Best Buy founder Richard M. Schulze was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1941, lived in the Twin Cities until 2006, and over the years, has contributed a great deal to Minnesota.

Dick's story is truly the stuff of the American dream. From a modest background, he built a business of international scope through years of hard work, combined with great passion for the retail industry, persistence through a remarkable series of twists and turns, and a strong sense of purpose. Through it all, he adhered to his values of integrity, humility, honesty, and respect - both in his professional career and his personal life.

Dick began his working life at the age of eleven as a paperboy and held a series of jobs through high school. Although he had long dreamed of attending college and had planned to attend The College of St. Thomas, military service in the Minnesota Air National Guard put him on a different path. (Dick now holds honorary doctorates from the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota.)

After working with his father as a manufacturer's representative for electronics components for several years, Dick founded his own company, The Sound of Music, in 1966. It offered audio components, sheet music, records and tapes, as well as musical instruments, and had expanded to nine stores in Minnesota by 1983. In the early 1980s, the consumer electronics business was changing rapidly, as was the retailing industry, with the rise of big box retailers and everyday-low-price chains. Seeing that the small music outlets could not survive as they were, Dick reinvented his business, renamed it Best Buy, adopted a warehouse format, and expanded into many more kinds of consumer products. The company soon went public and a period of remarkable growth began. In 1989, Best Buy pioneered a new retailing concept by putting all inventory onto the shelves for customers to see and evaluate, rather than in the back room, and by rethinking the role of the store employees as non-commissioned advisors, rather than as commissioned salespeople. Since then, Best Buy has continued to grow while constantly transforming itself and improving its operations, always with the goal of serving the customer better. Dick served as CEO until June of 2002, when he became chair of the board. Today, Best Buy operates more than 1300 stores in 14 countries and employs more than 165,000 people worldwide.

Although now Dick is a resident of Florida, he gives back to Minnesota among his other interests. He helped to establish the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He serves on the Board of Trustees of UST and is Chairman of the Opus College of Business in Minneapolis.

In addition to his business and academic interests, Dick has long been an active and committed philanthropist and has worked closely with a number of civic endeavors. With his late wife Sandra, he supported many organizations over the years, with a particular focus on activities related to health care, education and family. In addition to his work with the University of St. Thomas, Dick has been involved with the Mayo Clinic and the United Way. Propelled by concern for the welfare of one of his children who lives with type one diabetes, Dick has worked with The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and has been instrumental in supporting and helping to develop a comprehensive program with the University of Minnesota, whose goal is to eradicate the disease. After Dick's wife Sandra passed away from a rare cancer in 2001, Schulze helped to expand the American Cancer Societyt Hope Lodge in Rochester, MN and build one in Minneapolis, MN. The Hope Lodges are free home away from home lodging located near medical institutions for individuals and their caregivers undergoing cancer treatment.

The Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation was established in 2004 to fulfill the Schulzes' desire to extend the reach of their charitable work. The Foundation supports organizations that improve the lives of families and children in the areas of K-5 education, social services, medical-related social human services and camps.