Jacobs has founded five billion-dollar or multi-billion-dollar corporations, including three publicly traded companies - XPO Logistics, United Rentals, and United Waste Systems – whose share prices rose more than 1,000% after he took control. Over the course of his career, Jacobs has completed approximately 500 acquisitions and 250 greenfield openings, and raised more than $25 billion in debt and equity capital financing, including two IPOs. Jacobs was #388 on the Forbes 400 list, with a net worth of $2.1 billion as of May 2020.
Amerex Oil Associates, Inc.
In 1979, Jacobs co-founded Amerex Oil Associates Inc., an oil brokerage firm with offices in New Jersey, Houston, London, and Tokyo. He served as Amerex's chief executive officer until the firm was sold in 1983. During that time, the company's annual gross contract volume had grown to approximately $4.7 billion.
Hamilton Resources Ltd.
In 1984, Jacobs moved to London and founded Hamilton Resources Ltd., an oil trading company. In founding the company, Jacobs had used the bulk of his savings and a $1 billion line of credit from Banque Paribas. He grew Hamilton to approximately $1 billion in annual revenue.
United Waste Systems, Inc.
In 1989, Jacobs founded United Waste Systems in Greenwich, Connecticut, and began consolidating small garbage collectors that had overlapping routes in rural areas. Jacobs served as chairman and chief executive officer, and in 1992 he took the company public. In August 1997, after the company had made more than 200 acquisitions, Jacobs sold United Waste Systems to USA Waste Services Inc. for $2.5 billion. When it was sold, United Waste Systems was the fifth-largest solid waste management company in North America, and its stock had outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 5.6 times since its IPO.
United Rentals, Inc.
In September 1997, Jacobs formed United Rentals, serving as the new company's chairman and chief executive officer. Jacobs grew United Rentals through a strategy of consolidating equipment rental dealers in North America. Jacobs formed the company in September 1997 and went public three months later. In the 10 years that Jacobs led the company, he led more than 250 acquisitions and United Rentals outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 2.2 times. In 2007, Fortune Magazine ranked United Rentals as the 536th largest public corporation in America, with $3.9 billion in revenue and 690 locations.
XPO Logistics, Inc.
In 2011, Jacobs invested approximately $150 million in Express-1 Expedited Solutions, a third-party logistics and transportation service provider trading at the time as AMEX:XPO. He assumed the roles of chairman of the board and chief executive officer, gained ownership of approximately 71 percent of the company, and renamed it XPO Logistics. Jacobs listed the company on the New York Stock Exchange, retaining the ticker symbol. In February 2012, Jacobs announced plans to grow XPO's revenue from $175 million to $5 billion within five years through M&A. By the end of 2016, he had spearheaded 17 acquisitions and turned XPO into a $15 billion global company. XPO reported revenue of $16.65 billion in 2019. In May 2018, he was ranked 10th on Barron's list of the World's Best CEOs, while in June Jacobs was listed 7th on Glassdoor's Top CEOs of 2018 list in France, and 20th in the UK.
Personal life
Jacobs and his wife currently reside in Greenwich, Connecticut.
