Monaghan's father died when he was four, and he and his younger brother were put into care by their mother so that she could attend nursing school. They remained in care, foster homes and orphanages, for the next seven years, but then returned to their mother. A few years later he was sent to live on a farm because of problems between him and his mother.

He was not successful in school, and graduated bottom of his high school class, but he showed business flair from an early age, and he and his brother bought a failing pizza parlor in 1960 for $975, which became the foundation of his Domino's Pizza franchise empire.

He owned the Detroit Tigers baseball team from 1984 to 1992.

He is a major supporter of Catholic, conservative and anti-gay causes.

References

Monaghan, Tom, and Anderson, Robert. Pizza Tiger. (New York: Random House, 1986)
"Monaghan, Thomas," Current Biography Yearbook, 1990
Engber, Andrea. "Raised without Daddy," Single Mother, 13 (July/August 1993). Also available at: http://www.parentsplace.com/family/singleparent/gen/0,3375,10010,00.html
Dottie, Enrico. "Roots of Ambition: Famous Businessmen Who Were Adopted." Available at: http://www.parentsplace.com/fertility/adoptioncentral/articles/0,10335,252436_252916,00.html. Originally published in USA Today, 5 September 1997

Indexes

European
USA
20th Century
21st Century
Business and Industry
Philanthropists
Restaurants
Self-made Men and Women
Formal, American/European-Type Fostering
Pre-school Years
Unmarried Mother, Single Parent (Mother or Father) Unable to Cope
Others ("Strangers")
Temporary Care
Institutional Care
Parent(s) Died, Disappeared or Became Incapacitated