The story of the Penske family is firmly entrenched in modern American sporting and business folklore. Formed in 1969 by Roger Searle Penske after a successful albeit brief career as a Formula 1 and NASCAR driver, the Michigan-based Penske Corporation is still headed by its founder as chairman and CEO, with interests in automotive sales, transportation and logistics, and parts and engine manufacture. Famously, it also continues to operate its storied professional motorsport division, Team Penske, which by the end of 2018 had accumulated over 5000 professional race victories and 34 national championships in IndyCar, NASCAR and various other motorsport series around the world. In 1998, Roger was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. According to the Team Penske website, the Penske Corporation now manages businesses with annual revenues in excess of $30 billion and employs over 60,000 people in more than 3,500 locations worldwide. While his youngest son Jay heads up his own digital media and publishing empire, PMC — which has in recent years acquired titles including Rolling Stone and Variety magazine — two of his remaining four children, Roger Jr. and Greg, both hold senior executive positions inside the Penske family’s group of companies. These include an extensive network of automotive dealerships throughout the United Sates, Canada and parts of Europe. Both are in line to succeed their father should he ever decide to retire. However, even at 82 years old, Roger Snr. remains very active in the company’s day-to-day operations and indicated in early 2019 that his race as the head of Penske Corporation was a long way from over. In addition to his role as CEO and chairman of his own company, Penske sits as a corporate director of General Electric and is a well-known contributor to political causes. His personal net worth was estimated by Forbes to be $1.5 billion as of March 2019.
