Wirtz Corporation

Wirtz Corporation
Company typePrivate
FoundedUnited States (1926 (1926))
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Websitewww.wirtzcorp.com

Wirtz Corporation is an American holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1926 by Arthur Wirtz as a family-owned corporation to oversee his real estate holdings.[1] The company shortly thereafter expanded into liquor distribution.[2] The company grew significantly throughout the 20th century by purchasing many competing liquor distributors,[2] as well as the Chicago Blackhawks NHL team (becoming full owners in 1966), and the Chicago Bulls NBA team in 1972 (Wirtz Corp. sold the Bulls to Jerry Reinsdorf in 1985).[3] Wirtz Corporation is part owner of the United Center arena,[4] and also owns banking and insurance interests.[5]

After founder Arthur Wirtz's death in 1983, his son, William, took control of the corporation and ran it until his death in 2007. The company's next owner and CEO, (William's son) Rocky Wirtz died in 2023, being succeeded by his son Danny Wirtz.

Subsidiaries

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The following is a partial list of subsidiaries of Wirtz Corporation[6]

  • Banner Collective
  • Benefit Services Group, Inc.
  • Chicago Blackhawks
  • Rockford IceHogs
  • Chicago Steel
  • First National Bank of South Miami
  • First Security Trust and Savings Bank
  • Ivanhoe Nursery
  • United Center (shared with Jerry Reinsdorf)
  • Breakthru Beverage Group (formerly known as Judge & Dolph until 2009, then Wirtz Beverage Group until the 2016 merger with Charmer Sunbelt)[7]
  • Wirtz Insurance Agency
  • Wirtz Realty

References

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  1. ^ "About us". wirtzcorp.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b Wilson, Mark (2004). "Wirtz Corp". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  3. ^ "THE TOUGHEST #&?!%* IN SPORTS". BusinessWeek. 1992-06-15. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved 2008-10-07.
  4. ^ "Company Overview of Wirtz Corporation". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  5. ^ MacArthur, Kate (April 14, 2012). "Rocky's road to the top". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Homepage". wirtzcorp.com. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Wirtz group to end Judge & Dolph name for liquor distribution business". Chicago Tribune. March 10, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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