Davis is the chairman and majority owner of New Balance, a closely held athletic shoemaker with annual revenue of about $5 billion. The Boston-based company manufactures or assembles more than 4 million pairs of shoes in the US per year. It also produces a range of mens and womens sports wear.
Davis's fortune is derived from his control of New Balance. The company had revenue of $5.3 billion in 2023, according to Forbes. New Balance makes or assembles more than 4 million pairs of shoes in the U.S. per year, according to its website.
The company is valued using the average enterprise value-to-sales multiple of four publicly traded peer companies: Nike, Sketchers, Adidas and Puma. The revenue figure used in the calculation was updated on Feb. 22, 2024 and this led to an increase in the valuation of about $1 billion.
Amy Dow, a spokeswoman for New Balance, confirmed in a email that Davis and his wife, Anne, are sole owners of the company. Jim Davis is attributed full ownership in this analysis to reflect his status as chairman.
James S. Davis was born on May 17, 1943. He graduated with a degree in biology and chemistry from Middlebury College in 1966 before joining the New Balance Athletic Shoes company. He acquired it on the day of the 1972 Boston marathon and became its chairman and chief executive officer.
Founder William Riley, inspired by the three points of balance on a chicken's foot, started the New Balance Arch Company in 1906 and created new ways to provide arch supports for police officers and waiters in Boston. It made its first pair of running shoes 32 years later. It introduced the Trackster, the first running shoe available in different widths, with a ripple sole, in an effort to offer the best fitting shoe possible, in 1960.
When Davis purchased New Balance from Eleanor and Paul Kidd, it had six employees making 30 pairs a day. He built the company into a leading shoemaker, with five plants in the US, one in the UK and more than 5,000 employees worldwide. It had global sales of $3.3 billion in 2014.
The billionaire lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife Anne. They have a son, Chris, and a daughter, Kassia.