Holders of the exclusive rights to distribute Toyota vehicles in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma through their Gulf States Toyota company. Based in Houston, Thomas Friedkin founded the privately-held consortium of automotive, hospitality, entertainment, golf and adventure companies in 1969.
A former Hollywood stuntman, Thomas Friedkin partnered with Toyota in 1969 and went on to become one of the world’s largest automotive distributors. Friedkin established the company’s trucking and logistics division in 1980 and expanded into automotive marketing, insurance and finance in 1989. Thomas’ son, Dan Friedkin, took over leadership of the company in 1995 and grew the business’ interests to include golf courses, resorts and sports complexes. In 2017, he added film production and distribution to the company. The family’s estimated net worth is $4.2 billion. They are known for their efforts to restore and preserve areas of the African country, Tanzania. Thomas Friedkin died in 2017.
