Jim Clayton

Jim Clayton at age 18 had seen only his families sharecropper- provided log cabin, their cotton patch, and a four room-10-grade-school-house at Finger, Tennessee. Today he is a Banker, Lawyer, Electrical Engineer, Musician, TV Producer, Author, Skier, Tennis Player, Scuba Diver, and has been listed in Forbes Magazine 10 times as one of the 400 Wealthiest Americans.

Jim and his wife Kay quietly give away millions every year to charity including all proceeds from the sale of his books.

Over the years, Jim founded a number of very successful businesses. Just some of these are the Clayton auto dealerships with his brother Joe;  21st Mortgage -- and Vanderbilt Mortgage both with his great friend Tim Williams – well known in our industry. Earlier he founded Clayton Homes which dominates the Manufactured Housing Industry today and took it to the New York Stock Exchange in 1983. His son Kevin remains as CEO of the Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary.

Warren Buffet read Jim's best selling autobiography, First A Dream, called up and bought Clayton Homes in 2003 for $1.8 Billion.

In 1993 Jim founded BankFirst to give him something to do after his planned retirement from Clayton Homes; grew the bank to 39 offices; took it public; and sold it to BB&T, the 10th largest bank in America for $200 million in 2000. At BB&T he served on their board, where he chaired the executive committee until 2002 when he entered banking again.

He purchased First State Bank, a troubled bank in his home town, were his mom had a checking account for 18 years down the street from her work at the shirt factory.  Now Clayton Bank and Trust is the fastest growing bank in Tennessee consisting of five banks, 24 offices, and $600 million in assets.

Jim brings high energy, enthusiasm, and solid business lessons to his audiences -- along with music from back home in East Tennessee.