What is Harland Stonecipher's Net Worth?
Harland Stonecipher is an American businessman who had a net worth of $50 million dollars at the time of his death. Harland Stonecipher was born on June 4, 1938 in Ashland, Oklahoma. He was best known as the founder of LegalShield, an American corporation headquartered in Ada, Oklahoma which sells legal services in the United States and Canada. Stonecipher was the Chairman of the Board of Directors since its inception in 1976 and served as Chief Executive Officer for many years. Stonecipher also served as an executive officer of several of subsidiaries of LegalShield and served as a director of AMS Health Sciences, Inc. until December 5, 2005. On March 2, 2010, Harland C. Stonecipher, as then-Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and President, announced that effective April 2, 2010 he would tender his resignation as Chief Executive Officer and President. Stonecipher continued to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors and remains an Executive Officer.
The idea for LegalShield was born after Harland was involved in a motor vehicle accident and was hospitalized on July 11, 1969. Although the other party was cited at fault, they filed a suit against Stonecipher for the accident. He hired a lawyer to defend him in court, but in doing so, depleted his life savings. After researching the industry of European legal expense plans, Stonecipher created Pre-Paid Legal's predecessor, The Sportsman's Motor Club, on August 8, 1972. The club offered legal expense reimbursement to its members. Pre-Paid Legal began utilizing "network marketing" (multi-level marketing or MLM) in 1983 then went public on the NASDAQ National Market System in 1984. In 1987, Pre-Paid Legal bought The People's Network (TPN), a satellite television network dedicated to personal development. On May 13, 1999, Pre-Paid Legal was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. On September 10, 2011, the company announced that it would change its name to LegalShield when it was acquired by a private equity firm for $650 million. Harland's cut of the sale was $54 million. Harland died on November 10, 2014 at the age of 76.
