You’ve probably seen the massive, warehouse-style buildings with the white-and-orange script across the front. Inside, it’s a sensory overload of silk flowers, scrapbooking paper, and model trains. But the story behind the owner of Hobby Lobby is way more intense than a simple retail success story. It’s not just about selling yarn. It’s about a family that has basically turned a craft store into one of the most influential—and controversial—private entities in American history.
David Green is the man who started it all. He didn't come from money. Far from it. He grew up in a family of preachers, and that religious DNA is literally baked into the foundation of the company.
It’s wild to think that this $15 billion empire started in a garage with a $600 loan. That was back in 1970. David and his wife, Barbara, began making miniature picture frames. Fast forward to today, and Hobby Lobby operates over 1,000 stores across the United States. They aren't public. They don't have shareholders to answer to. This gives the Green family an incredible amount of freedom to run the business exactly how they want, which, as we've seen in the news over the last decade, often leads them straight to the Supreme Court.
The Man at the Top: David Green’s Philosophy
David Green isn't your typical CEO who spends his time obsessing over quarterly earnings calls. Well, he cares about the money—you don't get this big without being a shark—but he views the profit as a means to an end. He’s famously stated that he considers God the "true owner" of the company.
This isn't just corporate fluff.
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The company is closed on Sundays. Always. Even though that costs them hundreds of millions in potential annual revenue, the owner of Hobby Lobby refuses to budge on it. They want their employees to have a day for "family and worship." It's a throwback to a different era of American business. Honestly, it’s kind of a flex in a world where everything is open 24/7.
Green’s leadership style is heavily influenced by his Pentecostal upbringing. His father was a pastor who struggled financially, and David has often mentioned that his "calling" was through business rather than the pulpit. But the pulpit followed him into the boardroom. The company reportedly gives away 50% of its pretax profits to various evangelical causes and ministries. We're talking billions of dollars over the decades. This makes Green one of the most prolific philanthropists in the religious world, though much of that giving is handled through the Green Family Trust and isn't always publicized.
The Next Generation: Mart and Steve Green
While David is the founder, his children have taken on massive roles that have expanded the family's reach way beyond retail aisles.
Steve Green, the company’s president, is perhaps the most visible family member today. He was the driving force behind the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. This is a massive, $500 million project that sits just blocks from the National Mall. It’s a 430,000-square-foot monument to the impact of the Bible on history.
But it hasn't been smooth sailing for Steve.
The museum and the family faced a major scandal involving the "Hobby Lobby Smuggling Case." Basically, between 2010 and 2011, the company purchased thousands of ancient clay tablets and cylinder seals from dealers in the United Arab Emirates and Israel. These artifacts were destined for the Museum of the Bible. The problem? They were smuggled out of Iraq. Federal prosecutors stepped in, and in 2017, Hobby Lobby had to pay a $3 million fine and forfeit the artifacts. Steve Green later admitted they should have been more careful with the provenance of the items. It was a massive PR nightmare that painted the owner of Hobby Lobby as a group that let their zeal for collecting biblical history outpace federal law.
The Supreme Court Battles
You can’t talk about the owner of Hobby Lobby without talking about Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. This was a landmark 2014 case that changed the landscape of corporate rights in America.
The issue was simple: The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) required companies to provide health insurance that covered certain types of contraception. The Greens objected. They argued that providing emergency contraceptives (like Plan B) violated their religious beliefs because they viewed those methods as forms of abortion.
Critics were furious. They argued that a for-profit corporation shouldn't be able to "impose" the religious beliefs of its owners on its thousands of diverse employees.
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, sided with the Greens.
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The court ruled that "closely held" for-profit corporations have religious rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It was a historic win for the family and a major blow for reproductive rights advocates. It basically established that a company’s owners can refuse to follow certain laws if those laws clash with their sincerely held religious beliefs. This case cemented the Green family as the face of the religious right’s fight against government mandates.
Wage Hikes and Employee Treatment
Despite the legal battles over healthcare, Hobby Lobby is known for paying significantly higher than the federal minimum wage.
As of late 2023 and into 2024, the company set its minimum wage for full-time employees at $18.50 per hour. They were one of the first major retailers to push their base pay up long before it became a popular political talking point. This creates a weird paradox for onlookers. On one hand, you have a company that fought to limit certain healthcare benefits; on the other, you have a company that pays its workers significantly more than competitors like Michaels or Joann.
David Green often points to this as "doing the right thing" by his staff. They also offer a 401(k) with a decent match and health insurance (minus the contested contraceptives). It’s a paternalistic model of business. They take care of you, but they do it on their terms, filtered through their worldview.
The Pandemic Controversy
The year 2020 was a mess for everyone, but the owner of Hobby Lobby found himself in hot water again during the early lockdowns.
While most non-essential retailers were closing their doors, David Green reportedly sent a memo to employees saying that his wife, Barbara, had received a "word from God" that they should keep the stores open. He suggested that "God's in control" and that the company would survive the coming hardship.
This didn't go over well with local governments or health officials.
In states like Ohio, Michigan, and Colorado, authorities had to step in and demand the stores close to comply with stay-at-home orders. The company eventually relented and closed the stores, temporarily furloughing nearly all of its employees while continuing to provide medical benefits. Still, the initial resistance to the lockdowns reinforced the image of the Greens as being somewhat "above" secular regulations when they felt their mission was being hindered.
The Scale of the Wealth
How much is the owner of Hobby Lobby actually worth?
Forbes currently estimates David Green’s net worth at around $15 billion. That puts him among the 100 wealthiest people in the United States. But unlike a Jeff Bezos or an Elon Musk, Green has no interest in space travel or buying social media platforms. He’s been very vocal about "giving it all away."
In 2022, Green wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal titled, "I’m Choosing God Over My Fortune." He announced that he had moved his ownership of Hobby Lobby into a trust. This wasn't a "retirement" in the traditional sense, but rather a way to ensure the company remains privately held and mission-driven long after he’s gone. He wants to avoid the "curse" of family wealth that often destroys the third or fourth generation of a business.
The trust ensures that the company cannot be sold for a quick profit and that the majority of the earnings will continue to fund ministry work.
Realities of the Hobby Lobby Supply Chain
There is a common criticism often leveled at the owner of Hobby Lobby. If the company is so intensely focused on Christian values, why are so many of its products made in China?
It’s a valid point.
China has a well-documented history of religious persecution and human rights issues. Critics argue there is a massive hypocrisy in a company that fights for religious freedom in the U.S. while profiting from a manufacturing base in a country that suppresses it.
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The company hasn't really offered a deep philosophical answer for this. The reality is purely economic. To maintain the scale and the "everyday low prices" that allow Hobby Lobby to compete with Amazon and Walmart, they rely on the same global supply chains as everyone else. It’s one of the few areas where the company’s religious idealism takes a backseat to the cold, hard realities of global retail logistics.
Why People Keep Shopping There
Despite the boycotts and the headlines, Hobby Lobby’s revenue keeps climbing. Why?
- Niche Dominance: They carry things you simply can't find easily elsewhere. If you need a very specific type of gold-leaf gilding or a specific scale of model train scenery, they have it.
- The "Vibe": For a certain demographic, especially in the Midwest and South, Hobby Lobby is a safe, "family-friendly" environment. No "offensive" music, no "secular" holiday displays that they disagree with.
- Price Point: They are master discounters. The "40% off one item" coupon was a legend for years (though they eventually phased it out in favor of rotating store-wide sales).
What the Future Holds
David Green is in his 80s now. The transition of power to Steve and the rest of the family is already mostly complete. The owner of Hobby Lobby is no longer just a person; it's a massive, institutionalized force in American culture.
The Green family has shown they are willing to spend whatever it takes to defend their worldview. Whether it’s buying up land for Christian colleges (like they did with the former Northfield Mount Hermon campus) or funding the "He Gets Us" Super Bowl ads, their influence is expanding.
The "He Gets Us" campaign, which features artistic ads about Jesus, has been linked to the Green family’s funding. It’s a massive attempt to rebrand Christianity for a younger, more skeptical generation. It shows that the family is pivoting. They aren't just fighting court cases anymore; they are trying to win a culture war through high-end marketing.
Actionable Insights for Consumers and Observers
If you are looking to understand the impact of the owner of Hobby Lobby or how to navigate your relationship with the brand, consider these points:
- Check the Calendar: If you’re a crafter, remember the Sunday rule. It sounds simple, but thousands of people show up to locked doors every week because they forget the company’s "day of rest" policy.
- Evaluate Corporate Ethics: If you are a conscious consumer, you have to weigh the high wages they pay their staff against their stances on reproductive healthcare and their sourcing from China. There isn't a "right" answer, but the data is there.
- Watch the Courts: The legal precedents set by Hobby Lobby are still being used today. If you are interested in the intersection of business and law, keep an eye on cases citing the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act." The Green family essentially wrote the playbook for how private companies can challenge federal mandates.
- Artifact Provenance: For history buffs visiting the Museum of the Bible, it’s worth researching which items are on loan and which have been returned. The museum has worked hard to clean up its act, but the history of the collection remains a fascinating study in the ethics of antiquities.
The Green family has proven that you can be a retail titan and a religious firebrand at the same time. Love them or hate them, they've changed the way we think about the "rights" of a business. They aren't just selling picture frames; they are selling a specific vision of America, one glittery glue gun at a time.