James Leprino: From Handmade Cheese to Billionaire CEO

James Leprino is the CEO of Leprino Foods, the largest mozzarella producer in the world with a net worth of $3.5 billion dollars. The company sells over 1 billion pounds of cheese per year and controls 85% of the American pizza cheese market.

Leprino’s father founded the company in 1950 as a grocery market selling handmade cheese under the label “Gina Marie”. After the family business was pushed out by larger regional grocery chains, they created Leprino Foods in 1958, shifting their focus entirely to manufacturing cheese for pizza, which had recently taken off as the country’s most popular food.

Leprino Foods hit a stroke of genius in 1968 when they started selling frozen, pre-sliced blocks of cheese to Pizza Hut, reducing costs and producing consistent slices of cheese. Today, the company supplies cheese to multiple companies including Domino’s, Papa John’s, and Pizza Hut, among many other packaged food companies, and is one of the 200 largest private companies in the United States.

James Leprino maintains several residences around the world and owns significant planes, including a Gulfstream G450, a Bombardier jet, and a small commuter plane. He is reportedly a devout Catholic.

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