The Founder of Little Caesars Paid Rosa Parks’ Rent for Years
There are all kinds of heroes in the world. While simply being the owner of a pizza restaurant chain should make anyone hero enough, the founder of Little Caesars pizza, who passed away last week, spent his life doing more for those around him than anyone really knew. And we’re not talking about creating pizza engagement rings here, either. This is some true next-level hero stuff.
Mike Ilitch, who founded Little Caesars and owned the Detroit Tigers, spent his life investing in Detroit. What many people didn’t know about him, however, is that he also very quietly paid for a riverside apartment for the civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
According to reports, when Parks was 81, she was robbed in her home in a more dangerous neighborhood in Detroit. When Ilitch heard about this, the business leader and his wife helped Parks find an apartment in a safer community and they continued to pay for Parks rent until she died in 2005.
This is what it means to be supportive of people. Mike Ilitch’s desire to help without recognition, to simply do something for good, is an inspiring reminder that we can all do good things without expecting anything in return.
Have you ever supported an organization or person? Tell us about it @BritandCo!
(h/t CNN; photos via Mark Cunningham, William Philpot + Universal Images Group/Getty)
