User:Richc80/John Ruan

John Ruan (February 11, 1914 - February 14, 2010) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Having grown a one truck transportation business to one of the largest in the United States, Ruan also established or acquired various other ventures. Since 1990 he was integral to the World Food Prize, providing funding and serving as Chairman Emeritus.

Early Life
Ruan was born on February 11, 1914 in Beacon, Iowa to John Arthur Ruan, a Doctor, and Rachel Llewellyn. He had an older brother, Jay Arthur. In 1930 the family moved to Des Moines. John attended Des Moines' North High School and spent one year at Iowa State University before leaving due to financial difficulties.

Heading Four
At the Ruan Companies, Ruan represented a diversified group of businesses with activities that include transportation, commercial banking, financial services, international trading and real estate development.

In his native State of Iowa, where he was born in 1914, Ruan is a major contributor in business and the development of the Des Moines metropolitan area. In the early 1970s, Ruan built the 36 story Ruan Center to house the administration of the growing number of Ruan companies. Ruan built the 33-story Marriott Hotel in 1980 and the 14-story Two Ruan Center in 1982. He was active in the development and building of the Des Moines Convention Center in 1985 as well as several parking ramps in the downtown area. Ruan also owns Bankers Trust Company, the largest independent bank in Iowa.

Ruan funds ongoing research at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Lukes MS Clinic in Chicago, Illinois and also sponsored the Ruan Neurosciencel Center at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, Iowa. One of the top-ranked facilities of its kind, the Center provides quality care for people around the globe.

Nationally, Ruan is well known for his trucking company. He began in 1932 with only one truck. This small business grew into Ruan Transportation Management Systems, which is now one of the nation's largest trucking operations. Internationally, Ruan founded the Iowa Export-Import Trading Company, a business involving over 50 nations around the world.

Ruan shares his success with his wife, the former Elizabeth Jayne Adams, two living children (one deceased), and their six grandchildren.

Ruan was the subject of a 2003 biography, In for the Long Haul: The Life of John Ruan by historian William B. Fredericks. Ruan passed away on February 14, 2010. He was 96 years old.