Moroun
bought the Ambassador Bridge — a
main trade corridor — in 1979,
according to the Detroit Historical
Society. The span connects Detroit
to Windsor, Ontario. (Screenshot by
Chris Jordyn video)
Detroit
billionaire
Manuel
'Matty'
Moroun
dies at
93
apnews.com
DETROIT
- Manuel
“Matty”
Moroun,
a
billionaire
businessman
who
owned a
critical
bridge
that
connects
Michigan
to
Canada,
has died
in his
suburban
Detroit
home. He
was 93.
Moroun
died of
congestive
heart
failure
Sunday
in
Grosse
Pointe
Shores.
Employees
of the
various
Moroun
companies
were
told
Monday
of his
death in
a
message
from
Moroun’s
son,
Matthew.
“My
dad
loved
his
family
and that
extended
to his
work
family,”
Matthew
Moroun
wrote.
“He
poured
his
heart
into his
work and
for over
seven
decades
spent
his time
leading
and
protecting
us. As a
great
mentor
to many,
my
father
was so
proud of
the
companies
that he
leaves
behind
and all
the
innovation
that is
yet to
come.”
Moroun
attended
the
University
of
Detroit
Jesuit
High
School
and
majored
in
chemistry
and
biology
at the
University
of Notre
Dame,
according
to The
Detroit
News.
“Born of
immigrant
parents
in
Detroit,
he rose
from a
young
man
working
at a
neighborhood
gas
station
to
graduating
from the
University
of Notre
Dame and
creating
a
billion-dollar
company,”
said
Sandy
Baruah,
chief
executive
of the
Detroit
Regional
Chamber.
Moroun
bought
the
Ambassador
Bridge —
a main
trade
corridor
— in
1979,
according
to the
Detroit
Historical
Society.
The span
connects
Detroit
to
Windsor,
Ontario.
He
opposed
plans by
Michigan
and
Canada
to build
a
publicly
owned
commuter
bridge
across
the
Detroit
River.
The
Gordie
Howe
International
Bridge
is
expected
to open
in 2024.
The
family
also
owns and
operates
Central
Transport
International,
a
trucking
and
logistics
company,
and
Crown
Enterprises.
Forbes
estimates
Moroun’s
net
worth at
$1.6
billion.
The
Moroun
family
once
owned
the
massive
and
vacant
Michigan
Central
train
station,
which
came to
symbolize
Detroit’s
blight
as it
stood
blank,
dark and
deteriorating
just
outside
the
city’s
downtown
for
decades.
The
family
sold the
building
in 2018
to Ford
Motor
Co.
“For
me to
own land
in
Detroit,
it was a
badge of
honor,
and it
was
support
for the
city,”
Moroun
told the
Detroit
Free
Press in
2010.
“Our
fortunes
are
linked
to the
city. If
the city
doesn’t
have any
prosperity,
we don’t
have any
value in
the
land,
right?”
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