Businesspeople from Texas

Emilio Nicolás Sr. (27 October 1930 – 12 October 2019) was an American media executive credited with a major role in creating and developing Spanish-language television stations and networks in the United States. After beginning his career at KCOR-AM and KCOR-TV in San Antonio, TX, Nicolás later took over the struggling TV channel and renamed it KWEX-TV, embarking on a rapid expansion and development which led to the creation of the very first US satellite interconnected television network, which was destined to become Univision.

Peter J. O'Donnell Jr. (April 21, 1924 – October 10, 2021) was an American businessman, securities investor and philanthropist. From 1962 to 1969, he was the Texas Republican state chair. In 1963, he was also the national chair of the Draft Goldwater Committee.

Jack Boynton Strong (February 18, 1930 – July 28, 2015) was an American politician and lawyer.
Born in Carthage, Texas, Strong graduated from Carthage High School. He then went to Lon Morris College. Strong received his bachelor's degree from University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from University of Texas School of Law. Strong then practiced law in Longview, Texas and was in the real estate business. Strong served in the Texas Senate between 1963 and 1971 and was a Democrat He then served on the Texas Board of Education from 1971 to 1979. Strong died in Longview, Texas.

James Earl Mankins Sr. (February 9, 1926 – August 20, 2013) was an American businessman and politician.
Born in Electra, Texas, Mankins served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Mankins owned a trucking business in Kilgore, Texas. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 as a Democrat. Mankins was defeated by Michael W. Martin in the 1980 election cycle. After Martin resigned the District 13 seat, Mankins won a special election to return to the state house. Mankins died in Longview, Texas.Mankins's son and namesake was indicted in 1995, after an investigation into the Kentucky Fried Chicken murders. Charges against Mankins Jr. were dismissed after DNA evidence failed to show that Mankins Jr. was involved in the crime. By a 2003 court order, his indictment was expunged from non-investigatory records of the KFC murders case, although Mankins Jr. remained imprisoned at the time on separate drug charges.

Jim T. Lindsey (February 1, 1926 – April 2, 2013) was an American politician.

Carlos Flores Truan Sr. (June 9, 1935 – April 10, 2012), was an American businessman from Corpus Christi, Texas, who served for thirty-four years as a Democrat in both houses of the Texas Legislature. He was a state representative from 1969 to 1977 and a senator from 1977 until his retirement in 2003.

Lonnie Alfred "Bo" Pilgrim (May 8, 1928 – July 21, 2017) was the co-founder of Pilgrim's Pride, which at one time was one of the largest chicken producers in the United States. Pilgrim founded Pilgrim's Pride when he opened a feed store in 1946 in Pittsburg, Texas, with his older brother, Aubrey. He became the CEO of the company upon the death of his brother Aubrey in 1966, eventually amassing a net worth of $1 billion US.In 1989, when the Texas Senate was debating a bill to make major changes to the state workers' compensation system, Pilgrim handed out $10,000 US checks to nine of the 31 state senators while on the Senate floor two days before the vote. Pilgrim was not a supporter of the bill, and defended his actions by saying the checks were campaign contributions, not an attempt at bribery. The episode led to changes in the state's ethics laws.In addition to his holdings in Pilgrim's Pride, Pilgrim was also a principal shareholder of NETEX Bancorporation, a bank holding company which operated Pilgrim Bank, a bank with branches in Pittsburg and nearby Mount Pleasant.Pilgrim was also a noted philanthropist, giving money to many different charities and community organizations, including Dallas Baptist University to build the Pilgrim Chapel as well as the Patty and Bo Pilgrim Cancer Center in Mount Pleasant.Pilgrim gave the maximum amount allowed by law to Jeb Bush's 2016 Presidential Campaign. He was a frequent contributor to conservative politicians. For several consecutive years he would donate $25,000 to the NRCC.
Pilgrim died on July 21, 2017, in Pittsburg, Texas. He was 89 years old.

Shearn Moody Jr. (May 23, 1933 – June 25, 1996) was an American financier, entrepreneur, and philanthropist from Galveston, Texas. He was heir to a financial empire as well as a convicted felon and originator of the Moody Gardens resort complex.
Moody was also the grandson of insurance and financial tycoon William Lewis Moody Jr.

Burton Edward Grossman (February 15, 1918 – November 12, 1999) was an American-Mexican international businessman, health and education promoter, who served as chairman and CEO of Grupo Continental, a holding company established in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, that owns and operates 46 corporations dealing with soft drinks, sugar refining, mineral water, cooling systems, plastics, and mainly bottling factories for The Coca-Cola Company in Mexico.

Harold Clark Simmons (May 13, 1931 – December 29, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist whose banking expertise helped him develop the acquisition concept known as the leveraged buyout (LBO) to acquire various corporations. He was the owner of Contran Corporation and of Valhi, Inc., (a NYSE traded company about 90% controlled by Contran). As of 2006, he controlled five public companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange: NL Industries; Titanium Metals Corporation, the world's largest producer of titanium; Valhi, Inc., a multinational company with operations in the chemicals, component products, Waste Control Specialists (waste management), titanium metals industries; CompX International, manufacturer of ergonomic products, and Kronos Worldwide, leading producer and marketer of titanium dioxide.