Roger Penske
Photo: Governor Eric Holcomb, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons35

Roger Penske

American racing driver and businessman (born 1937)

Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937), often referred to by his nickname "the Captain", is an American auto racing team owner, businessman, and former professional racecar driver. He is the owner of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and other auto racing-related businesses.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Roger Penske (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Feb 20, 1937.1

Net worth $7.7B (as of 2025, per forbes.com).36 Richest people

About

Penske is the founder, chairman, and namesake of the Penske Corporation, a holding company for his various businesses. Penske received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump in 2019.

From Wikipedia’s article on Roger Penske, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Holdings

Stock this person has reported owning, from the forms officers and directors file with the SEC. See the biggest insider stakes.

Shares held

As of each latest filing. The line shows shares held over time.

Recent filings

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedShaker Heights High School3
  • Date not recordedCulver Academies3
  • Date not recordedLehigh University3

Penske was born in Shaker Heights, Ohio, in 1937 into a devout Episcopalian family. He was heavily involved with his church as a boy, singing in the church choir and serving in the ministry as an acolyte. His father Jay was a successful corporate executive for a metal fabrication company who encouraged his son to become an entrepreneur. As a teenager he bought older cars, repaired them, and sold them at a profit from his family's home outside Cleveland, Ohio.

After graduating from Shaker Heights High School in 1955, Penske matriculated at Lehigh University, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, and he graduated in 1959.

From Wikipedia’s article on Roger Penske (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: businessperson, NASCAR team owner, Formula One driver.6

Racing career

Penske's first racing venture was in hillclimbing, and then he drove in road course racing at the Vineland Raceway in Vineland, New Jersey, as a member of the Philadelphia Region of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) in Porsches. Penske made his first professional racing start at the now-abandoned Marlboro Motor Raceway in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Sports Illustrated named Penske SCCA Driver of the Year in 1961. He competed in two Formula One Grands Prix and won a NASCAR Pacific Coast Late Model race at Riverside in 1963. He never ran the Indianapolis 500; however, he was offered a rookie test at Indianapolis with the Dean Van Lines team.

Penske continued racing until 1965, when he retired as a driver, to concentrate on his first Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Read more

Business career

During college, Penske worked at Alcoa as an intern, and in 1959 joined them as a sales engineer after graduating, while also pursuing a career in racecar driving where he met people involved in Chevrolet. In 1963, he left Alcoa to become a manager of a Chevrolet dealership in Philadelphia, which he bought a year later with a loan from his father. He shifted his focus away from race-car driving to the dealership after the purchase.

In 1969, Penske founded Penske Truck Leasing in Reading, Pennsylvania by purchasing a truck rental and leasing business with three locations serving eastern Pennsylvania.

Motorsports career results

Other events

Puerto Rico Grand Prix

From Wikipedia’s article on Roger Penske (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornFeb 20, 1937, Shaker Heights7
  • CitizenshipUnited States8

Penske was married to Lisa Stouffer, daughter of Gordon Stouffer (of the Stouffer Corporation), with whom he had two sons, Roger Jr. and Gregory. Gregory is vice chair of the board of Penske Automotive Group and CEO of Penske Motor Group, and Roger Jr. owns several automotive dealerships. Penske later married Kathryn Penske (née Hulbert), and the couple have children: Greg, Jay, Roger Jr., Mark, and Kathryn. Jay is the owner of Penske Media Corporation. Roger Penske received a kidney transplant from his son Greg in 2017.

As of May 2026, Penske's estimated net worth is $7.7 billion.

Penske Racing donated $500,000 to Restore Our Future, Mitt Romney's Super PAC. He was discussed as a potential candidate for Mayor of Detroit but declined to run. Penske endorsed Donald Trump in the 2020 United States presidential election after receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019. He contributed $45,000 to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign. On April 9, 2025, Penske and his NASCAR, IndyCar, and IMSA SportsCar Championship drivers and cars visited the White House. Trump was invited to the 2025 Indianapolis 500 by Penske, but did not attend.

From Wikipedia’s article on Roger Penske (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • 2019Presidential Medal of Freedom9 10
  • Date not recordedMotorsports Hall of Fame of America9

Planes and yachts

A position is the aircraft’s or vessel’s, not the person’s. Being on board isn’t confirmed.

Yacht · No AIS signal

Podium34

Feadship · 72 m · built 2020

No position reported yet.

Ownership reported in the press, not confirmed from a registry.

Track on CelebYachts

Positions, trips and icons: CelebYachts, from public AIS broadcasts. Maps: Esri.

In the news

1 recent article from 1 outlet we read name Roger Penske. We match the full name, and check the article also names one of their companies or that they are well known.

  • Tracking biggest donors, spending in Michigan's US Senate raceDetroit News, Oct 16, 2026…rapper Macklemore, financial executive Charles Schwab (no relation to the author of this page), auto racing tycoon Roger Penske, and the DeVos family, a clan of west Michigan billionaires. Rogers benefited from running unopposed in the GOP…

Sources

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    WikidataNet worth