Don Vultagio is surrounded by hundreds of cans of ice tea in Arizona.Emily Christian/business from the inside
The value of the company, which stands behind the iced Arizona tea, without Voldagio, is about 6 billion dollars.
Unlike other billionaires, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, Vultagio did not go to the kidney.
His success attributes to giving customers service, value and treatment of employees such as the family.
In an era in which American billionaires are declined in the Silicon Valley and wealth is built on algorithms and artificial intelligence, Without vultaggio stands out.
With a net value of nearly 6 billion dollarsThe 73 -year -old founder at Arizona Beverage Usa has largely made his billions by selling 0.99 dollars of ice tea that has become creative as it is accessible to everyone.
Unlike the superior university waterfall, including Elon MuskJeff Bezos, Warne Pavite, did not go to the college. In fact, he said that he may not finish high school if his mother does not enter.
“I was not a good student, but the school’s mistake was not. It was my fault, and it has succeeded for me, but sometimes it doesn’t work,” Vultagio told Business Insider from Emily Christian during an interview with Arzonalend in Kisby, New Jersey.
Vultaggio said that GuidanceAnd not official education, laying the basis for its professional life.
When he was a teenage The first coach In a grocery store in Brooklyn, earn one dollar per hour. “This man gave me an experience to be businessmen,” he said. The job taught Vultaggio with a value of one dollar and the time it could last for an hour.
When this president died a few years ago, the family sent his ashes to Vultaggio. “He was buried in the backyard, and a painting there says” the greatest president in the world. “
after He graduated from high schoolVultaggio was still working in grocery stores, just like his father, who was working in his entire career. “He said, I don’t want my son in the supermarket.” “So he got a job at a local beer factory.”
Two years later, the Al -Jaa factory closed, as he taught Vultaggio an important lesson at work: “I always say that when Companies fail“They forgot what the customer wanted,” he said.
Over the next twenty years, Vultaggio has operated his multiple beer distribution works that he grew from A to Z. “I went to the harsh neighborhoods in New York and brought beer to Bodigas in the city.”
He said that the matter succeeded because while the beer was not cheaper, it is Gave The value when they need it-a well-service feature when he finally participated in establishing Arizona for American drinks, also known as Arizona, with John Verleto in 1992.
Every Arizona Talboy has 99 ¢ ¢ directly printed on the box.Emily Christian/business from the inside
“When the brand started for the first time, I didn’t know anything about iced tea other than drinking it when I was a child. I didn’t know how to develop it, its source, and how to make it – all this kind of things, but I am I learned in the jobVultaggio said.
What he knew was how customers shopping for drinks because he saw this directly countless times in the stores and stores that he handed over for many years.
“Consumers made a decision in the coolant. It does not matter what they saw yesterday on television On a commercial advertisement. They made a decision there, and the price sign motivated this decision. “
In 1997, these instincts eventually led to what one of his sellers said was the stupidest idea he had ever: Printing “99 ¢” directly on Tal Boys tea.
A box of green tea in Arizona with ginseng and honey.Emily Christian/business from the inside
“Since I did not have the resources to compete with Cokee and Pepsi on the advertisement, I said I have to get a pack of cold.”
By 2000, sales increased by 30 %, he said New York Times. Today, Arizona is one of the struggling tea drivers in the United States, selling about two billion boxes annually and generates $ 4 billion sales, according to Forsa.
While Tallboys is the company’s demand for fame, it also sells gallons and plastic bottles smaller than tea, juice cocktails, and energy drinks.
Vultagio attributes its success to some things.
“When someone puts The dollar is difficult On a table and get a box of tea or juice, they say, “Wow, this is a good deal.” I have now secured this customer. “
Vultaggio said it is involved in every aspect of production, including taste tests.Emily Christian/business from the inside
Initially, what distinguishes drinks in Arizona from its large boxes of 24 ounces, decorated with colored designs created by Vultagio’s wife, and sold them at the same price as its smaller competitors. Today, the fact that the company did not collect its price of $ 0.99 on its large boxes in 33 years, though this High inflation and prices By other pioneering brands, including Nestle, Leipton, and Snapple. However, the company reduced the size of its large cans to 22 ounces of fluid.
Not everything was smooth sailing. Vultaggio spent around a contract In a bitter legal conflict with his former business partner, Firleto, who wanted to sell his share in the company. Ultimately, Vultaggio bought Ferolito’s share for a billion dollars in 2015.
The company has a large part of the reason that it can prevent costs, even during the epidemic when Transport costs have increased. “We have everything; we can bear the line. We did not have some banks, some board of directors, or some shareholders say,” What are you doing? “
Meanwhile, the clear value of Vultagio has doubled from approximately $ 3 billion in 2018 to nearly $ 6 billion in 2025, according to Forsa.
Vultaggio in Arizonalland in New Jersey.Emily Christian/business from the inside
Despite his enormous wealth, Vultagio still describes himself as a “ordinary man”. One of the drivers of the spinal lever to the executives, Vultaggio says he believes in managing work like a society in which people treat each other with respect.
“That is why we are successful,” he said. “Not just me. Many people, thousands of people, all of them contribute on a regular basis. I tell people, you have to manage work like a family.”
