Marguerite Harbert

Marguerite Jones Harbert (1923 – March 17, 2015) was an American philanthropist and billionaire from Alabama.

Marguerite Harbert
Born
Marguerite Jones

1923
Birmingham, Alabama
Died(2015-03-17)March 17, 2015 (aged 91)
Mountain Brook, Alabama
EducationMountain Brook Elementary School
Phillips High School
Alma materBirmingham–Southern College
OccupationPhilanthropist
Net worthUS$1.5 billion (2013)
Spouse(s)John M. Harbert
Children3, including Raymond J. Harbert
Parent(s)Raymond McAdoo Jones
Marguerite Nabers Jones

Early life

Margarite Jones was born in 1923 in Birmingham, Alabama. Her father was Raymond McAdoo Jones and her mother, Marguerite Nabers Jones.[1] She had a sister, Alice McGriff.[1] She descended from Birmingham's founders.[2]

She was educated at Mountain Brook Elementary School and Phillips High School.[1][2] She graduated from Birmingham–Southern College, where she served as president of the Kappa Delta sorority chapter.[1][2][3]

Philanthropy

Jones worked for the American Red Cross in Jefferson County, Alabama.[1][2][3] Later, she volunteered for the "Junior League of Birmingham, Advent Day School, All-Saints School, Children's Hospital, Center for Developmental Learning Disabilities, Spain Rehabilitation, Birmingham Art Association, Birmingham Ballet League, American Heart Association and Linly Heflin Unit."[1][2] A member of the American Needlepoint Guild, she needlepointed an armchair for Alabama Governor's Mansion.[1]

She served on the Board of Trustees of her alma mater, Birmingham-Southern College, where the Marguerite Jones Harbert Building was named in her honor.[1][2] She was also inducted into its Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.[2] She also served on the Boards of Trustees of the Birmingham Museum of Art and Cancer Comprehensive.[1][2] Additionally, she served on the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.[1][2]

Personal life

She married John M. Harbert, the founder of Harbert Corporation, whom she had met in grade school.[1][3] They had two sons, John Murdoch Harbert IV (born with William's Syndrome) and Raymond J. Harbert (who founded Harbert Management Corporation in 1993), and a daughter, Marguerite Harbert Gray.[1][2] They resided in Mountain Brook, Alabama, and summered in Highlands, North Carolina.[1] They attended St. Mary's on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church.[1]

The couple were married for 43 years.[4] In 1995, her husband predeceased her, and upon his death, she inherited his fortune. By 2013, she was the wealthiest person in Alabama, with an estimated wealth of US$1.5 billion.[5] She admitted she found it "hard in a way" to be rich.[6]

She was a member of the Nineteenth Century Club and the Little Garden Club of America.[1]

Death

She died on March 17, 2015.[1][2]

References
  1. Obituary: Marguerite Jones Harbert, The Birmingham News, March 17, 2015
  2. Garrison, Greg (March 19, 2015). "Marguerite Harbert, Alabama's only billionaire, dies at 91". The Birmingham News. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  3. "2012 Billionaires List: Dropoff: Marguerite Harbert". Forbes.com.
  4. "Marguerite Harbert". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
  5. "Who is Alabama's wealthiest person?". Birmingham Business Journal. October 31, 2013.
  6. The Associated Press, Alabama's richest person says that being wealthy is 'hard in a way', The Tuscaloosa News, March 2, 2004
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