Dave Gold Founder Of ’99 Cents Only Store’ Dies At 80

Dave Gold, the founder of the “99 Cents Only Stores” more than three decades ago who saw it expand into a billion-dollar empire, has died. He was 80.

Gold died Monday of an apparent attack at his Los Angeles home, his son, Jeff Gold, told the Los Angeles Times in a story published Saturday.

One day in 1982 while driving with a friend, he started up yet again about his dream.

The friend exploded: “I’m sick and tired of you talking about it! Look, there’s a store for rent right now. Why don’t you grab it?”

He forced Gold to pull over. Gold signed a lease agreement that day.

“Usually, when you have a good idea, you see someone else beat you to it within six months,” Gold, 77, told IBD. “I realized it was way past time to finally take action.” source

 
The company was sold in 2011 for about $1.6 billion.

Gold became a multimillionaire but lived modestly. His family said he lived in the same middle-class home for nearly five decades with Sherry, his wife of 55 years, and drove the same Toyota Prius he purchased in 2000.

Besides his wife and children, Gold was survived by five grandchildren.