Carter was born into a poor family in Arkansas on July 5, 1933.[1][4] Carter's mother remarried when he was 15.[5] He dropped out of high school and got a job at a gas station that paid enough to keep the car he used for drag racing running.[6]
Carter, along with Norm Sonju, founded an NBA expansion team, the Dallas Mavericks, in 1980.[2] When Sonju had difficulty securing the funds needed for the US$12 million expansion entry fee, Carter stepped forward to guarantee its payment.[9] This initial investment in the team (US$44.4 million in today's terms) eventually earned him US$125 million (US$243 million in today's terms) when he sold the team in 1996 to an investment group led by Ross Perot Jr.[10][11]
Over the years, Carter owned many different types of businesses, including a Rolls-Royce dealership.[12] Other businesses include banks, trucking firms, hotels, rodeo arenas, and cattle ranches. In the 2011 championship win by the Dallas Mavericks over the Miami Heat he was given the honor of receiving the Larry O'Brien trophybyMark Cuban as the first owner. He retained a minority stake in the Mavericks (4% at the time of his death) and frequently attended Mavericks games until he died in 2018.[13]
Carter had two sons, Donald J. “Joey” Carter, Jr. and Ronald L. Carter, and a daughter, Christi Carter Urschel with his wife of 58 years, Linda Jo.[14][15]
Carter died at his home in Dallas, Texas on February 14, 2018, at the age of 84.[16][17]
^The leadership of Mary C. Crowley: Pioneer female business leader. Carver, Rita M. Dallas Baptist University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2012. 3507449.
