SAN ANTONIO —  Billy Joe “Red” McCombs, a San Antonio billionaire who created an automotive dealership empire and was heavily involved in sports ownership and philanthropy, has died at age 95, according to a statement from his family.

McCombs, the statement said, died Sunday surrounded by family.

What You Need To Know

  • San Antonio business and sports icon Billy Joe “Red” McCombs died Sunday, according to a statement from his family. He was 95

  • McCombs moved to San Antonio in the 1950s and co-created what would become the Red McCombs Automotive Group

  • McCombs was part of a group that brought the San Antonio Spurs to the Alamo City. He additionally owned the Denver Nuggets and the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings

  • The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business was named for McCombs 

Born in the small West Texas town of Spur in 1927, McCombs moved to San Antonio in the 1950s and co-created what would become the Red McCombs Automotive Group.

His business ventures additionally extended to energy, ranching and cattle breeding, real estate and land development. In the 1970s, he co-founded Clear Channel Communications, which blossomed into an enormous radio and media company.

McCombs attended the University of Texas at Austin, and in 1999 gifted the business school with $50 million. The school was later renamed the McCombs School of Business.

McCombs might have made his biggest mark in the sports world. In 1973, he and a group of San Antonio investors brought the San Antonio Spurs to town and into the NBA. A few years later, he sold his stake in the team and purchased another franchise, the Denver Nuggets. In 1986, he repurchased his stake in the Spurs and bought the team outright in 1988. He sold the Spurs in 1993. 

McCombs sold the Nuggets in 1985 and in 1998 purchased the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings for $250 million. Frustrated with an inability to get a new stadium built in Minnesota, he sold the team before the 2005 NFL season.

McCombs was also involved in auto racing and was among the first investors in the Circuit of The Americas track in Austin, Texas.

Forbes most recently estimated McCombs’ net worth at $1.7 billion.

McCombs is survived by three children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His wife, Charline Hamblin, died in 2019.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.