James Leprino Net Worth

James Leprino net worth: James Leprino is a Colorado-based businessman who has a net worth of $3.5 billion dollars. James is the CEO of Leprino Foods, the largest mozzarella producer in the world. Leprino controls 85% of the American pizza cheese market. The company sells over 1 billion pounds of cheese per year.

James' father Mike founded Leprino Foods in 1950 as a grocery market that sold handmade cheese under the label "Gina Marie" after making homemade cheese for local stores. The company sold their first products under the name Gina Marie brand.

After graduating from high school, James went to work at the family grocery. Unfortunately in 1958 the family business was pushed out by larger regional grocery chains. Using their last $615, the Leprinos created Leprino Foods, shifting their focus entirely to manufacturing cheese for pizza which had recently taken off as the country's most-popular food.

Their timing was perfect. The same year that Leprino went into the cheese business, the first Pizza Hut opened in Wichita, Kansas. The following year, the first Little Caesars opened in a suburb of Detroit. In 1960, Dominos started delivering pizzas in Michigan. After just two years in business, Leprino Foods was delivering 200 pounds of mozzarella a week to local Denver restaurants.

In 1968, Leprino hit a stroke of genius. Pizza Hut was looking for a cheese supplier that could help the company reduce their costs while also making portion standardized. Leprino heard that shredding five pound blocks was super time consuming and didn't produce consistent slices of cheese. So Leprino Foods started selling frozen, pre-sliced blocks of cheese. This was the first time pizza makers could layer slices of cheese onto each pizza simply and efficiently.

Today is now the Leprino Foods is the largest mozzarella maker in the world and supplies cheese to multiple companies including Domino's, Papa John's, and Pizza Hut, among many other packaged food companies. The company also sells whey protein, lactose, and sweet whey powder for products like yogurt and baby formula. Leprino Foods is one of the 200 largest private companies in the United States.

Personal Life and Real Estate: James Leprino primarily resides in Indian Hills, CO, but maintains several residences around the world. He also owns a number of significant planes, including a Gulfstream G450, a Bombardier jet, and a small commuter plane.

James is married and reportedly a devout Catholic.