What Is Dana Mecum's Net Worth?
Dana Mecum is an American businessman who has a net worth of $50 million. Dana Mecum earned his fortune as the founder of the car auction company Mecum Auctions. Today, Mecum Auctions is one of the largest antique, vintage, and collector car and motorcycle auction businesses in the world.
Early Life
Dana Mecum was born in 1954 in Monmouth, Illinois. He is the son of famed fleet salesman Edward Mecum. His father owned a Pontiac dealership in Marengo, Illinois, and later resold Avis rental cars. Edward Mecum became the nation's largest fleet dealer until the 1980s, when high-interest rates temporarily wiped out his business.
Career and The Mecum Auction Company
Dana Mecum started his company, Mecum Auctions, while sitting at his dining room table. The Mecum Auction Company is now the largest antique, vintage, and collector car and motorcycle business in the world. In existence for more than 25 years, Mecum Auctions hosted its first auction in 1988 at the Rockford Airport. Unfortunately, the auction ended in disaster when a freak storm with 90mph winds hit. It took Mecum over 15 years without seeing a profit to find success with the auction company.
(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Now, the company typically holds more than one auction every month, with an inventory of about 15,000 cars annually. The company is headquartered in Walworth, Wisconsin and is tops in the world for the number of collector cars offered at auctions, the number of collector cars sold at auctions, and the host of the largest collector car auction, which takes place every year in Florida.
Other annual events include a massive $100 million extravaganza each January in Kissimmee, Florida, which lasts for 10 days and boasts 3,000 cars on display. Mecum Auctions also has the most auction sites in the United States and does the highest volume of sales domestically of all car auction companies. In more recent years, Mecum has branched into collectible farm tractors, motorcycles, and road art. In 2017 alone, Mecum handled 20,000 consignments, generating upwards of $400 million. The auctions are also normally televised on NBC Sports Network.
Personal Life
Mecum and his wife, Patti, have four sons together and nine grandchildren. The entire family is heavily involved in the business. Dana and Patti reside in the Geneva Lakes area of Southeastern Wisconsin.
In March 2020, Mecum was widely rumored to be dead; however, the businessman is still very much alive. The confusion began when an obituary was run for his deceased close friend, Bill Grams, and media outlets began mistakenly reporting Mecum as deceased.
