Utah Billionaire Philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr. Dies at 80
The father of Jon Huntsman Jr., currently serving as the ambassador to Russia.
Eric Thayer / Reuters
Jon Huntsman Sr., a Utah billionaire and philanthropist, passed away on Friday at the age of 80. He made his money from founding and chairing the Huntsman Corporation, which manufactured specialty chemicals for products like the McDonald's clamshell burger containers. In the early 1990's, Huntsman was diagnosed with prostate cancer, leading to the founding of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. His son, Jon Huntsman Jr., currently serves as the ambassador to Russia. Huntsman was born poor in 1937 in Idaho and for a period of his life lived with his family in a modest house without plumbing.
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