Robert Crants (born 1944) is an American businessman. He is a co-founder of the Corrections Corporation of America. He was its chairman and chief executive officer from 1994 to 1999.
Robert Crants | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 17, 1944 |
| Education | Lansing Central High School |
| Alma mater | United States Military Academy Harvard Business School |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Co-founder of Corrections Corporation of America |
| Spouse | Shirley Crants |
| Children | 2 sons, including D. Robert Crants, III, 1 daughter |
Early life
editDoctor Robert Crants was born on November 17, 1944, in Salamanca, New York. His mother gave him the first name of "Doctor", but he has not generally used it as an adult.[1] He is one quarter Seneca from his maternal side, and he grew up on a Seneca reservation in New York.[1]
He was educated at Lansing Central High School.[1] He graduated from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he was Thomas W. Beasley's roommate.[1] He served in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.[1] He received a master's degree in business administration and a law degree from the Harvard Business School in 1974.[1]
Career
editCrants was chief financial officer of a real estate company in Nashville, Tennessee.[1] Later, he founded Broadcast Management Services, and established several television stations.[1]
In 1983, he co-founded Corrections Corporation of America with his former roommate, Thomas W. Beasley, by then a leader in the Republican Party in Tennessee, and T. Don Hutto, creating a private prison management company.[1] CCA received initial investments from Jack C. Massey, the founder of Hospital Corporation of America, Vanderbilt University, the Tennessee Valley Authority.[2]
He was its treasurer.[1] By 1987, Crants became president.[1] He was chairman and chief executive officer from 1994 to 1999.[1][3] As of 2015, it is the largest prison management company in the nation. By 2016, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) along with Geo Group were running "more than 170 prisons and detention centres". CCA's revenues in 2015 were $1.79bn.[4]
Shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, Crants co-founded the Homeland Security Corporation with one of his sons, D. Robert Crants, III.[5] Crants is its chief executive officer, while Joseph S. Johnson is president.[6]
Personal life
editCrants is married to Shirley Crants.[1] They have two sons and a daughter.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Karin Miller, Doctor Crants is no doctor -- he's America's private prison warden, South Coast Today, January 4, 1998
- ^ Donna Selman, Paul Leighton, Punishment for Sale: Private Prisons, Big Business, and the Incarceration Binge, New York City: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010, pp. 81-82
- ^ Dow Jones News Service, "CEO to step down", The Chicago Tribune, December 28, 1999
- ^ Rupert Neate (June 16, 2016), "Welcome to Jail Inc: how private companies make money off US prisons", The Guardian, Austin, Texas, retrieved February 13, 2017,
In a bid to cut costs, more state prisons and county jails are adding healthcare to the growing list of services that are outsourced to for-profit companies
- ^ Pierce Greenberg, "Crants duo, associates getting $2M+ to cover RICO case costs", Nashville Post, March 29, 2013
- ^ "Company Overview of Homeland Security Company, LLC", Bloomberg Business