SUZANNE JORDAN BROWN
Editor's Note: With Hobby Lobby hitting headlines recently because of its lawsuit against the HHS mandate, Charisma wanted to share this article from 2005. It highlights Founder David Green, who believes God has blessed his business so he can share his money with others.
Could you pick a billionaire out of a crowd of ordinary folks? Probably not this guy.
David Green, listed by Forbes magazine in 2004 as the world's 514th richest person, doesn't fit the tycoon stereotype in the least.
The man who runs an empire of successful businesses, including the fast-growing Hobby Lobby arts and crafts store chain, is soft-spoken and appears almost shy. When on the job he often wears khakis and a sport shirt instead of a power suit. His office isn't plush and full of gadgets but simple and comparatively small, yet it sits on a corner of Green's mammoth 3-million-square-foot company headquarters.
But it's not his obvious disregard for luxurious living, or even his quiet, unassuming manner that makes Green a stark contrast to those living the typical lifestyle of the rich and famous. What he counts as valuable makes this man a misfit in the cutthroat world of business.
Green has eternity in mind.
