William E. Ford (born June 18, 1961) is an American businessman. "[21][24] The Fords had planned to make a diplomatic trip to European nations after the midterm elections. December 29, 2014 | 3:19am. Ford had believed it to be of great importance for the administration to show an expression of direct concern pertaining to the assassination, while Nixon's staff disagreed with her. Select a location. Listen to article. [54] Her active political role prompted Time to call her the country's "Fighting First Lady" and was the reason they profiled her, among several others, to represent the "American Women" as the magazine's 1975 Person of the Year. He, like his great-grandfather Henry Ford, is of mainly Irish, English, and Belgian descent. [112], Only a part of Betty Ford's legacy will be that of her role as first lady. Edsel Ford II, son of Henry Ford II and also a board member, is his first cousin. Bill Melugin is 31 years of age and was born in the year 1990. Nor did she address her relationship with alcohol, which she, at the time, believed was typical consumption. Ford is married to Lisa Vanderzee Ford, and they have four children. her husband's time in the office of the presidency, develop an addiction to prescription medication, 1974 United States House of Representatives election, 1972 United States House of Representatives elections, joint session of the United States Congress, Ford filmed an interview with the television news program, National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam, List of state dinners in the United States, wine from the Fords' home state of Michigan, discrimination in the United States military, Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service, List of breast cancer patients according to occupation, List of first ladies of the United States, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, "Betty Ford Dies at Age 93; A Look Back on the Former First Lady", "Betty Ford, Again Putting On a Brave Face", "Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum", "The 38th First Lady: not a robot at all", "Betty Ford, Former First Lady, Dies at 93", "Betty's life changed dramatically once she became", "Friends Asking: 'Is There A New Betty Ford? After this, Betty Ford was transparent with the news media that she had received psychiatric care. He is the Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic, a global growth equity firm with $84 billion in assets under management as of November, 2021. In addition to his duties as chair, he served as chief executive officer of the company from October 2001 to September 2006 . But Bills team reached out soon after and granted Burkman his wish, to plan an elaborate proposal inside the historic train depot. She received an award from Parsons The New School for Design in recognition of her style. Under Bill's leadership, General . [19], In March 1977, Ford signed with NBC News to appear in two news specials within the following two years along with contributing to Today,[79] and jointly signed with her husband to write their memoirs. Soon after leaving office, she raised awareness of addiction when she sought help for and publicly disclosed her long-running struggle with alcoholism and substance abuse. "[23], The media "broke" the story that Ford had a previous marriage and had been divorced, initially reporting it as a secret revelation. She also traveled to Iowa before its caucus, and delivered a speech on behalf of the president (who had been unable to make his planned appearance) in which she labeled herself as being his political partner. In addition to founding the Betty Ford Center, she remained active in women's issues, taking on numerous speaking engagements and lending her name to charities for fundraising. Her overall approval rating was, at times, as high as 75%. William Clay Ford Net Worth | Celebrity Net Worth She also organized her own dance group and taught dance at various sites in Grand Rapids, including the Calla Travis Dance Studio. [19], During a January 1984 address in Michigan to a crowd of individuals who were in the early stages of alcohol and drug dependency treatment, Ford declared that the six years since she began her treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, "have been the best years in my life from the standpoint of feeling healthier and feeling more comfortable with myself". [21] Among those she met on the two-day trip was Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. Neither was shy about their mutual love and equal respect, and they were known to have a strong personal and political partnership. William Clay Ford Jr. (b. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. She studied dance at the Calla Travis Dance Studio, graduating in 1935. Bill Ford is General Atlantic's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, with three decades of experience investing in and helping build leading growth companies, including IHS Markit, e*Trade, Priceline, and First Republic Bank. In 1985, Ford received the Los Angeles AIDS Projects "Commitment to Life Award". When she attended the 1992 Republican National Convention, Ford wore an AIDS ribbon pin. [3][16] The speech was delivered on the day after the election. American media personality Bill Melugin works for Fox News.He is the 2018 and 2019 recipient of the RTNA's Golden Mike Award for "Best Investigative Journalism" including the 2019 Television Academy Emmy for investigative reporting.. Bill Melugin Bio & Family; Birthday, Education, Wiki. [36] As first lady, remarking on her honest candor and the sometimes-controversial remarks it resulted in, Ford declared, "I am not very good at making up stories." Bill Ford . [123], In 1975, when Time named "American women" as its "Time Person of the Year",[39] the magazine profiled Ford as one of eleven women selected to represent "American women".[40]. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. Burkman said that Bill Ford, who recently celebrated 40 years at Ford, had told . [25] The first of these came only a week into Ford's presidency, hosting King Hussein of Jordan on August 16, 1974. Eleanor Ford and Joseph Cobb, grade-school classmates and the children of two . At the time of the Ford 2000 reorganization, he was in charge of heavy truck operations. [8], When Bloomer was 16, her father died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the family's garage while working under their car, despite the garage doors being open. The chairman of Ford Motor and the great-grandson of Henry Ford is an elder statesman in an industry where C.E.O.s come and go. [4][non-primary source needed][5], In addition to his roles as Chairman and CEO, Ford is chairman of General Atlantics Management Committee and is a member of the firms Investment and Portfolio Committees. He studied at the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut and then studied at Princeton University in 1979. Jacques Nasser had retired from his position as CEO, leaving the great-grandson of Henry Ford, William "Bill" Ford Jr., as president and CEO. Ford also, in a television interview with Barbara Walters, expressed her support for the United States Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision ruling abortion as constitutionally protected. She worked a production line for a frozen food company in Fulton, New York. [104] On November 18, 1991, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H. W. In her September 4, 1974 press conference, Ford declared her support for it. Date of Birth: Mar 14, 1925 - Mar 9, 2014 (88 years old) Place of Birth: She was also involved in her husband's political career by fulfilling the commitments expected of congressional spouses to help elevate her husband's regard among his House colleagues. Because of her grief, there will be more joy. The November 12, 1974 state dinner for Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky saw the first instance in which a wine from the Fords' home state of Michigan was served at a White House state dinner, with wine from the Tabor Hill Winery being served. [5] With her father's passing, her family lost its primary breadwinner, and her mother began working as a real estate agent to support the family. She served as the honorary president of the National Lupus Foundation, regarding lupus as a disease which impacted women, yet received minimal public attention. William Clay Ford's Legacy Cemented Family's Dynasty - Forbes Bill Ford was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1957. William was Henry Ford's last surviving grandchild. [60] The spike in women self-examining after Ford went public with the diagnosis led to an increase in reported cases of breast cancer, a phenomenon known as the "Betty Ford blip". In 1984 he received an M.S. The couple moved frequently because of his work. Bill gave me a call a few hours before I popped the question to wish me luck, Burkman said. Ford also continued to study Fuel Cell-powered electric powertrains and demonstrated hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine technologies, as well as developing the next-generation hybrid-electric systems. Their divorce was later finalized in 2004. First Lady Barbara Bush holds the medal. L-R:Vice President-elect Walter Mondale, incoming second lady Joan Mondale, outgoing Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, outgoing second lady Happy Rockefeller, Betty Ford, Gerald Ford, incoming first lady Rosalynn Carter, and President-elect Carter, At his inauguration, Jimmy Carter takes the oath of office to succeed Gerald Ford as president. [3], The Fords meet with President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in the White House Oval Office in March 1981. [7][38][37], In 1975, when Time named the "American women" as its "Person of the Year",[39] the magazine profiled Ford as one of eleven women selected to represent "American women". His wife, Aleea, passed away at age 29, within a few weeks of being diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. 1976, during the presidential transition, Ford and others applaud in the gallery during the 1977 State of the Union Address on January 19, 1977, the Fords final full-day in the White House, The incoming and outgoing first and second couples pose for a photograph at the White House on the day of the inauguration of Jimmy Carter. It amounted to as aestheticization of breast cancer and her coverage became the major discursive model for looking at all breast cancer survivors. Gerald Ford was in the middle of his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1993, Robin Dreyer (who is now Penland's communications manager) wrote an article about Bill for the school's . In December 1999, he told interviewer Larry King that he, too, was pro-abortion rights and had been criticized for that stance by conservative forces within the Republican Party. ", Hummer, Jill Abraham. The companys Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships with customers to enrich experiences for and deepen the loyalty of those customers. Poor health and increasing frailty due to operations in August 2006 and April 2007 for blood clots in her legs caused her to largely curtail her public life. Ford took these stances despite recognizing that they created a political risk of conservative backlash against her husband. On June 4, Ms. Fox and Mr. Ford were married by the Rev. Alexandra Ford English, daughter of Bill Ford, was elected to the board at age 33 with Henry Ford III. A Ford worker called Wesley Burkman lost his wife in 2017; she passed away after being diagnosed with breast cancer. [3] President Ford died, aged 93, of heart failure on December 26, 2006, at their Rancho Mirage home. Sarah Fox and Calvin Ford: Weddings - The New York Times There have been gays and lesbians serving our country for many years. Ive had multiple experiences working within Ford where if you ask for something, big things can happen.. When longtime Lions owner William Clay Ford Sr. died last year, most people thought his widow, Martha Ford, would allow their son, Bill Ford Jr., to handle the day-to-day operations of the . [35] The New York News Service wrote that Ford was, "constitutionally incapable of uttering 'no comment' or otherwise fudging an answer.". After recovering, she founded and served as the first chair of the board of directors of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction. He later worked for the Continental Can Company, and after that for the Widdicomb Furniture Company. [20] Such talk was due to Gerald Ford, following the Republican Party's failure to win a majority in the 1972 United States House of Representatives elections, seeing it as unlikely that he would ever fulfill his ambition of becoming speaker of the House. Ford has been the chief executive officer of General Atlantic, a leading growth equity . [24] Ford's attendance at the funeral was, in actuality, a break from the administration. "Issues of Openness and Privacy: Press and Public Response to Betty Ford's Breast Cancer. "[34] Ford was open about the benefits of psychiatric treatment, and spoke understandingly about marijuana use and premarital sex. [92] Ford continued to be an outspoken supporter of equal pay for women, breast cancer awareness, and the ERA throughout her life. Ford was committed to sell 250,000 alternative and flexible fuel vehicles the majority of which would be designed to operate on ethanol-gasoline blends such as E85 in 2006. [86] After they left the White House, her addictions became more evident to her family and appeared life-threatening. Childhood & Early Life. Ford reads her husband's 1976 presidential concession speech to the press. [11] She had, three years into the marriage, concluded that their relationship was a failure. Enlarge Image. Dr. Henry at the church on Lake St. Clair, culminating a romance that their parents, siblings, guests and friends said they always knew was . [25][26] At the first state dinner that she arranged as first lady, Ford revived dancing as an activity of White House state dinners. Flexible fuel vehicles can operate on a range of fuel mixtures such as ethanol-gasoline blends ranging from pure gasoline to E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). Bill Ford Biography - The Famous People in history in 1979 after completing a 105-page long senior thesis titled "Henry Ford and Labor: A Reappraisal. The Detroit Lions say that Martha Ford will succeed her late husband, William Clay Ford Sr., as the team's majority owner. The Executive Chairman said someone had showed him the story and he thought it was awesome how much Ford colleagues were doing for each other and he wanted to call to express his condolences. Ford had weekly meetings with a psychiatrist approximately between August 1965 and April 1967. [78] Many of Ford's most significant contributions as an activist came following the Fords' departure from the White House. [7], In May 1975, during a four-day trip,[55] Ford met with former Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam Nguyn Cao K to discuss Southeast Asia refugees. In 1981, Eleanor Smeal, the National Organization for Women's president, announced Ford's appointment to be the co-chair, with Alan Alda, of the ERA Countdown Campaign. [81] In September of that year, Ford traveled to Moscow for a television program taping and to serve as hostess for The Nutcracker. As a boy, Bill liked to sit at a desk beside his . [15], Market competition, health care, and raw material costs led Ford to announce a second restructuring for its North American operations in four years. Born in Detroit on March 14, 1925, William Clay Ford was the youngest of four children born to Henry Ford's son, Edsel, and his wife, Eleanor. [7], When Ford herself began the process of recovering from her own alcoholism, she disclosed to the public that both her father and her brother Bob had suffered from alcoholism as well. His wife, Aleea, passed away at age 29, within a few weeks of being diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer. [82] In November 1977, Ford appeared at the opening session of the National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas. 2023 The Ford Motor Company | This site may contain links to external websites not affiliated with Ford Motor Company | Images, video and audio from this Web site are provided without login for the purpose of editorial use only. Her mother remarried, to family friend and neighbor Arthur Meigs Godwin, and Bloomer lived with them. Net Worth: $2.2 Billion. In addition to the Ford Escape, Hybrid Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute, Ford marketed high efficiency crossover SUVs such as the Ford Freestyle, the Volvo XC70 and the Volvo XC90. Ford would ultimately develop an addiction to prescription medication (and would ultimately confront and recover from this addiction in 1978). She paused her divorce, and supported him, living at Warren's family's home for the next two years as his health recovered. This was formally presented to her by President Ford, who was an Academy Awards Council member. Bill Ford: 'Our Family Name Is on the Line Every Day' - New York Times [3], In November 1975, it was reported by the Associated Press that Ford's husband's advisors, who had previously worried her outspoken comments would hurt him in the 1976 presidential election, were now recognizing her popularity and desiring for her to have a greater role in the campaign. As was the case during Gerald Ford's vice presidential swearing-in, Betty Ford held the Bible upon which he placed his hand while taking his oath of office. [3], Ford accompanied her husband on a trip to mainland China in 1972. "[29] She was regarded to be the most politically outspoken first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt. [40] In 1977, the World Almanac included Ford in its ranking of the 25 most-influential American women. She also, ultimately agreed to attend rehab at the Naval Regional Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Henry's grandson William Clay Ford Sr. and his family have controlled the Detroit Lions franchise of the National Football League since late 1963. Bill Ford - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer - LinkedIn [7] Ford has personally led a number of successful investments during his tenure as CEO of General Atlantic, including First Republic Bank (2010), IHS Markit (2010), NYMEX Holdings (2006), Priceline (1998), and E*Trade (1995). [71][72][73] Gerald Ford did not know about or see the photo until 1994. [58] Ford decided to be open about her illness because "There had been so much cover-up during Watergate that we wanted to be sure there would be no cover-up in the Ford administration. Ford's transparency was praised by experts in drug abuse treatment, who predicted that it would make a major and positive impact. Magazines such as Vogue and Ladies Home Journal were planning to publish spreads on Ford in upcoming issues. More:Bill Ford's controversial viewpoint has changed Detroit automaker Henry Ford III, 40, is the son of Edsel B. Ford II and an investor relations director at Ford. Bill with his wife and children moved to Fallon from Reno fifty some years ago. LR: Nancy Reagan, Ladybird Johnson , Hillary Clinton, Rosalyn Carter, Ford, Barbara Bush, The Fords post for a photograph with three other U.S. first couples (George H. W. and Barbara Bush, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter) during at the 2000 White House Historical Association Dinner, Ford attends a National Press Club event in 2001, The Fords with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush at the White House in 2003 at a celebration President Ford's 90th birthday, Ford and her husband at a June 2005 Gerald R. Ford Foundation dinner, Betty Ford with her husband and President George W. Bush on April 23, 2006, Ford leans over President Ford's coffin during memorial services for him held December 30, 2006 in the United States Capitol rotunda as part of the his state funeral, Ford being escorted by Army Major General Guy C. Swan III during a portion of the state funeral of her late husband, Betty Ford died of natural causes on July 8, 2011, three months after her 93rd birthday, at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage. William Clay 'Bill' Ford, Jr., was born to Martha Firestone and William Clay Ford, Sr., in Detroit, Michigan. [5], In 1936, after graduating from high school, Bloomer proposed continuing her study of dance in New York City, but her mother refused on account of the relatively recent loss of her husband. Marigay McKee, the glamorous president of Saks Fifth Avenue, is to marry . Bill Ford is General Atlantic's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, with three decades of experience investing in and helping build leading growth companies. Download size exceeds 350 MB. [5] After he recovered, they were divorced on September 22, 1947. In 2017, Wesley Burkman's life took an unexpected - and tragic - turn. In 2003, Ford produced another book, Healing and Hope: Six Women from the Betty Ford Center Share Their Powerful Journeys of Addiction and Recovery. The Washington Post reported that Ford's disclosure of alcoholism came as a surprise to a number of Ford's close friends, who had regarded her as merely a social drinker and were oblivious to her drinking problem. [1] He lives in New York City. Bill Ford: 'Our Family Name Is on the Line Every Day'. He majored in history and was . Ford's recent predecessor Lady Bird Johnson was among other first ladies that did not conduct solo trips abroad. He was looking for a grandiose location to give the occasion a unique, gritty Detroit feel. REGISTER HERE. [27], In June 1974, Ford represented the Nixon administration by attending the funeral of Alberta Williams King, the assassinated mother of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Other Nixon administration official figures did not attend, continuing with other obligations. She got a job as assistant to the fashion coordinator for Herpolsheimer's, a local department store. [86][100], Ford supported gay and lesbian causes, speaking against discrimination in the United States military. [118], In 2021, Zogby Analytics conducted a poll in which a sample of the American public was asked to assess the greatness of twelve First Ladies from Jacqueline Kennedy onwards. Salary in 2022. It was not until 2016 that a Michigan wine would again be served at a White House state dinner.