Stars And CEOs Who Didn’t Succeed Until 45+

Donald Fisher

Donald George Fisher was an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded The Gap clothing stores with his wife Doris F. Fisher. In the 1960s, Fisher started leasing some retail space to Levi Strauss & Co. which opened a showroom. Fisher’s start in retail began after a frustrating experience trying to return a pair of Levi’s jeans that did not fit. He noticed that most department stores only carried a limited selection of Levi’s jeans and those circumstances were not accommodating. Fisher and his wife opened their first store named the Gap after the “Generation Gap.”

When Donald Fisher and his wife opened The Gap, he was 40 and had no experience in retail. The first Gap store opened in San Francisco in 1969 and the Gap’s clothes quickly became fashionable. Today, the company is one of the world’s largest clothing chains.