Shahid Khan

Early life

Shahid Rafiq Khan was born on July 18, 1950 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, to a middle-class Punjabi Muslim family involved in the construction industry. His father, Rafiq Khan, owned a shop that sold survey and drawing equipment, while his mother Zakia Khan was a professor of mathematics. Shahid Khan also has a younger brother named Faran Khan, a local businessman in Pakistan.

Khan moved to the United States in 1967 at age 16 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. When he went to the United States, Khan spent his first night in a $2/night room at the university YMCA, and his first job was washing dishes for $1.20 an hour. Khan joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the school and graduated from the Grainger College of Engineering with a BSc in industrial engineering in 1971. He was later awarded the Mechanical Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999.

Business career

Flex-N-Gate

Khan worked at the automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate Corporation while attending the University of Illinois. When he graduated, Khan was hired as the engineering director for the company. In 1978, he started Bumper Works, which made car bumpers for customized pickup trucks and body shop repairs.

In 1980, Khan bought Flex-N-Gate from his former employer Charles Gleason Butzow, bringing Bumper Works into the fold. The company grew under him, so that it supplied bumpers for the Big Three automakers. In 1984, Khan began supplying a small number of bumpers for Toyota pickups. By 1987, it was the sole supplier for Toyota pickups, and by 1989, it was the sole supplier for the entire Toyota line in the United States. Adopting the Toyota Way increased company efficiency and ability to change its manufacturing process within a few minutes. Since then, the company has grown from $17 million in sales to an estimated $2 billion in 2010 to $8.89 billion in 2020. Its operation in Sandusky, Ohio, is one of the largest automotive light manufacturing plants in the United States.

By 2019, Flex-N-Gate had 25,000 employees and 69 manufacturing plants in the United States, China, Argentina, Spain, France, Germany, Mexico and Canada. It is also ranked by Automotive News as the seventh largest American automotive parts supplier and overall 33rd largest supplier in the world.

In May 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Flex-N-Gate $57,000 for health violations at its Urbana plant. Before the 2012 NFL draft, the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and other environmentalist groups organized a protest campaign for several accusations against Flex-N-Gate and Khan.

Sport and entertainment

Jacksonville Jaguars

Khan's first attempt to purchase a National Football League team came on February 11, 2010, when he entered into an agreement to acquire 60% of the then-St. Louis Rams from Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, subject to approval by other NFL owners.

On November 29, 2011, Khan agreed to purchase the Jacksonville Jaguars from Wayne Weaver and his ownership group subject to NFL approval. Weaver announced his sale of the team to Khan later that same day. The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed, other than a verbal commitment to keep the team in Jacksonville, Florida. The purchase price was $770 million. The NFL owners unanimously approved the purchase on December 14, 2011. The sale was finalized on January 4, 2012, making Khan the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team.

Khan is a board member of the NFL Foundation. He is one of three NFL team owners born outside of the United States, the other two being Kim Pegula of the Buffalo Bills, born in South Korea, and Zygi Wilf of the Minnesota Vikings, born in Germany.

Fulham F.C.

In July 2013, Khan negotiated the purchase of the London soccer club Fulham F.C. of the Premier League from its previous owner, Mohamed Al Fayed. The deal was finalized on July 12, 2013, with the amount estimated between £150–200 million. An official purchase price for the club was not announced with him stating that it was "highly confidential".

All Elite Wrestling

In 2019, it was revealed that Shahid Khan and his son, Tony Khan, are the lead investors behind the professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Tony Khan is also the President and CEO of the promotion.

On April 24, 2024, Khan made his on-screen debut, coming out to the ring after his son was attacked (as part of a story angle) by Jack Perry and The Young Bucks.

Black News Channel

Khan was the majority shareholder in Black News Channel throughout the network's two-year existence.

Personal life

Khan is a cultural Muslim. Khan met Ann Carlson (now Ann Carlson Khan) at the University of Illinois in 1967 and dated her for ten years before they married in 1977. They have two children together, a daughter named Shanna and a son, Tony. Khan became a naturalized American citizen in 1991.

Khan owns a house in Naples, Florida, and an apartment in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. He owned the superyacht Kismet until he sold it to Eric Schmidt in September 2023, who renamed it to Whisper. Khan built a new, larger superyacht in 2024 with the same Kismet name.

Political views

In 2016, Khan supported the Republican Party and Donald Trump's presidential campaign. He was among the NFL team owners who donated to Trump for his inauguration fund. However, in 2017, Khan was critical of the Trump administration's "Muslim immigration ban". Nevertheless, he later voiced support for Trump's economic policies while reassuring his opposition to Trump's social policies.

In July 2019, Khan met Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and stated that he is "the best thing that’s happened to Pakistan".

Awards and honors

Khan has received a number of awards from the University of Illinois, including a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999 from the Department of Mechanical Science and Industrial Engineering, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2006 from the College of Engineering, and (with his wife, Ann Carlson) the Distinguished Service Award in 2005 from the University of Illinois Alumni Association. In 2025, Khan received a Great Immigrant Award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Notes

References

References

1. Solomon, Brian (September 5, 2012) [https://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomon/2012/09/05/shahid-khan-the-new-face-of-the-nfl-and-the-american-dream/#4c745ec529a2 Shahid Khan: The New Face Of The NFL And The American Dream] Forbes
2. "Shahid Khan: The American Dream Personified".
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7. (August 12, 2013). "New jaguar cub at zoo shares birthday with Shad Khan". Fox 30 News.
8. Raza, Ahsan. (September 22, 2012). "Lahore-born entrepreneur among US richest people". [[Dawn (newspaper).
9. (September 14, 2020). "Early days of Shahid Khan – one of the richest Pakistani-Americans – in Lahore".
10. Free Press]], 2nd ed., 2003, {{ISBN. 0-7432-4927-5.
11. Sandomir, Richard (December 1, 2011). [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/sports/football/shahid-khan-buys-jacksonville-jaguars-and-realizes-dream.html "Jaguars Buyer Had His Eye on Ownership of a Franchise"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
12. Ganguli, Tania. (December 3, 2011). "Shahid Khan has true rags to riches American story". [[The Florida Times-Union]].
13. "MechSE Distinguished Alumni".
14. [http://chad.illinois.edu/Profiles.aspx Professorship Profiles: Shahid and Ann Carlson Khan] {{webarchive. link. (June 26, 2010, Center on Health, Aging and Disability, [[UIUC College of Applied Health Sciences]] (retrieved February 12, 2010).)
15. [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/rams/story/157FC08894D54F6A862576C70020547C?OpenDocument "Who is Shahid Khan?"] {{webarchive. link. (March 23, 2010 , ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'', February 11, 2010.)
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17. [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/rams/story/130588200E53CBEC862576C700219A8C?OpenDocument Rams will be sold to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan] {{webarchive. link. (February 13, 2010 , ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'', February 11, 2010.)
18. "Flex-N-Gate".
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21. (July 4, 2012). "NFL team owner Khan targeted by UAW effort to organize his parts plants".
22. AP]] at [[ESPN.com]], August 25, 2010.
23. Tania Ganguli. (November 29, 2011). "Jack Del Rio fired, Jaguars being sold". [[The Florida Times-Union]].
24. (November 29, 2011). "Weaver selling Jags, whom he believes will stay in Jacksonville".
25. "Forbes ranks Jaguars owner Shad Khan fourth on list of wealthiest NFL owners". Florida Times-Union.
26. (December 14, 2011). "It's Unanimous: Jacksonville Jaguars Sale to Shahid Khan Approved".
27. Tania Ganguli. "Dream completed: NFL owners approve sale of Jaguars to Shahid Khan". [[The Florida Times-Union]].
28. Ryan Moore, [http://wheretowatch.com/blog/?p=102 Shahid Khan and the Jacksonville Jaguars: A Harbinger of Future Minority Ownership in the National Football League?] [http://www.wheretowatch.com/ Where To Watch]
29. "The NFL Foundation Board".
30. (July 12, 2013). "Shad Khan finalizes purchase of Premier League's Fulham football club". The Florida Times-Union.
31. (July 13, 2013). "Fulham: Owner Shahid Khan wants to take Fulham to 'next level'". BBC Sport.
32. Joyner, KC. (January 8, 2019). "Jaguars owners backing new All Elite Wrestling". [[ESPN]].
33. (January 1, 2019). "All Elite Wrestling and Double or Nothing officially announced".
34. Gaydos, Ryan. (2024-04-25). "Tony Khan, Jaguars exec and AEW boss, takes piledriver on 'Dynamite' ahead of NFL Draft". [[Fox News]].
35. Weprin, Alex. (March 31, 2021). "Black News Channel Preps Primetime Reboot (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
36. "Fanning The Flames: New Jacksonville Jaguars Owner's Muslim Faith Stirs Stupidity".
37. (October 2021). "Who is Shad Khan's wife? Meet Ann Carlson Khan". GRV Media.
38. Ganguli, Tania. "Shahid Khan has true rags to riches American story". The Florida Times-Union.
39. Davidflorida {{!}}. (October 11, 2019). "Southwest Florida still home to four of the world's richest billionaires".
40. Wielgos, Connor. (2022-08-01). "Connor Wielgos: Why the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars should move his team into Soldier Field".
41. (November 5, 2014). "Super-yacht worth £70 million moored on the River Thames". [[Evening Standard]].
42. Levitan, Hannah. (2025-01-29). "Another luxury yacht worth $360 million has docked in New Orleans for the Super Bowl".
43. "KISMET".
44. AFP. (2017-10-20). "Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan says jealousy drives Trump's attacks on NFL".
45. (2017-02-04). "Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan Opposes Trump’s Immigration Ban (Published 2017)".
46. Gancarski, A. G.. (2017-02-04). "Shad Khan: No to Muslim Ban, Yes to HRO".
47. "NFL team owner Shad Khan still supports Trump on economy, not on social issues". Yahoo Finance.
48. (2019-07-24). "Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan meets PM Imran Khan".
49. (2025-06-26). "Carnegie honors 20 'Great Immigrants,' including composer Tania León, for 20th anniversary".