Ernest Garcia II
American businessman
Ernest García II is an American billionaire businessman, the owner of DriveTime, and a major shareholder in Carvana. In 1990, he pleaded guilty to a felony bank fraud charge for his role in the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association collapse. As of May 2026, his net worth was estimated at US$23.9 billion.
Ernest García | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1, 1957 |
| Education | University of Arizona (BA) |
| Known for | Chairman and owner, DriveTime |
| Children | Ernest Garcia III |
Ernest García II (born May 1, 1957) is an American billionaire businessman, the owner of DriveTime, and a major shareholder in Carvana. In 1990, he pleaded guilty to a felony bank fraud charge for his role in the Lincoln Savings and Loan Association collapse. As of May 2026, his net worth was estimated at US$23.9 billion.[1]
Early life
Ernest García II was born May 1, 1957,[2] the son of Ernest Garcia, who co-owned a liquor store with Frank Colaianni, and was once the mayor of Gallup, New Mexico.[3] He dropped out, but eventually earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona.[3]
Career
In October 1990, García, then a Tucson-based real estate developer pleaded guilty to a felony bank fraud charge for his role as a straw borrower in the collapse of Charles Keating's Lincoln Savings and Loan Association.[4][5] Garcia "fraudulently obtained a $30-million line of credit in a series of transactions that also helped Lincoln hide its ownership in risky desert Arizona land from regulators."[4] Garcia spent three years on probation, and he and his firm filed for bankruptcy.[5]
In 1991, García bought Ugly Duckling, a bankrupt rent-a-car franchise, for under $1 million and merged it with his own fledgling finance company, and turned it into a company selling and financing used cars for sub-prime buyers with poor credit history.[5] Garcia took the company public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1996, trading under the ticker "UGLY".[6] In 1999, Garcia was involved in six lawsuits alleging he had "abused his position to profit" from a real estate deal where he ultimately acquired 17 company properties at a 10% discount.[5] In 2002, Garcia and the former Ugly Duckling CEO, Gregory Sullivan, took the company private and renamed it DriveTime.[7]
As of April 2021, García's net worth is estimated at $15.9 billion.[8]
It was announced in September 2021 that Garcia had sold more than $3.6 billion of Carvana stock since the previous October, which amounted to 16% of his holdings in the company.[9]
Personal life
He is married, and lives in Tempe, Arizona.[10] His son, Ernest Garcia III, is CEO of Carvana.[3]
Garcia owns an apartment in New York's Trump Tower.[3]
References
- ↑ "Ernest Garcia, II". Forbes. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
- ↑ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 Vardi, Nathan. "How An Ex-Con Became A Billionaire From Used Cars". Forbes. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- 1 2 GRANELLI, JAMES S. (October 31, 1990). "Lincoln S&L Figure Pleads Guilty to Fraud : Crime: Ernest C. García II admits acting to help the thrift hide its ownership of some risky desert land in Arizona". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2018 – via LA Times.
- 1 2 3 4 Vardi, Nathan. "Feathered Nest". Forbes. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ↑ Services, Larry BaumanDow Jones News (June 19, 1996). "Small Stocks Fall Sharply, Hurt by Technology Sector". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
- ↑ "DriveTime car chain coming to Denver". Denver Business Journal. January 31, 2007.
- ↑ "Ernest García, II". Forbes. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
- ↑ Foldy, Ben (September 17, 2021). "WSJ News Exclusive | CEO's Father Gets a $3.6 Billion Stock Windfall at Carvana". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ↑ "Forbes profile: Ernest Garcia II". Forbes. Retrieved January 7, 2025.