Billionaire passes on

Cargill MacMillan Jr., secretive heir to the Cargill family fortune, passed away Monday at age 84, according to the Palm Spring Arts Museum, where MacMillan was a long-time benefactor. Although the cause of death is unknown at this time, he was in declining health.

MacMillan was the great-grandson of W.W. Cargill, who founded Cargill Inc. back in 1865 as a small grain storage company. Today the agro-giant is the largest private company in the world, with nearly $120 billion in revenue and 130,000 employees in 63 countries.

The extended Cargill family still owns 88% of the company, but the wealth has passed down through multiple generations. Cargill MacMillan Jr., who was a longtime board member, controlled about one-ninth of the family share, worth $2.6 billion, placing him 150th on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans.

His brother, Whitney MacMillan, was the last member of the family to serve as Cargill’s chief executive, stepping down in 1995. You can view a family tree of the reclusive Cargill family here.

Cargill MacMillan Jr. was a Yale alumnus, class of 1950, and a resident of Indian Wells, Ca. He moved there from Minnesota in 1990, according to the Desert Sun newspaper.

The Palm Springs Art Museum noted that MacMillan has provided both financial support and a number of works of art to the museum over the years. Because of his generosity, the museum named a gallery after the MacMillans in 2009.

“We are saddened by the loss of Cargill MacMillan,” said Harold J. Meyerman, chairman of the museum’s board of trustees.  “I have known Mac for more than 30 years and will always be extremely grateful for his unwavering generosity and support of the museum. Mac’s unparalleled philanthropic support of some of our most important events enabled the museum to fulfill a vital educational and cultural role in the community.”

Like the company that bears its name, the family is famously private. MacMillan is survived by his wife Donna and four children.