Andrew Taylor

Background

Andrew Taylor grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. His father, Jack Taylor, was the founder of Enterprise Holdings, a major car-rental company. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Denver in 1970. ²

He lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife Barbara. He and Barbara have three adult children, including Chrissy, the president and CEO of Enterprise Holdings. ^{3  4}

Career

Andrew Taylor began working at Enterprise when he was 16 years old by washing cars during summer and holiday vacations and learning the business. His father, Jack Taylor, founded the company in 1957. After college, Taylor worked for three years at RLM Leasing in San Francisco, then returned to Enterprise. He started as general manager for the St. Louis region in 1976. In 1980, he was promoted to president and chief operating officer. In 1991, he became the CEO, then chairman in 2001, and executive chairman in 2013. ²

Enterprise Holdings is a privately held business that operates the Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car, and National Car Rental brands along with smaller locations and franchises internationally. It is the largest car-rental company in the world. ²

The Taylor family is listed on the 2024 America’s Richest Families list published by Forbes, with an estimated net worth of $19 billion as of February 8, 2024. ⁵

Philanthropy

Andrew and his wife Barbara are listed in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50 in 2025, which listed America’s biggest donors in 2024. ¹

The Taylors have donated “tens of millions” to Washington University St. Louis over the years. ⁶ In 2017, they gifted $10 million to a Taylor Family Scholarship Challenge to fund scholarships and fellowships. As of 2017, they had given the university $80 million. ⁷ In 2019, they donated $10 million to the university to improve the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric illnesses. The money provided continued support for the Taylor Family Institute for Innovative Psychiatric Research that the Taylors had helped establish in 2012 with a $20 million gift. ⁸ In 2023, Taylor and his wife Barbara gifted Washington University $15 million to establish the Taylor Family Center for Student Success to support first-generation and limited-income undergraduate students. ^{9  10} In 2024, they donated $50 million to Washington University to fund the Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery. ¹

Associated Groups

Andrew Taylor is a life trustee of Washington University in St. Louis, a trustee of the Naval Aviation History Foundation, a life trustee of the Missouri Botanical Garden, and a director of Commerce Bancshares. ² He is a board member of the Crawford Group and of Greater St. Louis, Inc. ¹¹ He is a former board member of the St. Louis chapter of the United Way. ¹²

Taylor is a trustee of the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), ¹³ which focuses on foreign policy and national security issues, working to develop policy initiatives. ¹⁴ It is funded by foundations and philanthropies including the Gates Foundation, the ClimateWorks Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations. ¹⁵ In addition to the United States, CSIS lists 18 other government donors including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the United Nations. ¹⁶ Other trustees include former chief of staff for the Obama administration William Daley and former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-GA), the co-founder of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. ¹³