As Arizona’s largest family-owned and operated homebuilder, it would seem that Ira Fulton was always destined to build homes. Actually he ended up in the homebuilding business by accident!
Ira Fulton has always been a success at whatever he tackled. At age 11, he started a paper route. It grew into a profitable venture that put him through Arizona State College, where he met his wife Mary Lou.
In the 1950’s he held various marketing positions and then launched his first entrepreneurial venture, a computer leasing company that automated several retailing leaders. This experience led him to buy his first retail establishments, two Eagleson’s Big and Tall Stores that expanded into a 35-store chain.
He then bought the Aston Construction company from his nephews, intending to phase it out. The company began to grow, so Mr. Fulton stuck with it. Under his guidance, Fulton Homes has grown from a small construction company to one of the largest, most profitable private homebuilders in the country.
There’s a reason for Ira Fulton’s success. He says, “Give people the best value, customer service and product within the industry, and you will always be the best.” All his business accomplishments aside, he finds the most gratification in “developing people,” not homes.
Fulton Homes donates over 60% of its profits every year to many worthwhile causes around the country. Some of the benefiting recipients of these investment dollars include Arizona State University, Brigham Young University, University of Utah, Huntsman Cancer Institute, as well as numerous local organizations in and around the Phoenix area.
Mr Fulton said, “When you look at history, you realize we are here for just a second, a twinkle of time and you learn we can do things to make the world a better place.”
