Roofing Tycoon Falls Through Own Roof

Billionaire Roofing Exec Dies After Fatal Fall Through Garage Roof

(AP)  A high school dropout who became a billionaire roofing company executive and one of the nation's richest people died Friday after falling through his garage roof.

Ken Hendricks, who was 66, was the 91st richest man in the U.S. with a net worth of $3.5 billion in September, according to Forbes magazine.

Hendricks grew up working side-by-side with his father, a Janesville roofer. After dropping out of high school, he started his own roofing business at age 21, according to a biography supplied by his company.

Tired of dealing with multiple suppliers scattered around the country, he and his wife, Diane, started a national supply distribution chain in 1982.

ABC Supply Co. - based in Beloit, Wis., about 60 miles southwest of Milwaukee - celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, with 6,000 employees in 390 locations nationwide. It does about $3 billion in business a year.

Hendricks was unfazed by his wealth.

"It doesn't make any difference to me: I can't spend it," he said in an interview with Inc. magazine in September 2006. "I'd have to sell the company, and I'll sell the company over my dead body."

Hendricks was checking on construction on his garage roof in the town of Rock about late Thursday when he fell through, Rock County Sheriff's Department commander Troy Knudson said.

He suffered massive head injuries and died in surgery Friday at Rockford Memorial Hospital in Winnebago County, Ill., according to his company and county authorities.

Hendricks was lauded for his entrepreneurial skills and community service.

Inc. magazine named him its 2006 Entrepreneur of the Year. Editor Jane Berentson described him as "a scrappy, Midwestern dirt-under-the-fingernails type of guy who raised himself and created a company that employed all these people."

Hendricks was unpretentious, a believer in hard work and doing things his way, she said.

Hendricks and his wife also owned a property development group with more than 25 million square feet of industrial and commercial real estate. They worked to renovate buildings made vacant by other companies.

He also was known for having a common touch. He wore blue jeans and cowboy boots to a 2005 interview with a local newspaper and talked about how he enjoyed driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Berentson said he told her magazine last year that one of his most rewarding moments came at an annual managers meeting for ABC Supply.

"I gave my motivational talk and then I asked, 'How many people here started as a forklift operator, a warehouse person, a roof loader, or a truck driver?"' he said. "We had 600 people and almost half of them stood up."

Hendricks is survived by his wife and seven children.

[motherhen11]

I bet that hurt like the dickens! Or it would have, if he hadn''t died.

[michellem99-2009]

Rest in Peace Dear..It is sad yer fell to yer death.

[carterarce]

ABC is a great roofing supply house. His attitude must have trickled down to the city desks and warehouses because they treat their customers well and have a good product.

This is a great story with a great ending. Roofing is a good way to get one''s life started. They will hire anyone and with a good attitude and work ethic you can take it as far as you want. I started roofing when I was 20 and 16 years later I have become a talented carpenter and successful contractor.
Once you''ve roofed for a while, any job is easy.

PEACE and happy holidays to you all.

[jetranger7]

HIGH SCHOOL DRO OUT !!! YOU HEARING THAT EMPLOYERS ???Way too many of you think just setting foot in one of those higher Instutions of so-called learning makes a person smart, when actually all its really doing is creating a MIRAGE for the Ignorant-Stupid people to hide under !!! For those that Disagree, well then just look at How Messed up and Corrupt & Fraudulent Corporate America is today, and azz backwards they''ve become, also our political system, and those in politics with those so called higher education degrees. The Harvardites, and Princton Idiots, Yale, Northwestern, all these morans who attend these schools of idiocy have went and messed up this country and our political system,, to the point its pathetic !

[olebd]

If seatbelts are required in cars then roofers should be required to wear a safety harness.

[excoachken]

A real fall from power.

[atlphoto]

I worked for Mr. Henricks a number of years ago and found him to be a very genuine, sincere, family man who really cared about his employees. This is a sad day. My heart goes out to his family for their loss now at Christmastime. The world needs many more like him.

[atlphoto]

I worked for Mr. Henricks a number of years ago and found him to be a very genuine, sincere, family man who really cared about his employees. This is a sad day. My heart goes out to his family for their loss now at Christmastime. The world needs many more like him.

[mom_o_truth]

Another 48 hour mystery. At 66 with $3.6 Billion and 6000 employees and no one else checks his roof ?

[achtung-]

Very sad, very sad. Many die from falls from roofs. Many young men getting their first job in roofing fall. I hope maybe his widow or children will take up the reins here and research ways to avoid this -- many times the new roofers have not been taught how to use the ladder properly or to walk along reinforced areas. Many accidents cn be avoided with some training.

[gspkr]

Well, I knew Ken. He will be missed. Ken had a special talent for seeing what a person was capable of ... and then finding a way to help them get there. His dedication to the community was amazing. A real loss.

[olebd]

This becomes a great opportunity for more groups of illegals coming over the border. And the coyotes will sure have a good Christmas, helping to expedite this new labor force up to WI.

[ehaw]

son of a roofer makes it big and everybody is jealous, maybe he was pushed, may god bless him and his.

[tmn]

God always comes to get the best first....ah, er, nevermind.

[mars4earth3]

Live by the roof die by the roof.

[mars4earth3]

Live by the roof die by the roof.

[antizion]

Another good man goes down. America needs more people like him at the top.

[aznyron-2009]

there is nothing I can ad except he was a lovable man and sadly he died so young rest in peace

[adasher1]

Sounds like a guy I would LOVE to work for.....

[zabarc]

That is a sad story. He seemed like a good guy. What is almost as sad is that Ken''s family will have to pay 55% in the tax on his estate and have to sell the company. I can see congress salivating over which earmark to spend the money on.

I''m sure some d-bag will buy the company and lay off 20% of the employees.