E rnest Garcia II is an American billionaire who made his first fortune in real estate and is best known as the founder and largest shareholder of DriveTime Automotive, one of the largest used car retailers and subprime auto lenders in the United States. His career has been marked by both immense success and significant controversy, including a felony fraud conviction related to the Lincoln Savings and Loan scandal in the 1990s.

After serving his sentence, he acquired a bankrupt rent-a-car company and rebranded it as DriveTime, focusing on the lucrative but risky market of selling and financing used cars to customers with poor credit. He is also the father of Ernest Garcia III, the co-founder and CEO of the online used car retailer Carvana. Garcia II was the key early investor and financial backer of Carvana, and his stake in that company, combined with his ownership of DriveTime, is the source of his multi-billion dollar fortune.