Chair, Chief Executive, Harbor Freight Tools
Smidt is the chief executive and chair of Harbor Freight Tools, a home improvement retailer with over 1,300 stores in 48 states generating approximately $8 billion in annual revenue. At 17, Smidt began working at Harbor Freight Tools alongside his father in 1977, earning enough credits at his job to graduate high school. He transformed his father’s phone sales business into a mail-order tool venture. By 1985, he had become president of Harbor Freight, and in 1999, he bought out his father, becoming chief executive and sole owner. Smidt sits on the board of trustees for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He also founded and chairs the Smidt Family Foundation. Its flagship program is Harbor Freight Tools for School.