John Ruan, Iowa Transportation Magnate, Well-Known Philanthropist, Dies at Age 96

This story appears in the Feb. 22 print edition of Transport Topics.

John Ruan, who — beginning with one used dump truck — launched a trucking, financial, real estate and philanthropic empire during the Great Depression, died Feb. 13. He was 96.

Ruan died at his home in Des Moines, Iowa, according to a statement from Ruan Transportation Management Systems, one of the nation’s largest transportation firms and No. 31 on Transport Topics’ 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

As a young man, Ruan was interested in following his physician father into medicine but dropped out of college after the elder Ruan lost his money in the stock market crash of 1929 and died two years later.

Ruan subsequently traded one of the family cars for a dump truck and began hauling gravel for a local road builder. Within a year, the young entrepreneur owned three trucks and was hauling coal, according to a statement from the Ruan transportation company.

“A natural businessman and a dedicated philanthropist, Mr. Ruan is a model for all of us in the trucking industry, or any industry. He was an inspiration,” said Bill Graves, president of American Trucking Associations.

From his one dump truck, Ruan moved on to freight hauling and by the end of the 1950s had become the nation’s largest hauler of petroleum products.

The trucking firm’s statement also said Ruan acquired a taxi service and the Avis Rent A Car franchise in Des Moines before purchasing the majority interest in Bankers Trust Co. there. He later became the bank’s sole shareholder.

One of the most influential leaders in the revitalization of downtown Des Moines during the 1970s and 1980s, Ruan also was in the import-export business and owned the Marriott Hotel and an office complex in the city.

In 2000, former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray dubbed Ruan the “father of the renaissance of Des Moines,” the Des Moines Register reported.

Known for his bow ties, short-sleeved white shirts and a work ethic by which he was at his desk every day, the trucking pioneer became one of Iowa’s wealthiest, most powerful businessmen and civic leaders.

“He was a really amazing guy,” said trucking consultant Lana Batts, managing partner at Transport Capital Partners in Arlington, Va.

“If I ever came to work early, and the phone rang at 7:30 a.m., I could bet it was Mr. Ruan calling,” said Batts. “He said he always went to work on Sunday morning because no one ever died at their desk on Sunday morning,” she added.

In recognition of his service to the trucking industry, American Trucking Associations dedicated its Capitol Hill offices to Ruan in 1997.

ATA’s Graves said Ruan was a “giant” in the trucking industry and in Iowa who was “a force for good the world over with his dedication to expanding food supplies across the globe.”

Of the many philanthropic efforts Ruan spearheaded, one of his favorites was the World Food Prize, an annual award that recognizes those who contribute to the availability of food supplies around the world.

Ruan’s other philanthropic priority was multiple sclerosis research. His wife of 63 years, Elizabeth — known as “Betty” — survives him and suffers from the disease.

Their daughter, Elizabeth Jane Ruan Fletcher, also was stricken with MS and died in 1992 at age 44 from complications of the disease, the Des Moines Register reported.

In addition to his wife, Ruan is survived by two sons, John III and Thomas, and by six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Donations in Ruan’s memory may be made to the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines, and condolences may be sent to Ruan Transport Corp., the family trucking firm, also in Des Moines.