Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Lee Iacocca, one of the most influential figures in the automobile industry, has died. He was 94.
The legendary businessman, known as the “Father of the Mustang” who is also credited for saving Chrysler from bankruptcy in the 1980s, passed away on Tuesday in his Bel-Air home in California, according to theLos Angeles Times.
A family spokesperson told the outlet that Iacocca had died from complications of Parkinson’s disease.
Representatives at the Iacocca Foundation and his daughters Kathryn and Lia did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Born on October 15, 1924, as Lido Anthony Iacocca, the Pennsylvania native made his way through the schooling system, first attending Lehigh University in Bethelem, Pennsylvania before going on to earn his Master’s in engineering at Princeton University in 1946, according to theIacocca Foundation website.
After graduation, Iacocca landed a job at Ford Motor Company where he impressed his colleagues with his personable nature and drive. It was around that time that Iacocca also met Mary McCleary, whom he married after eight years of dating in 1956.
Iacocca eventually worked his way up the ranks at the company, and after undertaking the 1964 production of the Mustang — which earned him the “Father of the Mustang” nickname — he was named president of Ford in 1970.
Lee Iacocca.Taylor Hill/Getty Images
Iacocca then paid off the government seven years early at a profit of $350 million, according to the foundation’s website.
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During his accomplished lifetime, Iacocca also took on a fundraising restoration project for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island — per the request of PresidentRonald Reagan— wrote an autobiography titledIacoccaand became a voice for type 1 diabetes after Mary sadly died at 57 from complications of the disease, according to the website.
In 1984, Iacocca established the Iacocca Family Foundation with his two daughters, Kathryn and Lia, in memory of Mary, which now currently works to fund research programs and projects that will help find a cure. Kathryn has since become the foundation’s president.
Iacocca also donated the proceeds from his successful book, which sold seven million copies, to the foundation after it was published in 1984, according to the website.
source: people.com
