William Augustus Franke (born April 15, 1937)[1] is an American airline investor who is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Indigo Partners LLC, a private equity fund focused in air transportation.

In his early career he was the CEO of a Fortune 500 forest products company, Southwest Forest Industries (now Smurfit-Stone Container) and chairman of Circle K, which he restructured through bankruptcy.

He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University in 2008 where, following a $25 million donation, W.A.

[7] In 2021, he donated $25 million to the University of Arizona to be put towards scholarships, housing stipends, and study abroad programs for honors students; the Honors College was thus renamed the W.A.

[8] According to Forbes, Franke has a net worth of US$1.3 billion as of February 2025.