Jeno Paulucci

Luigino "Jeno" Francesco Paulucci (July 5, 1918 – November 24, 2011)[1] was an American food industry magnate, investor, and philanthropist.

A self-described "peddler from the Iron Range", Paulucci was born in the mining town Aurora, Minnesota.

Paulucci's parents, Ettore and Michelina, had recently moved from Bellisio Solfare, a hamlet of Pergola (Marche) Italy and his father was a miner in one of the region's iron mines.

In the 1972 book The Very, Very Rich and How They Got That Way, by Max Gunther,[3] Paulucci was quoted as stating his motivation that, while he loved Chinese food, he found it too bland and thought it would benefit from a little Italian spicing.

[7][8] By 1962, Chun King was bringing in $30 million in annual revenue and accounted for half of all U.S. sales of prepared Chinese food.

In January 1981, The New York Times reported that Paulucci's magazine "had survived 19 issues in an area where others could not make it to six".

Paulucci preferred not to use personal money for his businesses and instead relied on public financing provided in exchange for job creation.

[21] Since the 1980s, Paulucci owned numerous land holdings in Seminole County, Florida, and was an active philanthropist in the community.

In 1982, Paulucci moved 1,200 jobs from Jeno's Pizza plant in Duluth, Minnesota, to Jackson, Ohio.

In response to these criticisms, Paulucci told Minnesota Public Radio, "I'm a businessman, I'm not going to say, 'Oh gee, I'm a nice guy.