View source for Wayne Huizenga

{{Short description|American businessman (1937–2018)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Wayne Huizenga.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Huizenga in the 1980s
| birth_name         = Harry Wayne Huizenga
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1937|12|29|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Evergreen Park, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2018|03|22|1937|12|29|mf=y}}
| death_place        = [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]], U.S.
| resting_place      = Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
| education          = [[Calvin College]]
| occupation         = Businessman; entrepreneur
| known_for          = [[Blockbuster LLC|Blockbuster Video]], [[Waste Management (corporation)|Waste Management, Inc.]], [[AutoNation]], and [[Swisher Hygiene]]<br/>former owner of NFL's [[Miami Dolphins]],<br/>the NHL's [[Florida Panthers]], and MLB's [[Miami Marlins|Florida Marlins]] teams
| spouse             = {{Unbulleted list|{{marriage|end=div.|Joyce VanderWagen|1960|1966}}|{{marriage|end=died|Martha Jean "Marti" Goldsby |1972|2017}}}}
}}

'''Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr.'''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article277199038.html | title=Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has a Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl ring. Why? | first=Lawrence | last=Dow | work=[[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]] | date=July 11, 2023}}</ref> ({{IPAc-en|h|aɪ|ˈ|z|ɛ|ŋ|ɡ|ə}}; December 29, 1937&nbsp;– March 22, 2018) was an American businessman. He founded [[AutoNation]] and [[Waste Management, Inc.]], and was the owner or co-owner of [[Blockbuster (retailer)|Blockbuster Video]], [[Republic Services]], the [[Miami Dolphins]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL), the [[Florida Panthers]] of the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL), and the [[Miami Marlins]] (formerly Florida Marlins) of [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB).

==Biography==
===Early life and education===
Harry Wayne [[Huizenga]] was of [[Dutch Americans|Dutch]] descent.<ref name=CitizenWayne>{{cite news | url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/wayne-huizenga-the-unauthorized-biography-17392137 | title=Citizen Wayne: The Unauthorized Biography | first=Steven | last=Almond | newspaper=[[Miami New Times]] |volume=9 |number=33 | date=December 1–7, 1994}}</ref> His grandfather, Harm Huizenga,<ref name="WSJ obit" /> came to the United States from the Netherlands. Starting with a horse and wagon, Harm Huizenga built a trash hauling service, Huizenga & Sons Scavenger Co. in suburban Chicago in 1894.<ref name=mhobit/><ref name=CitizenWayne/> Wayne Huizenga's parents, Gerrit Harry Huizenga and Jean Huizenga (née Riddering), a home decorator,<ref name="WSJ obit">{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/wayne-huizenga-entrepreneur-behind-blockbuster-and-autonation-dies-at-80-1521822048 | title=Wayne Huizenga, Entrepreneur Behind Blockbuster and AutoNation, Dies at 80 | last=Hagerty | first=James R. | newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=March 23, 2018 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> grew up in the Dutch community in Chicago<ref name=NNI>{{cite web | url=https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/wayne-h-huizenga/ | title=Wayne H. Huizenga [1937] |publisher=New Netherland Institute}}</ref> and were strict members of the [[Dutch Reformed Church]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-millionaire-wayne-huizenga-jr-shares-conversion-story-with-500-nyc-business-leaders-at-luis-palau-event.html | title=Christian Millionaire Wayne Huizenga Jr. Shares Conversion Story With 500 NYC Business Leaders at Luis Palau Event | first=Vincent | last=Funaro | work=[[The Christian Post]] | date=June 10, 2015}}</ref>

Huizenga was born at Little Company of Mary Hospital, in [[Evergreen Park, Illinois]], on December 29, 1937, the first child in a family of garbage haulers.<ref name=ctobit>{{cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2018/03/23/chicago-born-wayne-huizenga-dies-at-80-built-his-fortune-though-waste-management-and-blockbuster-video/ | title=Chicago-born Wayne Huizenga dies at 80; built his fortune though Waste Management and Blockbuster Video | last1=Spencer | first1=Terry | last2=Wine | first2=Steve | newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=March 23, 2018 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1940 when Wayne was 2, the Huizenga family were listed as living in an apartment building in Berwyn, Illinois.<ref>Year: ''1940''; Census Place: ''Berwyn, Cook, Illinois''; Roll: ''m-t0627-00773''; Page: ''3B''; Enumeration District: ''16-29''</ref> He had one sister, Bonnie, who was five years younger.<ref name=CitizenWayne/> He attended Chicago Christian High School in his sophomore year. In 1953, the Huizenga family moved to the [[Fort Lauderdale, Florida]] area.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/h-wayne-huizenga-florida-billionaire-and-sports-franchise-owner-dies-at-80/2018/03/23/813dfafc-2eae-11e8-8ad6-fbc50284fce8_story.html | title=Wayne Huizenga, Entrepreneur Behind Blockbuster and AutoNation, Dies at 80 | first=James R. | last=Hagerty | work=[[The Washington Post]] | date=March 23, 2018}}</ref> His father became a building contractor.

The remainder of Huizenga's high school years were spent at [[Pine Crest School]], where he was a member of the football team and senior class treasurer, graduating in 1955.<ref name=CitizenWayne/><ref name=NNI/> In 1956, he moved back to Chicago where most of his friends, grandparents and other relatives lived, and enrolled for at [[Calvin College]], a liberal arts college in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]], but he dropped out after three semesters, before finishing his sophomore year.<ref name=CitizenWayne/> For approximately five years after graduation, he took on low-wage jobs and in September 1959 enlisted in the [[United States Army Reserve]] and spent six months on active duty.<ref name=NNI/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nndb.com/people/656/000055491/ | title=H. Wayne Huizenga | publisher=[[NNDB]]}}</ref>

===Career===
In Fort Lauderdale, Huizenga started a [[waste management]] business, as his grandfather had done in Chicago in 1894.<ref name=CitizenWayne/>

According to a civil suit filed in November 1961 by Thomas Millwood, a self-employed electrical engineer who refused young Huizenga's offer to haul the trash with his Pompano Carting venture, and "[a]fter using abusive and profane language to both Millwood and his wife, the defendant Huizenga attacked Millwood in a fit of anger and without provocation ... striking him on his face and body, using great force and violence, thereby inflicting great bodily harm and mental shock." The altercation left Millwood with a "ripped shirt, broken sunglasses, and abrasions" on his face. Most painful, noted the lawsuit, was the "permanent injury to the testicles and genital area as a result of grabbing and twisting by the defendant." The matter went to trial, where the jury awarded Millwood $1,000 in damages.<ref name=CitizenWayne/>

In 1962, he started the Southern Sanitation Service by borrowing US$5,000 from his father and convincing a rival trash hauler to sell him used trucks.<ref name=mhobit/> Beginning with one garbage truck in 1968, he created [[Waste Management, Inc.]] Huizenga purchased many independent garbage hauling companies; by the time of the [[initial public offering]] of the company in 1972, he had acquired 133 small-time haulers.

In 1984, he left [[Waste Management, Inc.]] and soon again bought companies including suppliers of portable toilets and water bottles for home coolers.<ref name="WSJ obit" />

Huizenga repeated the process with Blockbuster Video, acquiring a handful of stores in 1987,<ref name=block>
{{cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2003/07/01/347314/index.htm | title=He Began Blockbuster. So What? David Cook created a household name, but he refuses to become one. | work=[[CNN]] | first=Joshua | last=Hyatt | date=July 1, 2003}}</ref> with the company becoming the leading movie-rental chain in the United States by 1994. 

In 1995, Huizenga invested $64 million of his own money and raised an additional $168 million to acquire Republic Industries and became its chairman; it completed the [[corporate spin-off]] of [[Republic Services]] in 1998 and was renamed [[AutoNation]], which became the nation's largest automotive dealer.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/h-wayne-huizenga/197648 | title=H. Wayne Huizenga | work=[[Entrepreneur (magazine)|Entrepreneur]] | date=October 10, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB899333421467608000 | title=Republic Services IPO Receives Mild Response | last=Blackmon |first=Douglas A. | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=July 2, 1998 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In October 2004, he sold Boca Resorts, owner of hotels including The Hyatt Pier 66 Hotel and the Radisson Bahia Mar Hotel & Marinain Fort Lauderdale, The Boca Raton Resort & Club in [[Boca Raton, Florida]], and several others in [[Naples, Florida]], and Arizona, to [[The Blackstone Group]] for $1 billion; Huizenga netted $192 million from the deal.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB109832430103751536 | title=Blackstone Group Agrees to Buy Boca Resorts Inc. for $1 Billion | first=Carrick | last=Mollenkamp | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=October 21, 2004 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.globest.com/2004/10/21/blackstone-will-acquire-boca-resorts-for-over-1b/ | title=Blackstone Will Acquire Boca Resorts for Over $1B | first=Barbara | last=Jarvie | work=GlobeSt | date=October 21, 2004}}</ref>

In 2010, Huizenga along with Steve Berrard, former CEO of Blockbuster Video and AutoNation, took a majority stake in [[Swisher Hygiene]], after paying $8.1 million to founder Patrick Swisher and his wife, Laura.<ref name=boye>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2005/01/10/story1.html | title=Swisher's blockbuster deal | first=Will | last=Boye | work=[[American City Business Journals]] | date=January 10, 2005 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> The company became a [[public company]] but did not do well and was acquired by [[Ecolab]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/how-going-to-jail-changed-this-franchisors-outlook-and/292752 | title=How Going to Jail Changed This Franchisor's Outlook -- And Helped Him Rake in $42 Million | first=Greg | last=Lacour | work=[[Entrepreneur (magazine)|Entrepreneur]] | date=May 15, 2017}}</ref>

===Sports team ownership===
Huizenga was notable for introducing baseball and ice hockey to the South Florida area as the creator and initial owner of the [[Miami Marlins|Florida Marlins]] and [[Florida Panthers]].<ref name=mhobit>{{cite news | url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/obituaries/article206530794.html | title=H. Wayne Huizenga, billionaire entrepreneur and Miami sports icon, dies at 80 | last1=Cohen | first1=Howard | last2=Beasley | first2=Adam H. | last3=Jackson | first3=Barry | newspaper=[[Miami Herald]] | date=March 23, 2018}}</ref> Also, he bought the cable television channel [[Fox Sports Florida|SportsChannel Florida]] (now Bally Sports Florida) in 1996 to air his teams' games in the region.

He was criticized for naming the two teams for the state of Florida rather than the city of Miami. As an advocate for the city of Fort Lauderdale, he explained that his goal was to include [[Broward County, Florida|Broward County]] and [[Palm Beach County, Florida|Palm Beach County]] in his teams' fan base.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}

====American football====
In 1990, during a period of financial hardship for the franchise, Huizenga purchased 15% of the National Football League's [[Miami Dolphins]] and its stadium in [[Miami Gardens, Florida]]. Founding owner [[Joe Robbie]] had recently died, and his surviving family found it difficult to keep the team afloat. In turn, Huizenga bought the remaining shares of the team for $115 million to obtain full ownership in 1994.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1994/06/28/huizenga-expected-to-finalize-purchase-of-dolphins-today/ | title=Huizenga Expected To Finalize Purchase Of Dolphins Today | work=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |last=Salguero | first=Armando | date=June 28, 1994}}</ref> He sold the naming rights of Joe Robbie Stadium (now [[Hard Rock Stadium]]) to [[Fruit of the Loom]] brand Pro Player for $2 million per year for 10 years.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/08/26/Robbie-Stadium-renamed-Pro-Player-Park/7400841032000/ |title=Robbie Stadium renamed Pro Player Park | work=[[United Press International]] |date=August 26, 1996}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/11/11/16628422/orange-bowl-miami-stadium-name | title=Miami stadium name history: 10 changes in 29 years |last=Kirshner |first=Alex | work=[[SB Nation]] | date=November 11, 2017}}</ref>

In January 2009, Huizenga sold 50% of the team and 50% of the stadium for $550 million to [[Stephen M. Ross]], chairman of [[The Related Companies]]. Huizenga remained the managing general partner of the franchise until January 2009, when he sold another 45% of the team and as much of the stadium to Ross. Thus, Ross became managing general partner with 95% ownership of the Dolphins and the stadium, and Huizenga retained a 5% share of both club and stadium. Huizenga remained the proprietor of 50% of the land.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/sports/football/21nfl.html| title=Developer Completes Deal to Take Control of Dolphins | agency=[[Associated Press]] | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=January 21, 2009 | url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/dolphins-owner-to-sell-50-percent-of-franchise-idUSN22620594/ | title=Dolphins owner to sell 50 percent of franchise | first=Simon | last=Evans | editor-first=Greg | editor-last=Stutchbury | work=[[Reuters]] | date=February 23, 2008}}</ref>

In the early 1990s, Huizenga served a two-year probationary period with the National Football League as an owner, with the stipulation that he not buy another team.<ref name=boye />

====Baseball====
In the 1996 off-season, and only three years after the Marlins' first [[Expansion team#Major League Baseball|game]], Huizenga and [[General manager (baseball)|General Manager]] [[Dave Dombrowski]] spent more than $89 million on free agents, the amount surprising the rest of the league.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/06/29/huizengas-big-splash-engulfs-all-of-baseball/ | title=Huizenga's Big Splash Engulfs All Of Baseball | first=Paul | last=Sullivan | work=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=June 29, 1997 | url-access=limited}}</ref> The Marlins strengthened their pitching staff by luring [[Alex Fernandez (baseball)|Alex Fernandez]] to Miami and brought over third baseman [[Bobby Bonilla]], outfielder [[Moisés Alou]], reliever [[Dennis Cook]] and outfielders [[John Cangelosi]] and [[Jim Eisenreich]].<ref name=BBTN /> In 1997, the team finished with 92 wins — marking the franchise’s first winning season, and made the [[Major League Baseball postseason|postseason]] for the first time as the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] Wildcard team. The Marlins went on to win the [[1997 World Series]], defeating the [[1997 Cleveland Indians season|Cleveland Indians]] in seven games, becoming the first Wildcard team to win a World Championship.<ref name=BBTN>"Is Wayne Huizenga a Genius?" by Jonah Keri, chapter 8.3 of ''Baseball Between The Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game Is Wrong'' by the [[Baseball Prospectus]] Team, [[Basic Books]], USA, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-465-00547-5}}, pp. 306–325.</ref>

In the next off season, Huizenga, claiming a financial loss of about $34 million running the team that year,<ref name=Worst>{{Cite news | url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1425257-miami-marlins-the-7-worst-moves-in-franchise-history | title=Miami Marlins: The 7 Worst Moves in Franchise History | first=Cheng | last=Sio | work=[[Bleacher Report]] | date=December 2, 2012}}</ref> a claim subsequently disputed by [[Smith College]] economist [[Andrew Zimbalist]] in an essay,<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/18/magazine/the-capitalist-a-miami-fish-story.html | title=The Capitalist; A Miami Fish Story | first=Andrew | last=Zimbalist | authorlink=Andrew Zimbalist | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=October 18, 1998 | url-access=limited}}</ref> ordered the $54 million players-payroll to be cut, and immediately dismantled the championship team.<ref name=Worst/> In November 1998, a year after winning the World Series, the Marlins were sold for a reported amount of approximately $150 million to [[John W. Henry]].<ref name=sold>{{Cite news | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sold-john-henry-buys-marlins/ | title=Sold! John Henry Buys Marlins | work=[[CBS News]] | date=November 6, 1998}}</ref>

In 2009, Huizenga expressed regret over dismantling the team to save money;<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.local10.com/news/2018/03/23/south-florida-businessman-team-owner-wayne-huizenga-dies/ | title=South Florida businessman, team owner Wayne Huizenga dies | first=Kathleen | last=Corso | work=[[Associated Press]] | date=March 23, 2018}}</ref> the dismantling of the team was listed as "one of the worst moves in the franchise's history" in a 2012 article in ''[[Bleacher Report]]''.<ref name=Worst/> However, analysts of the [[Baseball Prospectus]], through statistical work, claimed by both winning the sport's ultimate trophy and selling the club immediately after that win for a substantial profit, Wayne Huizenga proved to be a "genius."<ref name=BBTN />

When he sold the Marlins, Huizenga, who still owned then-Pro Player Stadium, retained the rights to skybox tickets and club seat customers, as well as 62.5% of parking revenue, and 30% of concessions.<ref name=asif>{{Cite news | url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2003/10/10/Franchises/As-If-The-Marlins-Fire-Sale-Wasnt-Enough-For-Wayne-Huizenga/ | title=As If The Marlins Fire Sale Wasn't Enough For Wayne Huizenga | work=[[Sports Business Journal]] | date=October 10, 2003}}</ref> Economist [[Andrew Zimbalist]] commented: "Huizenga made a killing when he sold the team for $150 million [in 1998] and had the lease for this stadium that enabled him to keep just about all the stadium revenue."<ref name=asif />

====Ice hockey====
Huizenga operated the Florida Panthers as a public holding company, buying numerous real estate properties in the name of his Panthers Holding Group. Capitalizing on the team's 1996 drive to the [[Stanley Cup]] finals, he sold shares to the public, whose enthusiasm for the club drove civic leaders in Broward County to use public money to build a new [[BB&T Center (Sunrise, Florida)|arena]] for the team. Huizenga used the hockey team's stock as currency to begin building yet another diversified enterprise, buying two resort hotels owned partly by Huizenga and other Panthers officials. His original investment in the Panthers had nearly tripled in total value to $150 million.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/25/sports/hockey-as-the-panthers-lose-money-their-fans-enrich-huizenga.html | title=As the Panthers Lose Money, Their Fans Enrich Huizenga | first=Edward | last=Wyatt | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=March 25, 1998 | url-access=limited}}</ref>

In June 2001, he sold the Panthers to pharmaceutical businessman and friend [[Alan Cohen]] and Cohen's partner, former NFL quarterback [[Bernie Kosar]], for approximately $100 million.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/06/sports/plus-hockey-panthers-are-sold-for-101-million.html | title=PLUS: HOCKEY; Panthers Are Sold For $101 Million | agency=[[Associated Press]] | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=June 6, 2001 | url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/2001/06/05/deals/panthers/index.htm | title=Florida Panthers sold | work=[[CNN]] | date=June 5, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2001/06/06/panthers-sold-for-101-million/ | title=PANTHERS SOLD FOR $101 MILLION | work=[[Sun Sentinel]] | date=June 6, 2001 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> In December 2017, 25 years after he created the club, the Panthers [[Retired number|retired]] the no. 37 shirt in honor of Huizenga. His family chose the number because it was his "birth year and lucky number."<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2017/12/10/panthers-to-retire-no-37-in-honor-of-former-owner-h-wayne-huizenga/ | title=Panthers to retire No. 37 in honor of former owner H. Wayne Huizenga | first=Matthew | last=DeFranks | work=[[Sun Sentinel]] | date=December 10, 2017 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Honors==
In 1991, Huizenga received the Golden Plate Award of the American [[Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#sports |title=Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement | publisher=[[Academy of Achievement]]}}</ref>

In 1992, he was named a "Distinguished American" by the [[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.uff.ufl.edu/your-impact/from-adversity-to-distinguished-american/ | title=From Adversity to 'Distinguished American' | first=David | last=Finnerty | work=[[University of Florida]] | date=January 3, 2018}}</ref> He was named its 2008 [[Norman Vincent Peale]] Award recipient.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://horatioalger.org/norman-vincent-peale-award/ | title=Norman Vincent Peale Award | publisher=[[Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans]]}}</ref>

He was named the 2005 [[Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award#21st century recipients|Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Treadway | first1=Tyler | last2=Andreassi | first2=George | title=AutoNation, Blockbuster and Waste Management founder H. Wayne Huizenga dies at age 80 | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/03/23/autonation-blockbuster-and-waste-management-founder-h-wayne-huizenga-dies-age-80/452866002/ | work=[[USA TODAY]] | date=March 23, 2018}}</ref>

In 2012, the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, renamed Southeast 9th Street in the Rio Vista neighborhood Wayne Huizenga Blvd.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2012/12/04/waynes-world-fort-lauderdale-adds-huizenga-boulevard-2/ | title=Wayne's World: Fort Lauderdale adds Huizenga Boulevard | location=[[Fort Lauderdale]] | first=Larry | last=Barszewski | newspaper=[[Sun Sentinel]] | date=December 4, 2012 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
On September 10, 1960, he married Joyce Vander Wagen, whom he met while in high school. He had known Joyce since his early school years in Evergreen Park. Wayne and Joyce had two children, Wayne Jr. and Scott. The marriage ended in divorce in 1966.<ref name=CitizenWayne/>

Huizenga married his second wife, Martha Jean "Marti" (née Pike) Goldsby, a native of [[San Antonio, Florida]], in April 1972.<ref name=martiobit/><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/want-to-be-a-successful-leader-9-things-to-learn-from-life-of-h-wayne-huizenga-founder-of-blockbuster-waste-management-autonation-many-other-companies.html | title=9 Smart Things to Learn From the Incredible Life of Serial Entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga | first=BILL | last=MURPHY JR. | work=[[Inc. (magazine)|Inc.]] | date=March 25, 2018}}</ref> She was a secretary, and had done billing and clerical work in one of his businesses.<ref name=CitizenWayne/><ref name="WSJ obit" /> He later adopted her son,<ref name=CitizenWayne/> Robert Ray, and daughter Pamela.<ref name="hit">{{Cite news | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2007/11/20/huizengas-son-has-to-stay-in-prison/ | title=Huizenga's son has to stay in prison | first=Tonya | last=Alanez | work=[[Sun-Sentinel]] | date=November 20, 2007 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> The couple remained married until her death on January 3, 2017, following a fourteen-year battle with cancer.<ref name=martiobit>{{Cite news | url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/obituaries/article124412444.html | title=Marti Huizenga, who gave millions to help students and animals, dies at 74 | first=Howard | last=Cohen | work=[[Miami Herald]] | date=January 3, 2017}}</ref>

In May 2004, Huizenga purchased a private luxury yacht from Australian professional golfer [[Greg Norman]].<ref name=sailaway>{{cite news | url=https://www.espn.com/golf/news/story?id=1901955 | title=Norman, Tiger sail away from golf | work=[[ESPN]] | date=October 14, 2004}}</ref> The yacht cost $77 million and was further modified by Huizenga to feature a [[helipad]] for a 12-seat helicopter.<ref name=sailaway/> In August 2004, ''Power & Motoryacht'' ranked it the 43rd-longest yacht in the world.<ref name=sailaway/> 

In 1999, Huizenga donated $4 million to [[Nova Southeastern University]] in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which named the [[H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship]] after him.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://sfbwmag.com/wayne-huizenga-lessons-from-a-business-icon/ | title=Wayne Huizenga: Lessons from a business icon | work=South Florida Business & Wealth | date=April 28, 2018}}</ref>

In 1996, he donated $1 million to [[Pine Crest School]], his alma mater, which named its science building the Huizenga Science Building.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://blog.pinecrest.edu/alumni/pine-crest-school-community-mourns-the-loss-of-h.-wayne-huizenga-55 | title=Pine Crest School Community Mourns the Loss of H. Wayne Huizenga ’55 | work=[[Pine Crest School]] | date=March 23, 2018}}</ref>

In 2009, his Huizenga Family Foundation donated the chapel at the [[South Florida Council]]'s Scout camp in [[Davie, Florida]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2009-04-05-0904020449-story.html | last=Fishman | first=Scott | title=Scouts break ground on site | work=[[Sun-Sentinel]] | date=April 5, 2009 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In the 1980s, he began acquiring 2,000 acres about 30 miles north of West Palm Beach. In 1996, he based the Floridian Golf & Yacht Club there, an exclusive golf club "with enough estate homes on the property to cover his costs," and a course designed by [[Gary Player]]<ref name=flo>{{Cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2003-06-01/a-round-with-wayne-huizenga | title=A Round with Wayne Huizenga | work=[[Bloomberg News]] | date=June 2, 2003 | url-access=subscription}}</ref> where he extended free privileges to some two hundred "friends, relatives, and business associates," including actors [[Michael Douglas]] and [[Catherine Zeta-Jones]] and retired GE Chairman [[Jack Welch]].<ref name=flo /> He renamed his yacht ''Floridian'', before selling the Floridian club and estate to Texas entrepreneur [[Jim Crane]] in 2010.<ref name=texas>{{Cite news | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2010/04/18/huizenga-sells-floridian-golf-yacht-club-to-texas-entrepreneur/ | title=Huizenga sells Floridian Golf & Yacht Club to Texas entrepreneur | first=Nadia | last=Vanderhoof | work=[[Sun-Sentinel]] | date=April 18, 2010 | url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Huizenga died aged 80 of an undisclosed cancer at his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the night of March 22, 2018.<ref name=mhobit/><ref name=ctobit/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/obituaries/h-wayne-huizenga-entrepreneur-and-team-owner-is-dead-at-80.html |title=H. Wayne Huizenga, Owner of Teams and a Business Empire, Dies at 80 | last=Scheiber | first=Noam |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 23, 2018 | url-access=limited}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Florida Panthers}}
{{Miami Dolphins}}
{{Miami Dolphins owner navbox}}
{{Miami Dolphins president navbox}}
{{Miami Marlins owners}}
{{Blockbuster}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huizenga, Wayne}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:American billionaires]]
[[Category:American people of Dutch descent]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Illinois]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Florida]]
[[Category:Florida Panthers]]
[[Category:Florida Panthers owners]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball owners]]
[[Category:Miami Dolphins owners]]
[[Category:Miami Marlins]]
[[Category:Miami Marlins owners]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]
[[Category:National Hockey League executives]]
[[Category:National Hockey League owners]]
[[Category:Nova Southeastern University people]]
[[Category:People from Evergreen Park, Illinois]]
[[Category:Pine Crest School alumni]]
[[Category:Calvin University alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century United States Army personnel]]