10 Things You Didn’t Know About Toll Brothers CEO Douglas C. Yearly Jr.
Toll Brothers is a Horsham, Pennsylvania based home construction company with a specialty in luxury homes. The average cost of the homes that the business builds is just under $700,000. They’re a Fortune 500 company and the tenth-largest home building operation within the United States. They’re led by their CEO Douglas C. Yearly Jr. who is an interesting executive who merits a closer look to fully appreciate his contributions to the company. He’s successfully led them into their current status and we wanted to know more about what makes him such a good leader. We learned a great deal from looking into his past and would like to share these 10 things that you probably didn’t know about Mr. Yearly.
1. Doug has nearly 3 decades with the company
Mr. Yearly first joined the company in 1990. When Doug first started with the Toll Brothers, it wasn’t as their CEO. It would be after 20 years of service with them that he would be appointed their leader. He worked his way up through the company learning everything that there was to know about the business, which is one of the reasons why he was an excellent choice, and he serves as a well-rounded and knowledgable executive.
2. He graduated from prestigious schools
Douglas Yearley enrolled in courses at the prestigious Cornell University. He worked hard at the school and earned his undergraduate degree. After receiving his bachelor’s he was accepted to the Rutgers State University of New Jersey in the School of Law. He was successful in earning his graduate degree in Law as a juris doctor and proceeded forward to pass his bar exam and become an officially recognized attorney.
3. His first job with Toll Brothers was assisting with land acquisitions
When Doug joined the company in 1990, he put his specialty in law to work. He oversaw multiple projects, serving as projects manager and he also oversaw land acquisitions. During this time he learned all about the home building industry from the ground up, beginning with acquiring land, and everything that goes into planning and organizing construction projects. This aided the company in achieving a period of substantial growth and market expansion. He was made Vice President in 1994.
4. His annual compensation is in the millions
Doug Yearly is one of the highest-paid CEOs in the Toll Brothers company. His annual base pay is $3,957,030, which is generous, but it’s only a fraction of the total value of his employment when you look at the other types of compensation that he is given. He is also granted restricted stock awards in the amount of $4,499,840 per year and other miscellaneous perks in the amount of $1,508,830. His total annual compensation is $9,965,250.
5. His net wealth as of 2018 was $26.6 million
Even though Doug Yearly Jr. brings in nearly ten million a year, there are a lot of taxes that come out of his earnings. When all is said and done, as of the end of the 2018 year, his estimated personal net wealth was $26.6 million. He owns more than 103,940 units of stock in the Toll Brothers company, which he earns as a part of his compensation package. He’s sold approximately $4,330,021 worth of this stock but retains more than a hundred thousand shares, which is a nice asset to own.
6. He’s filling very big shoes
One of the founding owners of Toll brothers is Robert I. Toll. He served as the executive chairman of the board of directors for 50 years. He stepped down from the position at the age of 77 in 2018. When he did so, the company made the decision to elect Doug Yearly Jr. in his stead. This was quite an honor for Doug and it shows the great amount of confidence that the owners and the board have in his leadership abilities. Mr. Toll will continue to serve as a special advisor to the board of directors, as chairman emeritus of the board for the rest of his life.
7. Douglas Yearly Jr. is a philanthropist
Doug is a very wealthy man but he is also generous and caring. He serves as the co-chair of the American Cancer Society’s CEO’s Against Cancer for the Pennsylvania Chapter. He is also active in supporting a variety of charities through the Yearley Family Foundation which donates a lot to aid the charities who work with underprivileged kids as well as giving to educational projects.
8. He’s the host of a webcast
We learned that Doug Yearly maintains a great deal of transparency with the company’s assets and internal dealings. There’s nothing to hide and he’s confident enough to broadcast the quarterly earnings conference live for all to hear. Now that is what we call being transparent and up-front, but then again, they have a lot to celebrate because the company is a big success
9. Yearly has led Toll Brothers into a good situation with the world
Fortune magazine has named Toll Brothers one of 2019’s World’s Most Admired Home Building Company’s. They just recently received this honor, but that’s not the extraordinary part of it. This is the fifth consecutive year that Toll Brothers has received this distinction. It tells us that Doug is doing something very right.
10. Douglas Yearly Jr. is a forward-looking leader
One of the reasons for his success is the fact that Doug is one of those guys that lives in the present, but he keeps an eye on the future with all of its potential for changes. He’s aware of market trends and the outlook for home construction within the 22 states that the Toll Brothers company currently operates in. He’s not the kind of person that leaves anything to chance and he’s always prepared for what may lie ahead, both good and bad, which makes him a successful and competent leader in the construction industry.
