Kim S. Pegula was born in Queens, New York, the daughter of Marge, a homemaker and pianist, and Frank Pegula, an insurance broker. Her father had Italian and Irish ancestry and her mother was of Polish descent; her parents were both amateur musicians who had met at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where they were both studying to become opera singers. Kim went to high school at Holy Angels Academy in Elmira Heights, New York. How Kim S Pegula Went from Fashion School to Owning the Buffalo Bills
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She began as a buyer and merchandiser for Federated Department Stores in Scottsdale, Arizona and in 1988 was promoted to management trainee. Two years later she was named junior fashion coordinator of all department stores east of Mississippi River, including 31 states and Washington D.C.. She served in that capacity until 1991 when she returned to Scottsdale and became manager of men’s fashion accessories at Macy’s West. How Kim S Pegula Went from Fashion School to Owning the Buffalo Bills
Bio
Born as Kimberly Ann Smith in California, she married Terry Pegula, a former executive with East Resources, in 1996 and moved with him to Western New York when he was hired by his current employer PennTex Energy Corp.. The couple met while both were attending law school at Cornell University, but neither completed their studies. Kim earned a BA in French literature while pursuing a degree in Law and Society at Cornell.
Family
Raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania as an only child by parents who each ran their own businesses, she graduated from Manheim Township High School and earned a degree in fashion merchandising from Shippensburg University. Thereafter, she worked in retail management for a short time before moving back home to work at her mother’s business full-time for two years.
Relationship
She studied industrial design at Carnegie Mellon University and became a fashion designer before switching career paths with her husband, Terry Pegula, in 2006 to purchase the NFL’s Buffalo Bills for $1.4 billion in 2014 as part of an investment group led by Donald Trump (the deal included future stadium upgrades). Once described as a longtime hockey fan, she is also a minority owner of National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres. The couple currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida and Toronto.
Physical info
Physical info Kim has two children, Matthew and Alexa, with her husband Terry. The family lives in Boca Raton, Florida and also own a home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where Terry was born and raised.
Career
My career path has been more of a succession of random events, which all played out in my favor, she says. I started off as a visual merchandiser and was an accessories buyer at Neiman Marcus. She eventually transitioned into retail, buying brands like Ralph Lauren, Lucky Brand Jeans and Jones New York; her brother David joined her company in 1995 as CEO after stints at Polo Ralph Lauren, LVMH and Burberry.
Kim Pegula : Awards
In addition to being ranked by Forbes as one of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, in 2015 she was listed on Fortune’s 40 under 40 list, and received an honorary degree for her many accomplishments in sports business, philanthropy and fashion during a commencement ceremony at Penn State University. She is a member of The Economic Club of New York, serves on various boards including The Ralph C. Wilson Jr.
Net worth
$4 billion dollars, is an American businesswoman and with her husband Terry Pegula, one of the principal owners of the Buffalo Bills of NFL and also owns a horse racing empire named East Aurora Stables in New York State. She’s also one half of a power couple who made their fortune in natural gas production after Terry sold his company, East Resources Inc., to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion back in 2010- four years after they bought it for $1.6 billion.
The Beginning:
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising, Pegula worked for nine years as a buyer for Kmart Corporation in Illinois and New York, eventually becoming manager of women’s apparel at Kmart’s corporate headquarters in Troy, Michigan. She also was executive director of Visual Concept Services, Inc., a fashion consulting firm based in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
What Does it Take to Make a Deal Happen?
Since Terry and I love sports, we always knew that owning a professional sports team would be part of our lives. We didn’t realize how challenging it would be; there are many more people involved in making a deal happen than you might expect, including hundreds of fans in Western New York who make it possible for us to own a piece of history like Ralph Wilson Stadium. Building relationships with them has been an honor and it is also something that required patience and time—some more than others!
What’s Next?
After graduating from Penn State with a degree in design, Kim began working as a sales manager for Donna Karan New York and Ralph Lauren in New York City. She enjoyed a decade of fashion industry success, but knew she was destined for something more—something even more exciting than making sure fashion customers got their orders right and on time. That’s when she met Terry Pegula at a Christmas party in 1998 and her life changed forever.
Three Questions with Kim S. Pegula
You were born in Seoul, South Korea, but attended high school in New Jersey and went on to study at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. How did that happen? We’re so glad you asked! Here are some highlights
Q. & A.
What inspired you to purchase the Buffalo Bills in 2014? We’re lifelong football fans and knew it was a once-in-lifetime opportunity to buy an NFL franchise, which also is in our home state of New York. We’ve never regretted taking on that responsibility and consider ourselves fortunate for being able to make a difference through ownership and philanthropy. Of course, we knew buying an NFL team would be far more complex than buying other sports teams we’d been involved with—the St.
Who was Terry Pegula first wife?
Terry and Kim met in 1987 at a mutual friend’s party in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They dated for two years before marrying on May 27, 1990, in Haworth, New Jersey; they have four children together: Michael (b. 1993), Jessica (b. 1995), Jeffrey (b. 1996) and Jennifer (b. 1999).
Is Kim Pegula korean?
No, she was born in Pennsylvania and is of Italian ancestry. Her parents are Joan (Cavallaro) and Michael Sacco, who own Lou’s Food & Spirits in Depew, New York; her father is also a former Democratic ward leader in Cheektowaga, New York.
How much is Terrence Pegula worth?
In 2010, Terry’s fortune was reported as $3 billion by The New York Times and CNBC. He is a principal owner of East Resources, an oil and gas exploration company founded by his father, John M. Pegula (1929–2010), that owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of natural gas wells in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania and Butler County, Pennsylvania along with processing plants located near Pittsburgh.
Who used to own the Buffalo Bills?
Back in 2014, Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula was awarded an NFL franchise after his bid beat out others that included Donald Trump, Jon Bon Jovi and a Toronto-based group of Canadian sports executives. However, it wasn’t until February of 2017 that he officially closed on his purchase of The Bills — just before they played their first game in Toronto in nearly two decades. Having no prior knowledge about football or its team owners, most people assumed Pegula had lucked into his successful bid for an NFL franchise.