‘I Chose God’: Hobby Lobby CEO Gives Away Ownership of Company Citing Faith Over Wealth

‘I Chose God’: Hobby Lobby CEO Gives Away Ownership of Company Citing Faith Over Wealth
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Inset: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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The 80-year-old billionaire CEO of the retail franchise Hobby Lobby, David Green, has made headlines for his decision to give away ownership of the company. Rather than continue as a business owner, Green wishes to be a “steward for God.”

In an Oct. 21 op-ed for Fox News, Green explained his decision, writing: “I chose God.”
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
As Green discussed his piece on “Fox & Friends Weekend,“ he said: ”There’s a huge paradigm change between owning a company and stewarding it, and we want to be stewards of what God has given us.”
Since its inception in Oklahoma in 1970 on a $600 loan, according to David and his wife Barbara Green’s origin story, Hobby Lobby has grown to have over 900 stores across the country with over 43,000 employees in 47 states.
“As an owner, there are certain rights and responsibilities, including the right to sell the company and keep the profits for yourself and your family. As our company grew, that idea began to bother me more and more,” Green said. “I was responsible for the mission and purpose of what I’d been given. When I realized that I was just a steward, it was easy to give away my ownership.

“God was the true owner of my business.”

Regarding his decision to give away the ownership of the company, Green cited Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard, and Alan Barnhart of Barnhart Crane, who have made similar decisions to place faith before fortune and give away ownership of their companies.

He has transferred 100 percent of Hobby Lobby’s voting stock into a trust where it will be stewarded by a succession of trustees, so that Green and his wife no longer think of themselves as “owners.”

David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Throughout his 52-year journey with the Hobby Lobby franchise, Green has kept his dedication to the Bible at the forefront and the Christian message at the core of the company’s ethos. It has long been Green’s policy to close all stores on Sunday to allow associates time for family and church and to pay employees well above the national minimum wage.

Feeling blessed by God for the success of his chain of art and craft stores, Green has also given back to society by using Hobby Lobby as a channel through which to support ministries and plant churches all over the world. He encourages other leaders to consider if they are owners or stewards and to reflect on where their success comes from.

“I’ve seen many a business with the greatest of ideas not make it, and yet others with the simplest of ideas thrive,” he said. “I believe that God is the one who grants success, and with it the responsibility to be a good manager.”

Hobby Lobby co-founders David Green (L) and Barbara Green (R). (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Hobby Lobby co-founders David Green (L) and Barbara Green (R). Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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