Tom Golisano | $1B+
Get in touch with Tom Golisano | Tom Golisano is the billionaire founder of Paychex and a prolific philanthropist who has donated over $1 billion to healthcare, education, and disability services. In early 2026, his legacy expanded through the Golisano Children's Alliance, a network of ten hospitals bolstered by his recent $50 million gifts to centers in Buffalo, Connecticut, and Kentucky. He is also scaling his Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship, with a new campus opening in the former Buffalo News building in fall 2026. Beyond his business empire, the former Buffalo Sabres owner remains a leading advocate for tax reform and inclusive health for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Blase Thomas Golisano (born November 14, 1941) is an American billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist renowned for founding Paychex, Inc., a payroll and human resources outsourcing company that specializes in services for small and medium-sized businesses.[1][2] Golisano launched Paychex in 1971 with $3,000 in savings and a single credit card, transforming it through organic growth into a publicly traded enterprise with billions in annual revenue; he led as president and CEO until 2004 and continues as a board director.[2][3][4] A self-funded political outsider, he mounted three unsuccessful campaigns for governor of New York—in 1994, 1998, and 2002—primarily under the Independence Party banner, advocating reduced taxes, government efficiency, and campaign finance reforms amid criticism of entrenched party dominance.[5][6] Golisano's net worth stood at $6.9 billion as of April 2025, placing him among the world's 500 richest individuals, derived largely from his Paychex stake.[7] Motivated by his son's special needs, he has committed nearly $1 billion in lifetime philanthropy by 2025, focusing on autism, disabilities, pediatric healthcare, and animal welfare through vehicles like the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation, with major recent pledges including $50 million for children's hospitals and $24 million for regional shelters.[2][8][9][10]
Early Life and Education
Childhood and Family Background
Blase Thomas Golisano was born on November 14, 1941, in Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, New York, to working-class parents Samuel Golisano, a heating contractor and salesman who held various sales positions including at Kodak and Hawkeye, and Anna Golisano, a seamstress employed at the Hickey-Freeman clothing factory.[11][12][13] As the youngest of three children, with at least one sister, Marie Golisano Graham, he grew up in a modest household in West Irondequoit amid the post-World War II economic environment, where his family's circumstances emphasized resourcefulness over inherited wealth.[12][14]
Golisano's early years were shaped by direct observation of his father's entrepreneurial efforts in small-scale sales and contracting, which involved navigating market demands through persistence and cost control rather than external subsidies, fostering an innate appreciation for operational efficiency and financial discipline.[13][12] This environment, centered on everyday activities like baseball and biking in a tight-knit suburban community, reinforced values of self-reliance and incremental progress, contrasting with dependency on institutional support systems.[13] Such formative influences laid the groundwork for his later aversion to bureaucratic overhead, prioritizing direct causal mechanisms of value creation through individual initiative.[11]
Professional Entry into Business
Golisano graduated from Irondequoit High School in 1962 and earned an associate's degree in general business management from the State University of New York at Alfred (Alfred State) in 1964, emphasizing practical skills over extended formal education.[15] He entered the workforce prioritizing hands-on experience, beginning in sales roles within accounting and data processing sectors in Rochester, New York. This approach reflected his preference for direct application of business principles amid real-world operations rather than prolonged academic pursuits.[15]
By the late 1960s, Golisano advanced to sales manager at Electronic Accounting Systems (EAS), a Rochester-based payroll processing firm that primarily served large corporations with automated compliance and tax filing services.[16] While at EAS, he identified significant inefficiencies: small businesses, comprising over 95% of U.S. employers, handled payroll manually using time-consuming methods like handwritten ledgers and calculators, exposing them to errors and regulatory penalties from bodies like the IRS.[17] [18]
Golisano recognized that prevailing industry models, geared toward high-volume clients with complex needs, overlooked smaller enterprises despite their role as primary job creators and economic drivers.[18] He proposed adapting EAS services for this underserved segment but faced rejection twice, as the company prioritized established large-account revenue streams. This experience underscored systemic biases favoring bureaucratic efficiency for big firms, motivating Golisano to pursue independent solutions tailored to small business realities.[19]
Business Career
Founding and Expansion of Paychex
B. Thomas Golisano established Paychex, initially operating as PayMaster, in 1971 with a personal investment of $3,000. The company targeted small businesses with fewer than 200 employees—averaging 14 per client—a segment underserved by larger competitors such as ADP, which primarily served bigger enterprises.[16][2]
Paychex differentiated itself through a low-cost model featuring a $5 minimum charge and phone-based payroll processing, simplifying outsourcing and reducing administrative complexities for small employers amid regulatory demands like tax withholding. Additional services, such as Taxpay for automated tax filings, enhanced client value and contributed significantly to revenue per client.[16]
Early expansion relied on branch offices and franchises rather than subsidies; from 42 clients in 1972, Paychex grew to 300 in the Rochester area by 1976 and reached 5,700 clients across 22 cities with 200 employees by 1979, when it incorporated as Paychex, Inc.[16]
The firm went public in August 1983 via a NASDAQ IPO (ticker: PAYX), raising $7.7 million to accelerate nationwide scaling. Client numbers surged to 60,000 by 1986 and over 115,000 by 1989, trailing only ADP in total clients while maintaining focus on small-business adaptability to payroll regulations.[16]
By 1995, Paychex served more than 200,000 clients, with revenues climbing from $51 million in 1983 to $101 million by 1989 and $869.9 million by fiscal 2001, underscoring sustained growth through service innovations like human resources outsourcing introduced in the 1990s.[16]
Leadership Transitions and Company Achievements
Golisano served as president and chief executive officer of Paychex from its founding in 1971 until October 2004, after which he transitioned to the role of chairman of the board, a position he held until 2021 when Martin Mucci assumed the chairmanship.[20][21] This handover maintained continuity in strategic direction, with Golisano retaining influence as a director until his planned retirement from the board following the July 2025 meeting.[22]
Under Golisano's leadership, Paychex achieved substantial growth, expanding from a startup funded with $3,000 to a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: PAYX since 1983) with a market capitalization exceeding $50 billion by 2025, alongside annual revenues surpassing $5 billion and a client base of approximately 800,000.[22][23] The firm adopted a bootstrapped expansion model, avoiding venture capital dependency through initial reliance on joint ventures, franchise agreements, and organic reinvestment of revenues, which enabled sustained profitability without external equity dilution.[24][25]
Key achievements included the implementation of an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), permitting employees to acquire company stock at a discount via payroll deductions, fostering performance alignment via individual ownership stakes rather than collective bargaining structures.[26][27] Paychex also maintained a non-unionized workforce, emphasizing meritocratic incentives and direct employee-company ties, which correlated with low voluntary turnover and consistent operational scalability during Golisano's tenure.
Critiques of Paychex's governance under Golisano have centered on isolated operational lapses, including lawsuits alleging failures in payroll verification or processing accuracy, such as Ophthalmic Surgeons, Ltd. v. Paychex, Inc., where courts examined contractual duties to confirm payroll data integrity.[28] Despite such cases, the company's enduring client retention and revenue trajectory indicate effective risk management relative to peers in outsourced payroll services.[29]
Economic Impact and Business Philosophy
Golisano's business philosophy emphasizes that entrepreneurial success derives primarily from discipline, drive, and tenacity rather than inherent talent or preferential policies such as affirmative action. At Paychex, hiring practices reflected this approach by prioritizing candidates exhibiting strong work ethic and determination over elite credentials, enabling the company to build a capable workforce from diverse backgrounds.[30] This data-driven method contributed to Paychex's sustained growth, demonstrating empirically that rigorous self-selection and merit-based advancement foster viability in competitive markets without reliance on government subsidies or mandates.
Through founding and leading Paychex from 1971 to 2004, Golisano generated substantial economic impact in upstate New York, particularly Rochester, where the company established its headquarters and expanded to employ over 4,000 workers locally by the 2020s.[31] This job creation countered prevailing narratives attributing regional economic stagnation to inherent business failures, instead highlighting how private innovation thrived despite adverse policy environments marked by high costs and bureaucratic hurdles. Paychex's model of outsourcing payroll and compliance for small businesses further amplified this effect, supporting the operational resilience of client firms and indirectly bolstering employment across the region.[32]
Golisano critiqued excessive government intervention as a barrier to small business vitality, asserting that overregulation and elevated taxes distort market incentives and prompt capital flight. He argued for minimizing regulatory burdens to enhance efficiency and growth, pointing to New York's high tax regime as a catalyst for business relocations, including his own eventual move to Florida in 2009.[33] [34] Empirical evidence from Paychex's longevity—serving hundreds of thousands of small clients amid competitors burdened by subsidies—underscored his view that unfettered markets outperform state-directed alternatives in sustaining enterprise survival and expansion.[35]
Sports Involvement
Ownership of the Buffalo Sabres
In April 2003, Golisano acquired the Buffalo Sabres from the NHL for $92 million following the franchise's emergence from bankruptcy proceedings triggered by the financial scandals of previous owner John Rigas, a move that averted the team's potential relocation or dissolution.[36] This purchase stabilized the operation in Buffalo, where attendance had dwindled to under 6,000 season-ticket holders amid prior losses exceeding $14 million annually.[37][38]
Golisano's tenure emphasized fiscal prudence, transforming the Sabres from consistent money-losers into profitable entities by 2005–2006, with investments directed toward operational efficiency rather than aggressive free-agent spending.[39] On-ice performance improved, as the team reached the playoffs in 2005, advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2006, and won the Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's top regular-season team in 2007.[40] These results boosted season-ticket sales beyond 11,000 by 2006, reflecting renewed fan engagement without incurring the leveraged debt that burdened other franchises like the Pittsburgh Penguins pre-2005.[40]
Critics, including segments of the Buffalo fanbase, faulted Golisano's conservative payroll strategy—often ranking among the league's lower spenders—for contributing to a perceived "fire sale" mentality, exemplified by trades of high-profile players and limited pursuit of elite free agents, which fueled backlash over unfulfilled championship contention.[41] However, this approach empirically sustained the franchise's viability amid NHL revenue sharing and salary cap constraints, avoiding insolvency cycles evident in comparably managed teams, and positioned the Sabres for sale in February 2011 to Terry Pegula for $189 million, yielding no net financial loss adjusted for franchise value appreciation.[42][43][44]
Other Sports-Related Investments
In addition to his involvement with the Buffalo Sabres, Golisano owned the Buffalo Bandits, a franchise in the National Lacrosse League, from 2003 to 2011.[36] He acquired the team through his investment group, Hockey Western New York LLC, as part of a broader effort to maintain professional sports operations in Buffalo amid financial distress facing local franchises.[45] Under this ownership, the Bandits competed in the NLL, winning the league championship in 2008.[46]
The Bandits were sold in February 2011 to Terrence Pegula for an undisclosed amount, bundled with the Sabres in a transaction valued at approximately $189 million primarily for the hockey team.[46] This divestiture aligned with Golisano's business-oriented strategy, treating sports holdings as assets to stabilize regional economies through job preservation and arena utilization rather than indefinite subsidies for underperforming entities.[47] In 2014, Golisano expressed intent to bid on the NFL's Buffalo Bills following its owner's death, signaling continued interest in local sports as viable investments, though no acquisition materialized.[47] These ventures yielded modest financial outcomes compared to his core payroll business, underscoring sports as peripheral, data-driven opportunities rather than passion projects.[2]
Political Engagement
Gubernatorial Campaigns and Electoral Results
Golisano entered politics as an independent candidate in the 1994 New York gubernatorial election, running on the Reform Party line alongside Dominick A. Fusco.[48] He received 217,490 votes, equivalent to approximately 4.2 percent of the total vote, finishing third behind Republican George Pataki and incumbent Democrat Mario Cuomo.[49] Golisano self-financed his campaign, investing several million dollars primarily from his personal fortune derived from Paychex.[50]
In 1998, Golisano mounted a second independent bid for governor on the Independence Party line with running mate Laureen Oliver.[51] He garnered 364,056 votes, or 7.7 percent, placing third in a contest won by incumbent Republican George Pataki over Democrat Peter Vallone.[52] Golisano self-funded over $39.7 million for the effort, contributing to a record total expenditure of about $40 million across the major candidates.[53] [54]
Golisano's third and most ambitious campaign came in 2002, again as the Independence Party nominee, self-financing a record $73.9 million—more than any non-presidential candidate in U.S. history at the time.[55] This amounted to roughly $113 per vote received, as he secured 654,296 votes, or about 13.6 percent, finishing third behind Pataki (49.4 percent) and Democrat H. Carl McCall (approximately 33 percent).[55] [56] During the campaign, Golisano emphasized empirical evidence of state fiscal inefficiencies, including commissioned audits revealing wasteful spending in government operations.[33]
Core Policy Positions and Fiscal Conservatism
Golisano has consistently advocated for strict caps on property taxes and corresponding reductions in government spending to address New York's fiscal challenges. In his 2002 gubernatorial campaign, he proposed a plan to reduce property taxes by 40 percent over four years through measures including the consolidation of school districts and the elimination of duplicative local services, arguing that unchecked spending growth perpetuated inefficiency.[57] He criticized New York's budget practices as fostering corruption and inertia, linking chronic deficits to entrenched political interests that prioritized spending over accountability, and called for avoiding tax increases in favor of structural reforms.[58]
As an independent candidate, Golisano rejected the big-government tendencies of both major parties, positioning himself against bipartisan expansions of state bureaucracy. He supported term limits for elected officials to prevent entrenchment and reduce opportunities for abuse, actively opposing efforts to extend them, such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2008 push, which he described as undermining democratic integrity.[59] Golisano also favored ethics reforms to curb influence peddling, emphasizing bans on corporate and union campaign contributions to diminish special-interest sway over policy.[60]
Golisano's fiscal views emphasize empirical incentives over redistributive rhetoric, highlighting how high taxes drive out-migration from states like New York to low-tax alternatives such as Florida. He relocated his residency to Florida in 2009, citing savings of approximately $13,800 per day due to the absence of state income tax, a move that exemplified his argument that punitive taxation erodes economic vitality without curbing deficits.[61] Data on net domestic migration supports this causal link, with New York losing over 1 million residents to other states between 2010 and 2020, many to Florida, correlating with its high combined state and local tax burden.[62] Golisano framed such outflows as evidence that "fair share" policies fail to retain wealth creators, advocating instead for competitive tax environments to foster growth.[33]
Political Donations and Influence on New York Politics
Golisano has contributed millions to political candidates and groups in New York across party lines, prioritizing support for fiscal restraint and government accountability over partisan loyalty. Through his self-funded initiatives, he backed both Democratic and Republican legislators committed to reducing taxes and enhancing transparency in Albany.[5][63]
In July 2008, Golisano personally invested $5 million to establish Responsible New York, a bipartisan political action committee aimed at electing reform-oriented state legislators. The PAC endorsed and financed campaigns for six Democrats and seven Republicans, focusing on candidates who advocated for lower spending and structural changes to curb Albany's entrenched interests. This targeted funding proved instrumental in the 2008 elections, positioning supported lawmakers to challenge the status quo.[5][64][63]
Golisano's influence peaked in June 2009 during the New York State Senate leadership crisis, where his prior investments and behind-the-scenes coordination facilitated a temporary shift in power. Frustrated by Democratic leaders' support for a high-spending budget despite reform pledges, Golisano collaborated with Republicans to persuade Senators Pedro Espada Jr. and Hiram Monserrate to defect, briefly granting Republicans control of the evenly divided chamber. This maneuver, described by Golisano as a push to enforce accountability, disrupted Democratic dominance and highlighted resistance from established politicians to outsider-driven change, though it ultimately devolved into a month-long stalemate.[64][65][66][67]
Critics, including state officials, accused Golisano of attempting to purchase legislative sway through his PAC expenditures, prompting investigations into donation practices by groups linked to him and his aides. Such claims portray his involvement as self-interested meddling rather than principled reform. However, Golisano's record of self-financing his own independent gubernatorial bids underscores an aversion to special-interest dependencies, and his efforts exposed systemic corruption in Albany, pressuring lawmakers toward greater fiscal discipline despite institutional pushback.[68][64][69]
Philanthropy
Establishment of the Golisano Foundation
The Golisano Foundation was established in 1985 by B. Thomas Golisano, founder of the payroll services company Paychex, Inc., as his primary philanthropic vehicle based in Victor, New York.[70][71] The organization's focus centers on advancing opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a priority shaped by Golisano's experiences as the father of an adult son with a developmental disability.[72][73]
Reflecting Golisano's business background, the foundation operates with a disciplined approach to grantmaking, prioritizing programs that deliver measurable outcomes, maintain low overhead, and foster self-sustaining impact through private initiative rather than dependence on government resources.[70] This results-oriented model seeks to address gaps in public funding by supporting high-performance organizations that promote inclusion and community participation for those with disabilities.[70]
By 2025, Golisano's philanthropy via the foundation had surpassed $860 million in total grants, approaching $1 billion lifetime, demonstrating a strategic emphasis on efficient, evidence-based interventions over symbolic or inefficient expenditures.[8][74]
Major Donations to Health and Disability Causes
Golisano, through the Golisano Foundation, has donated more than $300 million over three decades to organizations addressing intellectual and developmental disabilities, prioritizing direct service enhancements over government-dependent models.[75] These contributions target underserved health needs, such as screenings and treatments often inadequately covered by public systems, enabling scalable private-sector efficiencies that public alternatives have struggled to match in speed and focus.[76]
A cornerstone of these efforts is support for Special Olympics health programs, including the Healthy Athletes initiative providing free screenings to athletes with intellectual disabilities. In September 2021, Golisano gifted $30 million—the organization's largest single private donation—to expand global health services, such as vision, hearing, and dental care, following a $12 million contribution in 2012 for similar aims; cumulative gifts since 2012 total $37 million.[77][78][79] The foundation has further sustained this work by co-sponsoring the annual Global Golisano Health Leadership Awards, with the 2025 edition recognizing seven international leaders for advancing health equity in disability care.[80]
In pediatric health, Golisano's 2009 $6 million donation to Upstate Medical University funded expansions at what became the Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital, bolstering specialized care for children with disabilities amid regional funding shortfalls.[81] Overall, these targeted gifts have facilitated programs improving outcomes for over 1 million individuals with disabilities, including autism spectrum conditions within broader IDD frameworks, with minimal documented inefficiencies compared to expansive public bureaucracies.[82][83]
Recent Mega-Gifts and Giving Philosophy
In September 2024, following a personal health scare earlier that year, Golisano accelerated his philanthropic commitments by announcing $360 million in unrestricted grants to 82 nonprofits across Upstate New York, specifically targeting organizations in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.[84][85] These multiyear awards, ranging from $250,000 to $20 million each and disbursed over four to five years, focused on health care, education, community services, and support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, enabling recipients to address immediate needs without donor-imposed restrictions.[86] This initiative marked part of Golisano's broader 2024 giving totaling $500 million to 125 organizations, shifting assets previously earmarked for his estate to direct, lifetime distribution for faster societal benefit.[87]
Building on this momentum, Golisano pledged $50 million in August 2025 to Kaleida Health's John R. Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo, New York's only standalone pediatric facility, prompting its renaming to Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo effective January 2026.[88][89] The gift supports advanced pediatric care, continuing Golisano's pattern of large-scale, targeted health investments that prioritize operational flexibility and long-term institutional capacity over restricted endowments.
Golisano's approach emphasizes immediate, direct aid over deferred trusts or foundations, articulated in his view that "I can't take it with me" and "the only wealth you get to keep is that which you give away."[90] This philosophy favors lifetime giving to maximize tangible outcomes and circumvent estate taxes, which he implicitly regards as penalizing accumulated success by taxing unspent wealth posthumously, allowing donors to retain control and ensure funds serve practical purposes rather than bureaucratic perpetuation.[84]
These efforts earned Golisano the 2025 Clinton Global Citizen Award, presented by former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York City on September 25, 2025, recognizing his transformative contributions to health, education, and community development.[91][92] The unrestricted nature of the grants has empirically strengthened recipient organizations' resilience, fostering regional economic activity in Upstate New York through enhanced service delivery in underserved sectors without administrative encumbrances.[85]
Educational and Entrepreneurial Initiatives
Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship
The Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship, founded by Tom Golisano in Rochester, New York, operates as a non-profit provider of alternative post-secondary credentials, emphasizing accelerated training for aspiring entrepreneurs. Announced on November 2, 2022, the institute is housed in a former Paychex facility in Brighton and fully funded by Golisano to deliver a two-year professional certificate program as a cost-effective substitute for traditional four-year business degrees.[93][94][95]
The curriculum targets non-traditional students, including high-achieving high school graduates from underserved backgrounds and young professionals seeking practical skills without extended credentialism. Core modules cover entrepreneurship, sales and marketing, economics, accounting and finance, analytics and coding, career development, and business law, delivered in an intensive format across eight quarters with hands-on simulations drawn from real-world business operations akin to those at Paychex. This structure prioritizes grit, market-driven decision-making, and direct applicability over abstract theory, aiming to equip participants with the tools to launch ventures or excel in competitive roles.[96][97][98]
Annual tuition stands at $8,900, making it accessible compared to conventional programs, with enrollment initially at around 50 students in the fall 2023 cohort and total active students reaching approximately 60 by mid-2024. The institute's model addresses gaps in higher education by focusing on profit-oriented action and self-reliance, fostering outcomes like immediate business launches rather than deferred academic pursuits.[99][100]
In August 2025, the institute graduated its first cohort of 23 students from the two-year program, with many citing intentions to start companies, develop products, and drive economic impact through applied entrepreneurial skills. Early indicators show elevated startup ambitions among alumni, aligning with Golisano's vision of producing leaders unburdened by the inefficiencies of theory-heavy academia.[101][102][103]
Support for Vocational and Autism-Focused Programs
In 2017, Golisano issued a $2.5 million challenge grant that catalyzed the construction of the Golisano Autism Center in Rochester, New York, a 30,500-square-foot facility opened in 2018 to consolidate services for autistic individuals across the lifespan.[104] The center hosts partner organizations delivering vocational programs geared toward employment readiness, including assessments, skill-building workshops, self-advocacy training, work-based learning experiences, internships, and job coaching tailored to competitive community roles.[105] These efforts prioritize practical independence for adults with autism, countering low baseline employment rates—often below 20% full-time nationally—by fostering direct employer connections and on-site assistive technology support rather than indefinite dependency on public assistance.[105]
Partner entities like AutismUp and Rochester Rehabilitation, operating within the center, provide personalized job exploration and placement services, emphasizing sustained retention through follow-up supervision and accommodations.[106] Similarly, the Tom Golisano Center for Autism at Springbrook in upstate New York integrates applied behavior analysis with vocational bridging programs to equip students for community employment, using data-driven methods to address behavioral barriers to workplace success.[107] Golisano's funding model supports scalable interventions proven to elevate outcomes, such as Project SEARCH implementations in the region, which report 68% transition-to-employment rates exceeding national disability averages.[108]
This vocational focus aligns with Golisano's broader philanthropy, which views skill acquisition and job attainment as core to empowerment for those with disabilities, drawing on evidence that targeted training yields measurable gains in self-sufficiency over paternalistic aid models.[107] By September 2024, Golisano's cumulative commitments, including to autism infrastructure, had surpassed hundreds of millions, enabling evidence-based expansions that challenge presumptions of lifelong unemployability among autistic adults.[85]
Publications and Thought Leadership
Built Not Born: Key Themes and Insights
Built, Not Born, published on February 11, 2020, by HarperCollins Leadership, presents Golisano's thesis that entrepreneurial success is achieved through deliberate habits, informed decisions, and persistent effort rather than innate talent or privilege.[109] Drawing from his experience founding Paychex in 1979 with $3,000 and scaling it to a multibillion-dollar enterprise, Golisano argues that anyone with the right mindset can build a thriving business by assessing personal risk tolerance, challenging market assumptions, and prioritizing practical execution over theoretical ideals.[110] The book serves as a no-nonsense manual, emphasizing that entrepreneurship demands self-reflection on motives and abilities before committing resources, underscoring that success is constructed via learned skills and resilience amid setbacks.[111]
Central themes include frugality and operational pragmatism, where Golisano advocates meticulous financial discipline—such as "doing the math" on every venture to avoid overextension—and integrity in dealings to foster long-term trust.[112] Customer focus emerges as a cornerstone, with lessons on deeply understanding client needs and delivering consistent value, as exemplified by Paychex's growth through tailored payroll services for small businesses overlooked by larger competitors.[111] Resilience is highlighted through anecdotes of overcoming early failures, like initial sales rejections, by persevering with adaptive strategies rather than abandoning pursuits; Golisano stresses recruiting aligned talent and crafting watertight plans to navigate risks systematically.[113]
The book critiques common entrepreneurial pitfalls, such as underestimating operational responsibilities or neglecting market realities, while promoting an entrepreneurial mindset applicable even within corporations—spotting opportunities by questioning status quo offerings.[111] Reception has been positive among business practitioners, with endorsements for its actionable insights derived from Golisano's verifiable track record, including Paychex's public valuation exceeding $40 billion at IPO in 1983 and sustained growth; it became a Wall Street Journal bestseller, valued for distilling merit-based principles over anecdotal inspiration alone.[114] Critics note its anecdotal style but affirm validation through Golisano's outcomes, positioning it as a counter to overly optimistic startup narratives by grounding advice in empirical business metrics.[110]
Personal Life
Family, Marriages, and Children
Golisano has been married four times. His first three marriages ended in divorce, with the second concluding in 2005. He began dating former professional tennis player Monica Seles in 2009, became engaged to her on June 5, 2014, and married her thereafter.[115][116]
He has two children from prior marriages: son Steven Golisano and daughter Cynthia Golisano.[2][117] Steven, aged 59 as of 2024, has a developmental disability and resides in Rochester, New York, where he works in a sheltered workshop.[118] Golisano has described how raising his son instilled a commitment to promoting independence for individuals with disabilities, rather than dependency, shaping his views on personal responsibility in family upbringing.[73]
Golisano maintains a low public profile regarding his family, limiting disclosures to essential details and eschewing media sensationalism.[2]
Residences, Tax Strategies, and Lifestyle Choices
In 2009, Golisano relocated his permanent residence from New York to Naples, Florida, primarily to avoid the state's high income taxes, which he estimated would cost him approximately $13,800 per day under the newly imposed "millionaire's tax."[33][119] Florida's absence of a state personal income tax enabled annual savings of around $4 to $5 million for high earners like Golisano, reflecting a broader pattern of wealthy individuals migrating from high-tax jurisdictions like New York to low-tax states such as Florida.[61] This move aligned with Golisano's Naples waterfront estate in the Port Royal neighborhood, a luxurious property spanning over 10,000 square feet on two acres, underscoring his preference for privacy and coastal living post-relocation.[120]
Golisano has actively contested New York property tax assessments on his remaining holdings, exemplifying strategic challenges to perceived overvaluations. In 2018, he withheld $145,000 in taxes on his vacation home on Canandaigua Lake in South Bristol, New York, arguing that pervasive goose droppings rendered the lawn unusable and diminished the property's value by preventing family and pet access to the yard.[121][122] Although his grievance appeal was denied by local assessors, who maintained the original valuation, the effort highlighted Golisano's launch of the "Tax My Property Fairly" campaign earlier that year, aimed at educating Upstate New York homeowners on contesting inequitable assessments amid statewide averages where 29% of Monroe County properties were overtaxed relative to market values.[123][124]
Golisano's tax strategies stem from a view that excessive taxation undermines economic productivity and incentivizes capital flight, as evidenced by New York's net loss of over 1 million residents to lower-tax states like Florida between 2010 and 2020, correlating with the Empire State's stagnant growth compared to Florida's population and job expansion.[33][62] He has criticized New York policies, such as the 2009 tax hikes enacted during a recession, for lacking fiscal restraint and driving productive individuals away without commensurate improvements in public services.[125] Media outlets have portrayed these actions as tax avoidance, yet Golisano maintains they represent rational responses to inefficient systems where high rates often fund bureaucratic waste rather than core infrastructure or education.[126]
Despite his Florida residency, Golisano sustains significant ties to New York through ongoing investments, demonstrating that tax minimization does not sever regional commitments. In October 2025, he acquired the former Buffalo News buildings in downtown Buffalo for $10 million to expand the Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship, and earlier that year donated $50 million to rename the region's children's hospital after himself, reinforcing his philanthropy in Western New York.[127][128] These choices reflect a lifestyle balancing fiscal prudence with selective regional reinvestment, prioritizing self-reliance over state dependency.
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