Mark V. Shoen, a major shareholder of U-Haul International Inc. parent company AMERCO and owner of one of the largest private self-storage operations in the U.S., has been identified as the richest person in Arizona by “Forbes,” which released a ranking this week of the wealthiest individual in each state. Shoen’s net worth of $3 billion comes from owning roughly one-fifth of AMERCO through a limited partnership called Willow Grove Holdings LP. His storage company does business with U-Haul, according to sources.
Contrary to the Forbes report, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index states Shoen’s net worth is $5.58 billion, with a 22 percent ownership in AMERCO. He and his brother James own self-storage facilities under the U-Haul and Private Mini Storage brands, as well as through Mercury Partners. Together, they control about 47 million square feet of storage space.
By comparison, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the richest person in California, with a net worth of $74 billion. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world at $132 billion, according to the source.
Willow Grove owned more than 8.3 million shares, or 42.6 percent, of AMERCO stock, according to an SEC filing last year. Shoen was the subject of a 2013 Bloomberg report, which indicated the billionaire had sole ownership of 359 U-Haul self-storage facilities and majority ownership in 78 others.
Established in 1945, Phoenix-based U-Haul owns more than 44 million square feet of storage space. AMERCO is also the parent company to Amerco Real Estate Co., Oxford Life Insurance Co. and Repwest Insurance Co.
Sources:
12 News, There's a New Richest Person in Arizona, According to Forbes
Forbes, Meet the Richest Person in Every State 2018
Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Mark Shoen