Fastenal Founder, Winona Philanthropist Bob Kierlin Dies At Age 85

Fastenal Founder, Winona Philanthropist Bob Kierlin Dies At Age 85

Kierlin was best known for founding Winona-based Fastenal Company in 1967.

Prominent Winona businessman and philanthropist Bob Kierlin has died at age 85.

Kierlin died Monday in Winona, according to his obituary. A former Minnesota state senator, he was best known for founding Winona-based hardware manufacturer Fastenal Company in 1967. It would go on to become a Fortune 500 company after going public in 1987.

While Fastenal was in the midst of a global expansion, Kierlin noticeably declined to increase his own paycheck, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported, saying "Kierlin reveled in his status as Minnesota’s lowest-paid CEO."

Kierlin also gave back to local causes in the Winona area, including donating the initial collection to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in 2006. The museum has since expanded multiple times.

From 2015 until 2022, the museum housed Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze, considered to be one of the most important American paintings to ever hang in the White House, where it was located between and 1970s and 2014.

It sold at auction for $45 million in 2022. It was a smaller version of Leutze's sprawling, iconic painting that is currently house in The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Kierlin graduated from Cotter High School in Winona. He would go on to attend the University of Minnesota, earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s in business administration.

Three years ago, Forbes Magazine placed Kierlin's net worth at just under $1 billion.

SOURCE: Bring Me The News