Clayton Mathile Net Worth & Biography

Clayton Lee Mathile is a popular investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist from the United States. He is probably most famous for leading The Iams Company for some time until he sold to Proctor & Gamble for around $2.3 billion in 1999. After completing his high school education at Portage High School, Clayton studied at Ohio Northern University where he played basketball in the university’s basketball team before he transferred to a business school. An intelligent and goal-driven young man at the time, this businessman joined The Iams Food Company, a pet food manufacturing company based in Dayton, Ohio, in 1970, where he had the role of a sales manager for a period of time until he went on to become the company’s sole owner, chairman, and chief executive officer. Mr. Clayton is one of the most successful individuals who have led the flourishing company that operates two major brands, Iams and Eukanuba. He has made a considerable fortune from his professional career, and we have more details in regard to his life and success story all penned down in the article below.

Early Life

Clayton Lee Mathile was born on January 11, 1941, in Portage, Ohio, United States, as the eldest child in the family of Wilbert Ray Mathile and his wife Helen Good Mathile, who owned a 40-acre farm in Portage and managed it as a source of income.

He was 16 years old when he graduated from Portage High School. From there, he went on to join Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, where he initially studied mechanical engineering before switching to the business school. He graduated with his business degree in February 1962.

Professional Life

After completing his professional studies, Clayton Mathile started his career at a General Motors manufacturing plant in Toledo, Ohio, where his skills as an accountant were needed. When he had worked there for about one year, he made a career deciding switch to the Campbell Soup Company, where he spent the next seven years of his life occupying a series of positions and helping the company in departments such as cost accounting, inventory control, and purchasing.

In 1970 when he was offered a leadership role at a small, regional pet food producer, Clayton Mathile accepted it at once and became a huge part of the company, The Iams Food Company in Dayton, Ohio. In 1975, after shortages of ingredients almost crippled the company, he purchased a 50 percent ownership interest in the company from its owner and founder Paul Iams for $100,000. He convinced Mr. Iams that the company had to build its own production plant.

During his early tenure, Clayton oversaw the pet food producer’s rapid growth. In 1982, he purchased the remaining ownership shares from the company’s owner, thus becoming its sole owner and chief executive officer at a time when the company had approximately $13 million in sales.

Mr. Clayton Mathile, from the outset, focused strongly on marketing efforts targeting pet owners, high-end breeders, research and development, product quality, and customer outreach. He included unusual incentives to customers like offering a 100% money-back guarantee to any of the company’s client who wasn’t satisfied with a product. He also established a customer support department to answer consumers’ questions in addition to setting up a national distribution network. The company had the best supplies available even during shortages. By 1999, the businessman had grown the pet food company to a 5.7 percent share of the United States pet food market and global sales of a hundred different products in 75 countries. He eventually sold the company to the international group Procter & Gamble for $2.3 billion in 1999.

Together with the members of his family, Mr. Clayton has set up other businesses that currently operate under the umbrella of Myrian Capital in Dayton, Ohio. His youngest son Mike Mathile is the chairman of the holding company.

Achievements: Awards & Honors

For his outstanding performances as a businessman throughout his career, Mr. Clayton Mathile has been honored by numerous institutions and organizations. In 1991, Ohio Northern University awarded him an honorary doctorate in business. In the year 1999, he received two Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards. The Dayton Business Journal named him Regional Leader of the Year in 2008, and two years later, he received the Inaugural Torch Award from Better Business Bureau, Dayton Chapter.

Personal Life

He has been married to MaryAnn Maas since 1962. They met during their high school days and also dated. Today, they have five children and live in Brookville, Ohio.

Also a philanthropist, Mr. Mathile serves as a trustee on a number of nonprofit boards focused on education, social justice, nutrition, and medical innovation.

Clayton Mathile Net Worth

Clayton Mathile’s net worth is currently pegged at $3 billion dollars, thanks to a successful career in business which has seen him become one of the most successful and wealthiest businessmen in Ohio.

He began his educational pursuit focusing on mechanical engineering, before shifting his focus to business. He took up a job at a gas station to make ends meet during his college days and eventually landed his dream job after graduating. Years of hard work led him to his accomplishments as a determined businessman who took over the newly formed Iams Food Company based in Ohio after holding several prominent titles at the company for many years. He eventually grew the company from a value of $10 million to $2.3 billion, selling it in 1999 and pocketing a hefty profit in the process.

Mr. Clayton is surely one of the world’s richest people. Currently 81 years of age, there isn’t much that he is concerned with due to his age and declining health. However, he goes to sleep every night knowing too well that he has pretty much accomplished everything that anyone would ever ask of a man his stature. He is definitely a motivation to the upcoming generation.