joined the LDS Church and took Ane Maria with them to Utah. Otte went on to have seven more children with a later wife. One of those children was Hans Frederick Otte, Miller's grandfather. Johan Otte converted to the LDS Church in Denmark and moved to Utah in 1898. He died later that year, but only after being first re-united with his daughter and the friends who had taken her in as their own.[94]
She married Larry H. Miller on March 25, 1965, and they are parents of five children. Larry died of diabetes complications on February 20, 2009. Miller married her second husband, Salt Lake City attorney Kim Wilson, in June 2010.[95] Miller is a member of the LDS Church.
In 2012, Miller was recognized with the ATHENA International Award. The award is sponsored by Wells Fargo and presented by the Salt Lake Chamber.[96]
In 2015, Miller received the "Giant in our City" award. This award is generally regarded as the most prestigious business award in Utah. It is presented by the Salt Lake Chamber.[97]
In 2017, Miller received an honorary doctorate from the University of Utah.
In 2019, the Joint Leadership Commission of the Congressional Award Foundation and its board of directors presented Miller the Horizon Award in a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. recognizing her work in the community and with young people.[98]
In 2019, Miller was named "Utahn of the Year" by The Salt Lake Tribune.
In early 2020, Miller was one of the recipients recognized via Ford's Salute to Dealers awards. The award was given in recognition of Miller's community service and philanthropy. Ford specifically mentioned the LHM Group's Larry H. Miller Day of Service that helps employees donating thousands of hours to helping the homeless, at-risk youth, families of severely ill children, and victims of domestic abuse.[99]
In late 2023, Miller was awarded the first ever NewsMakers award in recognition of her community service at an event hosted by the Salt Lake Tribune.[100]
In April 2024, Miller was named "Pillar of the Valley" by the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce.[101]
In June 2024, Miller was inducted to the David Eccles School of Business Hall of Fame. The David Eccles School of Business is part of the University of Utah.[102]
In 2013, Miller partnered with former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt and former First Lady Norma Matheson to create "Count My Vote," a bipartisan effort to push for state electoral reform.[103] [104]
In 2020, Miller, along with many other business leaders, endorsed the Republican gubernatorial campaign of Spencer Cox.[105]
Miller serves on the advisory board of directors at Zions Bancorporation.[106]
