Shahid Khan | |
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 Khan in 2015 | |
| Born | Shahid Rafiq Khan (1950-07-18)July 18, 1950 (age 75) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Citizenship |
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| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (BS) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Known for |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, includingTony |
| Football career | |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | |
| Title | Owner |
| Career information | |
| College | Illinois |
| Career history | |
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Shahid RafiqKhan[a] (born July 18, 1950) is a Pakistani and American businessman. He owns theJacksonville Jaguars of theNational Football League (NFL) andFulham F.C. of thePremier League and is also a lead investor of the American wrestling promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW), owned by his son,Tony. Khan is also the owner of Flex-N-Gate, an American supplier of motor vehicle components.
Khan appeared on the front cover ofForbes magazine in 2012, associating him as the face of theAmerican Dream.[1][2] As of January 2025, Khan's estimated net worth is $13.3 billion.[3] In 2024, he ranked 55th in theForbes 400 list of richest Americans, 167th richest in the world, and the richest auto parts magnate.[4]
Shahid Rafiq Khan[5] was born on July 18, 1950[6][7] inLahore,Punjab, Pakistan, to a middle-classPunjabi Muslim family involved in the construction industry.[8] His father, Rafiq Khan, owned a shop that sold survey and drawing equipment,[9] while his mother Zakia Khan was a professor of mathematics.[6] Shahid Khan also has a younger brother named Faran Khan, a local businessman in Pakistan.[6]
Khan moved to the United States in 1967 at age 16 to study at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.[6][10][11] When he went to the United States, Khan spent his first night in a $2/night room at the universityYMCA,[6] and his first job was washing dishes for $1.20 an hour.[6] Khan joined theBeta Theta Pi fraternity at the school[12] and graduated from theGrainger College of Engineering with aBSc inindustrial engineering in 1971. He was later awarded the Mechanical Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999.[13][14][15]
Khan worked at the automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate Corporation while attending the University of Illinois. When he graduated, Khan was hired as the engineering director for the company. In 1978, he started Bumper Works, which made car bumpers for customized pickup trucks and body shop repairs.[10] The funds to start the new business included a $50,000 loan from theSmall Business Administration and $16,000 of his own savings.[16]
In 1980, Khan bought Flex-N-Gate from his former employer Charles Gleason Butzow, bringing Bumper Works into the fold. The company grew under him, so that it supplied bumpers for theBig Three automakers. In 1984, Khan began supplying a small number of bumpers forToyota pickups. By 1987, it was the sole supplier for Toyota pickups, and by 1989, it was the sole supplier for the entire Toyota line in the United States. Adoptingthe Toyota Way increased company efficiency and ability to change its manufacturing process within a few minutes.[10][17] Since then, the company has grown from $17 million in sales to an estimated $2 billion in 2010 to $8.89 billion in 2020.[18] Its operation inSandusky, Ohio, is one of the largest automotive light manufacturing plants in the United States.
By 2019, Flex-N-Gate had 25,000 employees and 69 manufacturing plants in the United States, China, Argentina, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico and Canada.[11] In 2020, it had a revenue of $8.9 billion and was ranked as the 46th largest privately held American company byForbes.[19] It is also ranked byAutomotive News as the seventh largest American automotive parts supplier and overall 33rd largest supplier in the world.
In May 2012, theOccupational Safety and Health Administration fined Flex-N-Gate $57,000 for health violations at its Urbana plant.[20] Before the2012 NFL draft, theUnited Automobile Workers (UAW) and other environmentalist groups organized a protest campaign for several accusations against Flex-N-Gate and Khan.[21][22]
Khan's first attempt to purchase aNational Football League team came on February 11, 2010, when he entered into an agreement to acquire 60% of the then-St. Louis Rams fromChip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, subject to approval by other NFL owners.[18] However,Stan Kroenke, the minority shareholder of the Rams, ultimately exercised a clause in his ownership agreement to match any proposed bid.[23]
On November 29, 2011, Khan agreed to purchase theJacksonville Jaguars fromWayne Weaver and his ownership group subject to NFL approval.[24] Weaver announced his sale of the team to Khan later that same day. The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed, other than a verbal commitment to keep the team inJacksonville,Florida.[25] The purchase price was $770 million.[26] The NFL owners unanimously approved the purchase on December 14, 2011.[27] The sale was finalized on January 4, 2012, making Khan the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team.[28][29]
Khan is a board member of theNFL Foundation.[30] He is one of three NFL team owners born outside of the United States, the other two beingKim Pegula of theBuffalo Bills, born inSouth Korea, andZygi Wilf of theMinnesota Vikings, born inGermany.
In July 2013, Khan negotiated the purchase of the Londonsoccer clubFulham F.C. of thePremier League from its previous owner,Mohamed Al Fayed. The deal was finalized on July 12, 2013, with the amount estimated between £150–200 million.[31] An official purchase price for the club was not announced with him stating that it was "highly confidential".[32]
In 2019, it was revealed that Shahid Khan and his son,Tony Khan, are the lead investors behind the professional wrestling promotionAll Elite Wrestling (AEW).[33] Tony Khan is also the President and CEO of the promotion.[34]
On April 24, 2024, Khan made his on-screen debut, coming out to the ring after his son was attacked (as part of a story angle) byJack Perry andThe Young Bucks.[35]
Khan was the majority shareholder inBlack News Channel throughout the network's two-year existence.[36]
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Khan is a culturalMuslim.[37] Khan met Ann Carlson (now Ann Carlson Khan) at the University of Illinois in 1967 and dated her for ten years before they married in 1977.[38] They have two children together, a daughter named Shanna and a son,Tony.[39] Khan became a naturalized American citizen in 1991.[6]
Khan owns a house inNaples, Florida,[40] and an apartment in Chicago'sGold Coast neighborhood.[41] He owned thesuperyachtKismet until he sold it toEric Schmidt in September 2023, who renamed it toWhisper.[42] Khan built a new, larger superyacht in 2024 with the same Kismet name.[43][44]
In 2016, Khan supported the Republican Party and Donald Trump's presidential campaign.[45] He was among the NFL team owners who donated to Trump for his inauguration fund.[45] However, in 2017, Khan was critical of the Trump administration's "Muslim immigration ban".[46][47] Nevertheless, he later voiced support for Trump's economic policies while reassuring his opposition to Trump's social policies.[48]
In July 2019, Khan met Pakistani prime ministerImran Khan and stated that he is "the best thing that’s happened to Pakistan".[49]
Khan has received a number of awards from the University of Illinois, including a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999 from the Department of Mechanical Science and Industrial Engineering, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2006 from theCollege of Engineering, and (with his wife, Ann Carlson) the Distinguished Service Award in 2005 from theUniversity of Illinois Alumni Association.[14] In 2025, Khan received aGreat Immigrant Award from theCarnegie Corporation of New York.[50]
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