Bradley 'Brad' S. Jacobs is an American serial entrepreneur, businessman, and the founder of multiple billion-dollar companies across diverse sectors, including oil, waste management, and logistics. His intellectual foundation was highly commercial. He attended Wesleyan University and later gained pivotal early experience in the commodity trading world.

His career began in 1979 when he co-founded Amerex Oil Associates, an oil brokerage firm, serving as its CEO until it was sold in 1983. This early success in commodity trading provided the initial capital and the intense, high-stakes experience of arbitrage and financial engineering that would define his later career. In 1984, he moved to London, founding Hamilton Resources, where he conducted oil trading deals and found an influential mentor in commodity legend Ludwig Jesselson.

Brad Jacobs is famous for his 'roll-up' strategy: acquiring numerous smaller companies in a fragmented industry and integrating them into a massive, technologically advanced, and publicly traded giant. His career is marked by three multi-billion dollar success stories across two decades. 1989: United Waste Systems. He consolidated the waste management industry. 1997: United Rentals. He consolidated the equipment rental industry, taking it public in 1997.

2011: XPO Logistics. His greatest triumph in logistics. Jacobs acquired what was a small, struggling transportation company and transformed it into a global, technology-driven logistics giant through a massive acquisition spree, completing over 19 acquisitions in just four years. Later, he spun off XPO’s contract logistics business as GXO Logistics and its brokered truckload business as RXO, generating immense shareholder value. His model is built on acquiring underpriced assets and using technology ('Cobots' and AI platforms like XPO Connect) to drive speed and efficiency across the supply chain, cementing his status as a master acquisition architect.

Brad Jacobs's social impact is structural, stemming from the transformation and professionalization of the fragmented logistics and equipment rental industries. His creation of large, stable, technologically advanced companies provides thousands of high-value jobs globally.

His strategic advocacy emphasizes the importance of technology and collaborative AI ('Cobots') in the future of the supply chain, focusing on efficiency and innovation. His philanthropy often supports educational and economic initiatives, leveraging his wealth and expertise to improve business practices and governance in the industrial sector.

Brad Jacobs maintains the sharp, professional, and intense style of a career CEO and master financial engineer. His attire is consistently bespoke, favoring tailored suits and a polished business aesthetic that reflects his financial acumen and high-stakes deal-making. His aesthetic is one of aggressive, focused competence.

His luxury is the autonomy to continually execute complex, multi-billion dollar corporate roll-ups. Residing in Greenwich, Connecticut, his life is defined by a relentless competitive drive and the search for the next fragmented industry to transform with technology and acquisitions. His wealth is a testament to the success of his long-term industrial and logistical vision.