Sol Price

Sol PriceSol Price was born January 23, 1916, and he founded both FedMart and Price Club (now Costco). He is considered to be a pioneer of the warehouse store, and he graduated from SDSU in 1934. In 1938, he earned his law degree from the University of Southern California Law School. Price was admitted to the state bar at the end of 1938.

The first FedMart was opened in 1954, and Price Club was founded in 1976. Price Club was merged with Costco in 1993, and leadership duties were split between James Sinegal and Price's son Robert. After just eight months, PriceCostco split, and Price Enterprises was led by Robert Price. Price Enterprises evolved over the years into Pricesmart, which runs overseas warehouse stores, while Costco handled domestic clubs.

Sol Price was a big inspiration for another American retail giant: Sam Walton. In his book, Made in America, Walton said that he borrowed as many ideas from Sol Price as from anyone in the business; the name "WalMart" is a take-off on "FedMart". In 1983, Walton and Price had dinner, and later that year, the first Sam's Club opened in Oklahoma.

At the end of the 1980s, Price donated over two million dollars for the building of a student center on the UCSD campus. The center was named for Sol Price, and it holds the student bookstore, movie theater, meeting and ballrooms, as well as a food court. Price is almost singlehandedly responsible for the rebirth of the City Heights neighborhood, where he lived in the 1930s. Price served on the boards of many different organizations, such as the Urban Institute of DC and the Financial Review Panel. Sol Price passed away December 14, 2009.