Pizza Mogul Delivers Message of Faith at JSerra

Faith is more important than money, yachts and luxury cars, the founder of a pizza empire told San Juan Capistrano high school students Thursday.

Tom Monaghan, 74, who in 1960 started what eventually became Domino’s Pizza, spoke at JSerra High about his life, his favorite pizza toppings, his religious beliefs and his decision to give away much of his fortune to Catholic causes.

Starting from a single restaurant, his business has mushroomed into a moneymaking goliath.

In 1998, Monaghan sold his controlling interest in the company for about $1 billion.

The only thing that kept him grounded, he said, was Catholicism, which laid the foundation for various philanthropy efforts, including starting a Catholic college in Florida.

“If it weren’t for my faith, I’d be Hugh Hefner,” Monaghan said.

Pizza past

A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., Monaghan started off small, with a single pizza place in Ypsilanti called DomiNick’sPizza, which he bought with his brother.

Just 23 years old and fresh out of the Marine Corps, Monaghan started the venture with little money and little help, especially after his brother, a postal worker, sold him his share of the business.

“I had to run this place all by myself,” Monaghan said. “I had no idea what I was doing.”

At the time, Monaghan didn’t even have the cash to change the business sign. He made $9 his first day, and $100 the first week.

Later, after the original owner asked Monaghan to come up with a new name, an employee suggested Domino’s, and it seemed perfect.

By then, Monaghan had three pizzerias and decided the logo would depict a domino with three dots – one for each store. Future stores would be represented by additional dots, he figured.

That would be difficult now, 52 years and 9,000 pizzerias later.

A turnaround

Domino’s soon made Monaghan a multimillionaire. He bought his favorite childhood baseball team, the Detroit Tigers. He had a yacht and a few million-dollar cars, including a Bugatti Royale, one of only six in the world.

And he was full of pride.

Until 1989. That's when Monaghan read the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, the Christian author best known for his fantasy series The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Monaghan, who had always hated braggarts and showoffs, suddenly realized he had been a “cosmic showoff,” not using his money to help others.

“That’s not the kind of person I felt I wanted to be.”

So he took a sold the yacht, the luxury cars and the Detroit Tigers, and vowed to donate much of his fortune to Catholic causes.

Since then, he's founded Ave Maria University in Florida, as well as the Thomas Moore Law Center, a conservative law firm.

He also funded construction of a mission in a Honduras mountain town, and financed and supervised the building of a new cathedral in Nicaragua. 

“The most important thing I could do is help people get to heaven,” Monaghan said. “We Catholics have the cure for death. Christ came to redeem us and help us get to heaven.”

Q & A

During his speech, he also answered audience questions.

One woman asked if Monaghan had any advice to budding entrepreneurs.

“The most important thing is to work for yourself,” Monaghan said. “It’s the only way you’re going to be successful.”

“Just have a big idea and be willing to start small,” he said. “Just jump in."

He added, "Sometimes you’ll get in problem spots but you’ll find your way out.

Eric Stroupe, JSerra's principal, said Monaghan’s story was inspirational, especially the way he “dedicated his life to ministry.”

“He had the humility to realize that his pride was getting in the way of really being fulfilled as a human being,” Stroupe said. “It’s something the students needed to hear.”

Monaghan is currently working on another business, a hamburger-delivery venture called Gryeneburger.

Oh, and Monaghan’s favorite pizza toppings?

“Pepperoni, sausage and bacon,” he said, after a student asked.  

“If it doesn’t have pepperoni on, it’s not a pizza,” Monaghan jokingly added, to cheers of the crowd.