John D. MacArthur #565: Jacqueline Thompson Papers

Published January 27, 2026 at 6:00 AM MST

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Photograph of John D. MacArthur sitting outside the Colonnades Beach Hotel, which he owned, taken from Nation’s Business magazine, July 1974. Box 5, Jacqueline Thompson papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

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Photograph of John D. MacArthur doing business from the coffee shop in the Colonnades Beach Hotel, taken from Nation’s Business magazine, July 1974. Box 5, Jacqueline Thompson papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

At the time of his death in 1978, John D. MacArthur was one of the three wealthiest men in America. MacArthur came from humble beginnings. His father was an itinerant evangelist.

In 1935, MacArthur bought Bankers Life and Casualty Company of Chicago after taking out a loan. He turned the company into a fantastically profitable enterprise by selling mail order insurance. He parlayed gains from the insurance business into real estate, eventually becoming Florida’s largest private landowner.

After buying the Colonnades Beach Hotel, just north of Palm Beach, he moved into an apartment on the top floor. MacArthur ran his business from a greasy, green Formica table in the hotel’s coffee shop.

He was a chain smoking, bourbon drinking billionaire who prided himself on being a maverick. Despite his wealth, he lived frugally. In 1970 he established the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which has long been a supporter of public radio.

For more information see the Jacqueline Thompson papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.