| Johnny Morris | |
| Birth Place: | Springfield, Missouri, US |
| Education: | Drury University |
| Occupation: | Founder, majority owner, and CEO, Bass Pro Shops |
| Spouse: | Jeanie |
| Children: | 4 |
John L. Morris (born 1948) is an American billionaire businessman, and the founder, majority owner, and CEO of Bass Pro Shops, a hunting and fishing retail chain in the US and Canada.[1] As of August 2024, his net worth was estimated at US$9.9 billion.[2]
John Morris was born in Springfield, Missouri in 1948.[3] Morris was educated at Drury University.
Morris founded Bass Pro Shops in 1972 when he began selling fishing equipment in the back of one of his father's Brown Derby liquor stores in Springfield.[4] [5] According to Forbes, Morris has a net worth of $8.3 billion.Morris is also the founder of the White River Marine Group.
Morris opened the Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium in Springfield, in 2017. The museum helps bring visitors to Bass Pro's store there, with which it shares a location.[6] [7] In September 2017, Bass Pro acquired Cabela’s, another retailer of outdoor merchandise, for $4 billion.[8]
Morris and his family were presented with the Audubon Medal in February 2019, in recognition of their conservation efforts.[9] The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America awarded Morris its highest honor, the Old Tom Morris Award, in 2023 for his continuing lifetime commitment to the game of golf and conservation efforts.[10]
Morris also founded the Top of the Rock golf course in Branson, Missouri, which houses one of the largest collections of Native American arrowheads and art in the region.[11] Top of the Rock experienced a 70-foot-wide sinkhole on May 22, 2016.[12]
Morris contributed $200,000 to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.[13]
He is married, with four children, and lives in Springfield, Missouri.[2]