Marc Lore | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marc Eric Lore (1971-05-16)May 16, 1971 (age 53) New York City, US |
| Education | Bucknell University (BA) Columbia University (dropped out) Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (dropped out) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Walmart eCommerce CEO,GARP,Diapers.com andJet.com, Co-owner of theMinnesota Timberwolves, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of the Wonder Group |
| Spouse | Carolyn Lore (divorced) |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Marc Eric Lore (/ˈlɔːri/LOR-ee; born May 16, 1971) is an American entrepreneur,[1] businessman, investor,[2] and NBA team franchise owner.[3] In December 2021,CNBC reported that Lore is founder,chairman, andCEO of the Wonder Group.[4] From 2016 to 2021, he was thepresident and CEO ofWalmart U.S. eCommerce.[5] Lore was appointed in September 2016 to lead Walmart's e-commerce division when his companyJet.com—an e-commerce website launched in 2014—was acquired by Walmart, Inc. Walmart purchased Jet for $3.3 billion.[6]
Prior to Jet, Lore was the CEO and co-founder ofQuidsi, the parent company of a family of websites, includingDiapers.com. Quidsi was sold in 2011 toAmazon for $545 million.[7] Lore was named regional Entrepreneur of the Year byErnst & Young in 2011,[8] one of the "smartest people in technology" byFortune,[9] and dubbed theLeBron James of e-commerce byMatt Higgins.[10]
After stepping down from Walmart,Recode reported that Lore's next venture will be "a multi-decade project to build 'a city of the future' supported by 'a reformed version ofcapitalism'",[11] announced in September 2021 asTelosa.[12] In November 2023, Wonder Group—a company Marc founded in 2018—purchased Blue Apron for $103 million.[13]
Lore was born in theStaten Island borough of New York City on May 16, 1971, the son of Peter and Chiara Lore. He is the oldest of three children and spent most of his childhood in Staten Island. When he was ten years old his family moved to theLincroft section ofMiddletown Township, New Jersey.[14][15]
His mother was a body builder and personal trainer. During the late 1980s she trained model and actressJulianne Phillips who wasBruce Springsteen's wife at the time.[16] Lore's father started a computer consulting company, Chadmarc Systems, named after his two sons.[17]
In seventh grade, Lore got into stocks and began reading books on stock options and what would become known as derivatives – eventually leading him to start his career in finance.[17] Inhigh school he started a baseball card company called The Mint with his grade school friend, Lax Chandra.[14]
From fifth until twelfth grade, Lore attendedRanney School inTinton Falls, New Jersey. In 1989, during his senior year of high school, Lore became the New Jersey State Champ for the55-meter dash.[18]
Lore's classmates called him the human calculator as a youngsavant with numbers. While sophisticated with math, Lore claims he didn't apply himself and was seen more as a class clown. In high school he and his close friend, and later business partner, Vinit Bharara used to sneak down to Atlantic City and card count at the casinos.[14] Lore has stated that he "didn't apply himself at all" when it came to school. He's said that he was a sophomore in high school when he first realized you have to actually apply to college – "I always thought you could just pick the school you wanted to go to."[19]
After graduating high school in 1989, Lore attendedBucknell University. He was on Bucknell'strack and field team specializing in the100-meter,200-meter,long jump, andjavelin events. In 1993 he received aBachelor of Arts in business management and economics, graduatingcum laude.[20]
After starting his banking career, Lore enrolled inColumbia University but dropped out before completing his master of statistics degree. During this time he did complete theChartered Financial Analyst three-year program.
Lore also enrolled inThe Wharton School at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.[21] He dropped out after one year in theMBA program to pursueDiapers.com.[22]
After graduating college in 1993, Lore began his career atBankers Trust inNew York City. He held various investment banking positions, including vice president of emerging markets risk management atCredit Suisse First Boston and executive vice president ofSanwa International Bank inLondon, where he was head of the bank'sRisk Management Division.[23]
In 1997, while at Credit Suisse First Boston, Lore and his colleague, Lev Borondovsky, started theGlobal Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) and founded theFinancial Risk Manager (FRM) – a certification forfinancial risk managers. Today an estimated 50,000 people have earned the certification while the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP) has over 150,000 members from 195 countries.[24] Lore and Borondovsky also wrote The Professional's Handbook of Financial Risk Management.[25]
In 1999, Lore co-founded The Pit, Inc., an Internet market-making collectible company constructed as an alternative toeBay.[26] Lore was CEO and The Pit was sold to the sports collectibles company, TheTopps Company, Inc. for $5.7 million in 2001.[27] Following the acquisition, Lore joined Topps as chief operating officer of gaming subsidiaryWizKids.[28]
In 2005, Lore and Vinit Bharara founded 1800DIAPERS, later rebranded asDiapers.com.[29] Lore was CEO.[30] The company was sold toAmazon in 2011 for $545 million,[31] and Lore then worked for Amazon for over two years.[23]
In 2014, Lore founded the eCommerce companyJet with Nate Faust and Mike Hanrahan.[32] Lore was CEO and in November 2014, Jet launched a campaign offeringstock options to users, generating word-of-mouth for the company in advance of launch.[33] In January 2015, Jet was featured in a cover story inBloomberg Businessweek, in which it was revealed that Jet would be a shopping club in which members would pay an annual fee of $49.99 to access the lowest prices on millions of items;[34] the membership fee was eliminated in October 2015.[35]
In February 2015, Jet raised $140 million in pre-launch funding from investors includingBain Capital Ventures,Accel Partners,Alibaba Group,New Enterprise Associates, and others.[36]
Beta testers in May 2015 reported cheaper prices than Amazon but longer delivery times.[37] On July 21, 2015, Jet.com opened to the public.[38]
On August 8, 2016,Walmart announced it had agreed to acquire Jet.com for $3.3 billion. Following the acquisition, Lore was appointed president and chief executive officer of Walmart U.S. eCommerce.[39]
On May 19, 2020, Walmart announced that it was shutting down Jet, directing visitors to useWalmart.com instead.[40]
After its first full year with Lore as CEO, Walmart's U.S. eCommerce sales grew 44%.[41]
According to Fool.com, "In the three full fiscal years since the Jet acquisition Walmart's eCommerce sales have nearly tripled, jumping 176%. The company has rapidly expanded grocery pickup and delivery and now has about 3,300 stores with grocery pickup and more than 1,850 stores offering grocery delivery, up from just a handful at the time of the Jet acquisition. Under the guidance of Lore, the company rolled out free two-day delivery for orders over $35 without a membership fee to compete withAmazon Prime, and that was accelerated to free one-day delivery last year, shortly after Amazon made the same move in Prime. In the most recent quarter, Walmart expanded ship-from-store capabilities to 2,500 stores, leveraging the power of its store base, and it launched Express Delivery, promising delivery in two hours."[42]
In 2017, Walmart and Lore announced the launch of Store No. 8, a technology incubator based in the Silicon Valley.[43] The initiative was named after an early Walmart store that founder,Sam Walton, used to try out new retail strategies.[44] At the 2017Shoptalk conference inLas Vegas, Lore said Store No. 8 will work with startups that specialize in areas that includerobotics,virtual reality andaugmented reality,machine learning, andartificial intelligence.[45]
However, despite revenue growth, Walmart's e-commerce division incurred increasingly large losses: approximately $1.4 billion in 2018 and $1.7 billion in 2019.[46]
After stepping down from Walmart, Recode reported that Lore's latest project will be "a multi-decade project to build 'a city of the future' supported by 'a reformed version of capitalism.'"[47]
Lore is the lead investor inArcher Aviation, anelectric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) company focused on "advancing the benefits of sustainable air mobility."[48] In February 2021, Archer announced Lore would be investing an additional $10 million as the company announced their $1 billion purchase order fromUnited Airlines and aSPAC.[49]
On May 12, 2021Alex Rodriguez and Lore announced a newventure capital firm called Vision Capital People or VCP. The company launched with $50 million of the pair's own money and could eventually raise $300 million to $500 million. Rodriguez and Lore plan to take early-stage stakes of 40% to 80% in their portfolio companies, much larger than the typical venture approach, a model that Lore said he found "frustrating" when he sought capital for his previous startups. Their first investment was NOW//with, a social commerce company.[50]
On July 21, 2021, Lore,Alex Rodriguez, andDave Portnoy were named as investors of online brokerage firm, Tornado.[51]
On April 10, 2021, Lore andAlex Rodriguez signed a letter of intent to purchase theMinnesota Timberwolves andMinnesota Lynx fromGlen Taylor.[52]
The deal became official on July 21, 2021, as theNBA approvedAlex Rodriguez and Lore's purchase of theMinnesota Timberwolves.[53] The deal began with a minority share and was designed to incrementally transfer additional shares over three years until majority ownership was established. In 2024, Taylor claimed a delayed payment invalidated the deal.[54] In 2025, an arbitration panel decided in favor of Lore and Rodriguez, and final transfer awaits approval by theNBA Board of Governors.[55]
In September 2021, Lore announcedTelosa, a city he is building from scratch.[12] The project has a target population of 5 million people by 2050, with the first phase of construction expected to house 50,000.[56] The project's planners intend for the city to be built on desert land, with Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and Appalachia proposed as potential locations. The name Telosa is derived from the Ancient Greek word telos, meaning "higher purpose".[12]
Lore announced he had hired the architectural firmBjarke Ingels Group (BIG) owned by Danish architectBjarke Ingels.[57]
The proposed land ownership in the city is inspired byGeorgist principles, as advocated by political economistHenry George in his 1879 bookProgress and Poverty. Under the proposed rules, anyone would be licensed to build, keep or sell a home, building or any other structure, but the city would retain ultimate ownership of the land.[58]
Lore founded Wonder Group, a food delivery startup, in 2018; he is thechairman andCEO.[59][60] Wonder calls itself a "modern food court," with brick-and-mortar storefronts in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and multiple towns in New Jersey, as well as an outlet in aWalmart in Pennsylvania. Customers can order from up to 30 different virtual restaurants, created with Wonder chef partners likeBobby Flay,Marcus Samuelsson, andJose Andres, and restaurants like DC-based Maydan or Texas-based Tejas Chocolate and Barbecue, from a single Wonder location.[61]
In December 2021,CNBC reporting on Lore's involvement in Wonder, wrote: "Whether Americans are looking to order a quick bite from a local fast-food chain, or they want to feel like they’re eating at a five-star restaurant from the comfort of the living room, Marc Lore wants to redefine at-home dining."[4]
According toFortune magazine, Wonder had received $500M in "venture funding from partners, includingNEA, Accel,GV,General Catalyst, and Bain Capital Ventures" as of 2021.[62] Wonder acquiredBlue Apron in November 2023.[63] In March 2024, Wonder announced a $700M fundraising round.[64]
In November 2024, Wonder boughtGrubhub fromJust Eat Takeaway for $650 million.[65]
In 2019, actress and entrepreneurGwyneth Paltrow called Lore a mentor and business coach, stating: "He's an e-commerce wizard and so he is probably the person I reach out to most for specific questions."[66]
He was named regional Entrepreneur of the Year byErnst & Young in 2011,[8] one of the "smartest people in technology" byFortune magazine,[9] and in 2020 was dubbed "the LeBron James of e-commerce" by businessmanMatt Higgins.[10]
AfterJet.com's acquisition in 2016, Lore made headlines as the highest-paid executive in America.[67]
In 1996, Lore qualified for the U.S. NationalBobsled Team but chose to stay with his banking job instead of training, thereby losing his seat on the national team for the1998 Winter Olympics.[10]
In March 2020, Lore publicly challenged aHall of Fame football player,Jerry Rice, to the 40-yard dash as a part ofRich Eisen's Run Rich Run forSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Lore beat Rice.[68]
In September 2020, it was reported that Lore was working alongsideJennifer Lopez andAlex Rodriguez in a bid to buy theNew York Mets. The deal did not go through.[69]
In May 2021, Lore appeared alongsideRay Lewis on theNFL Network's coverage of theNFL Draft as a part ofRich Eisen's Run Rich Run forSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The event raised over $1.7M for charity, and Lore and Lewis were recognized as the fastest team. Lore's 40-yard dash clocked in at 4.97 seconds, just behindMichael Vick's time of 4.72 seconds.[70]
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