Lawyer Monthly Rich List – Willie E. Gary
Rich List Fact:
Mr. Gary has won over 150 multimillion-dollar suits, including a $500 million award granted to one of his clients in Mississippi.
Willie E. Gary
Worth: $100 million
Firm: Gary, Williams, Parenti, Watson & Gary, P.L.L.C.
Willie E. Gary is an American attorney, cable television executive and motivational speaker, appearing on shows like “The Oprah Winfrey Show”. He was born in Eastman, Georgia where he was one of eleven other siblings. Willie has taken on some of the biggest corporations in the world during his career, including Disney and Anheuser-Busch, which resulting in him being dubbed “The Giant Killer”. As well as taking on such big corporations, he has also won a number of the biggest settlements and jury awards in the US, several of them being valued over $30 billion.
He graduated from Shaw University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in and now is the managing partner of Gary, Williams, Watson & Garry, P.L.L.C.. During his time at Shaw University, he played on the schools football team, where he was co-captain for the years 1969, 70 and 71 and received an athletic scholarship. He then went on to study at North Carolina Central University where he earned a Juris Doctor in 1974. Forbes magazine listed him as one of the “Top 50 attorneys in the U.S”, as well as Ebony Magazine declaring him one of the “100 Most Influential African Americans.”
Gary was admitted to the Florida bar and opened his first law firm in the same year he received his Juris Doctor, in 1974, in his hometown. He did this by the help of his wife Gloria, who assisted him in his new venture. That same firm is the large legal firm he operates and runs today. His team consists of 37 attorneys, over 100 professionals and a team of paralegals, whom all operate out of 3 offices, two being based on the St. Lucie River in downtown Stuart, Florida.
He is known for being not only a businessman but also a churchman, philanthropist and a humanitarian, as well as being involved in charity work and civic work. He and his wife founded a company in 1994 named The Gary Foundation whose primary aim is to help young individuals through education and drug prevention.
