Career
His ownership stake in the company made him one of the wealthiest Americans during his lifetime. Hormel was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1860 to German immigrant John George Hormel, a leather tanner and Susannah "Susan" Hormel (née Decker) and later settled in Austin, Minnesota. He established his meat packing company in 1891 and established a food company that continues to thrive today.
He died on June 5, 1946 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 86.