- Rex Maughan
Infobox Person
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name = Rex G. Maughan
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occupation = Founder, President, and CEO ofForever Living Products
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spouse = Ruth
religion =The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
known_for =Rex G. Maughan is the founder, president, and CEO of
Forever Living Products . Aphilanthropist who has given millions to several causes, in 2002 Maughan was listed in theForbes 400 as the 368th richest man in the world, with a net worth of $600 million. [ [http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/54/2002/LIR.jhtml?passListId=54&passYear=2002&passListType=Person&uniqueId=Y1F1&datatype=Person Forbes.com: Forbes 400 Richest in America 2002 ] ]Maughan grew up on a ranch in
Soda Springs, Idaho and eventually served an LDS mission inSamoa . Rex met his wife Ruth atBrigham Young University (BYU) when he volunteered to coach her on her tennis serve. The two were shortly thereafter married, and after Ruth graduated from BYU with a degree in elementary education, the two moved to Arizona. Ruth taught school while Rex finished his degree atArizona State University , eventually earning his B.S. in Accounting in 1962. [ [http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/accelwork/humanintereststory/0,7989,761-1-3-2338,00.html Rex and Ruth Maughan Energetically Advocate BYU Television ] ]Maughan began investing in land while still working as an accountant in the early 1960's, buying a few acres here, a small ranch there. Then, tiring of accounting, he joined
Del Webb , builder of retirement communities, and spent the next 13 years working his way up (eventually to vice president) while steadily adding to his own real estate and ranching investments. [ [http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/accelwork/humanintereststory/0,7989,761-1-3-2338,00.html Rex and Ruth Maughan Energetically Advocate BYU Television ] ] [ [http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1522 Rex Maughan: Forever Living Products Founder Turns to Philanthropy - Knowledge@W.P. Carey ] ]Today, Rex and Ruth have three children and 12 grandchildren. [ [http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/accelwork/humanintereststory/0,7989,761-1-3-2338,00.html Rex and Ruth Maughan Energetically Advocate BYU Television ] ]
Forever Living Products
Rex founded
Forever Living Products in a two-room office. The company initially made lotions from the aloe vera plant, a desert succulent known for its healing properties. The product line has grown and diversified, now encompassing 180 health and beauty aides ranging from vitamins to aloe detergent, from spring water to lip gloss, from protein powder to bee pollen. Since aloe vera is still a key ingredient in many of Forever Living products, Maughan segued into aloe cultivation and processing. [ [http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1522 Rex Maughan: Forever Living Products Founder Turns to Philanthropy - Knowledge@W.P. Carey ] ]He branched into the resort business in 1981, under the umbrella of a sister company, Forever Resorts. [ [http://foreverresorts.com/ Forever Houseboats - A True Luxury Houseboat Exprerience ] ] [ [http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1522 Rex Maughan: Forever Living Products Founder Turns to Philanthropy - Knowledge@W.P. Carey ] ] His reasoning for this venture, he explains, was out of business opportunity and to fulfill his love for travel.
Philanthropic efforts
Robert Louis Stevenson Museum
In Samoa the Maughans have preserved author
Robert Louis Stevenson ’s home, making it into a museum, collecting Stevenson’s books, and continuing his memory. [ [http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/accelwork/humanintereststory/0,7989,761-1-3-2338,00.html Rex and Ruth Maughan Energetically Advocate BYU Television ] ]BYU Television
In early 2005 Maughan accompanied a
BYU Television team to American Samoa to coordinate installation of a satellite receiver he and Ruth had donated. [ [http://www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/accelwork/humanintereststory/0,7989,761-1-3-2338,00.html Rex and Ruth Maughan Energetically Advocate BYU Television ] ]Other projects have included becoming involved with the U.S. parks system, collaborating on thorny public-land and cattle-grazing issues; persuading tribal chiefs in Samoa (remembering that Maughan speaks Samoan) to cancel a rain forest logging contract with a Japanese company and turn the acreage into a protected park--he, in return, built a modern school to replace the village's thatch-roofed hut, and hired certified teachers. [ [http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1522 Rex Maughan: Forever Living Products Founder Turns to Philanthropy - Knowledge@W.P. Carey ] ]
His philanthropy has also extended to financially support various political campaigns, including most recently
Mitt Romney 's bid for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Presidency. [ [http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/rex-maughan.asp?cycle=08 Rex Maughan - $4,300 in Political Contributions for 2008 ] ]Honors & Awards
*ASU Alumni Hall of Fame (Inducted October 27, 2007) [ [http://wpcarey.asu.edu/top/department_news_display.cfm?num=352&dept=Alumni Department News ] ]
*BYU President's Leadership Council Executive Committee Member [ [http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1813 Building BYU ] ]Notes
External links
* [http://www.rexmaughan.com/ www.rexmaughan.com]
* [http://www.frommers.com/destinations/samoa/A31357.html Robert Louis Stevenson Museum]
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