Alright, so you wanna know ’bout this Ben Hill Griffin fella, huh? Well, lemme tell ya what I heard, kinda pieced it together like a quilt from scraps o’ gossip and news. This ain’t no fancy history lesson, mind you, just plain talk.
Seems like there was a whole bunch of Ben Hill Griffins, a whole family of ’em. First, there was this Ben Hill Griffin Jr. He was the one who started it all, way back when. Imagine, just a small piece of land, ten acres they say, with some orange trees. And a little ol’ packinghouse for the fruit. That’s how it all began. He worked hard, that one, real hard, and built somethin’ outta nothin’. Folks say he was a big deal in Florida, growin’ oranges and all. Even got into politics, some kinda state legislator, whatever that is.
Then comes his son, Ben Hill Griffin III. Now, this fella, he took what his daddy built and made it even bigger. Think of a snowball rollin’ down a hill, gettin’ bigger and bigger. He was in charge of somethin’ called Alico, a big company, and they made a whole lotta money, millions they say! He also had another company, somethin’ with oranges and juice, Orange-Co, I think they called it. Sounded juicy, alright!
- He was a big shot in the citrus business, real important.
- Made a whole heap of money, more than most folks ever see.
- Folks say he was generous too, gave away a lot of that money, especially to some school in Florida.
This Ben Hill Griffin III, he wasn’t just about the money, though. He gave a bunch of it away, to some university, they say over twenty million dollars! That’s a lot of oranges, let me tell ya. Seems he went to that school himself and wanted to help them out. Good on him, I say.
And then, there’s the grandson, Ben Hill Griffin IV. He’s the one runnin’ things now. Still got them oranges, thousands of acres of ’em! And cows too, a whole cattle ranch. The family business kept on growin’, generation after generation. Must be somethin’ in the water down there in Florida, makin’ those oranges grow so good.
So, this Ben Hill Griffin III fella, the one who made all the money and gave some away, he passed on, not too long ago. July 25th, they said. Sad, you know, when someone goes, even if they had a good long life. But he sure left his mark, that’s for sure. From a little orange grove to a big empire, that’s quite a story.
They even said he was one of the richest fellas in America, in some magazine. Forbes, I think. Can you imagine? One of those fellas who has more money than they could ever spend. But from what I hear, he wasn’t a bad sort, worked hard and did alright by folks. That’s more than you can say for some rich folks, lemme tell ya.
So that’s the story, or at least what I know of it. A family, oranges, money, and givin’ back. Sounds like a pretty good life, even if it ain’t the kind of life I know. But then again, everyone’s got their own story, ain’t they? And this Ben Hill Griffin fella, well, his was a pretty big one.
Tags: [Ben Hill Griffin, Florida Citrus, Alico, Orange-Co, Philanthropy, Citrus Industry, Ben Hill Griffin Jr., Ben Hill Griffin III, Ben Hill Griffin IV]
