Born in Nixa, Missouri, in 1942, William F. “Bill” Austin is a self-made American billionaire and the founder of Starkey Hearing Technologies, a global leader in hearing solutions. His early life was characterized by working-class roots; his father was a lumber trader, and his mother worked in a factory. To supplement the family’s income, Bill and his mother would pick blackberries and harvest foxgloves for medicinal purposes—early exposure to a commitment to health.

Austin enrolled in a pre-medical program at the University of Minnesota, but his career path changed when he took a part-time job making ear molds for a hearing aid dealer. He quickly realized that the medical community was largely overlooking the field of hearing loss, which he saw as “a disability that can be fixed.” Recognizing an area with massive growth potential and sensing he could help more people through business than medicine, he discontinued his medical studies to pursue hearing aid technology.

Bill Austin’s entrepreneurial journey is a decades-long commitment to innovation and customer service in auditory health. He initially started a repair company, Professional Hearing Aid Service, operating from his home basement, and pioneered the guarantee of repair for all makes and models at fixed rates—a revolutionary concept at the time. In 1970, Austin purchased a small earmold company, Starkey Laboratories, for just $13,000, consolidating his businesses under the Starkey name.

His major achievement was in technological innovation: he is credited with developing the first in-the-ear hearing aids (initially out of metal, then plastic) in the 1980s. This innovation, coupled with a commitment to patient satisfaction (offering a 90-day full-refund guarantee), propelled Starkey to become the largest supplier of hearing solutions in the U.S., with operations in 26 countries. His career is uniquely driven by a personal conviction, formed while lying in bed, that his “calling is to help disadvantaged people hear.”

Bill Austin is a world-renowned philanthropist whose charitable work is integrated directly into his business mission. He founded the Starkey Hearing Foundation in 1973 with the simple mission to help poor Americans with hearing problems (initially funded by a battery-recycling program). His philanthropy quickly went global.

The Foundation now delivers more than 50,000 free hearing aids each year—many to children—through global mission trips to developing countries. Austin often accompanies these missions himself. His structural social contribution is his lifelong commitment to the principle that “Hearing should be a birthright,” ensuring that his technological advances are shared with as many people as possible, regardless of their ability to pay.

Bill Austin maintains the humble, purpose-driven style of a self-made American industrialist with a deep philanthropic mission. His attire is consistently professional and conservative, often favoring tailored suits, but always with an air of approachability that suits his humanitarian work. His aesthetic is one of quiet conviction and sincerity.

Residing in Minnesota, his luxury is the autonomy of sole ownership of his multi-billion dollar company, which allows him to dedicate his time and resources to his foundation. His life is defined by his “calling to help disadvantaged people hear,” a mission that has taken him on countless global trips and transformed his wealth into a powerful instrument of social good.