When you think of a used car salesman, you might picture a slick-haired hustler in a cheap suit, desperate to move whatever’s on the lot. What you probably don’t picture is Arizona’s richest man.
On Tuesday, Forbes magazine announced its list of the 400 richest people in America. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg topped the list. An Arizona resident ranks in the top 50.
Ranked 42nd is 68-year-old Ernest Garcia II of Tempe. Garcia II is the owner of DriveTime, an online and in-person used-car retailer with dozens of dealerships across the country, including several locations throughout the Valley. Garcia II is also the largest shareholder of Carvana, which was founded in 2012 by his son, Ernest Garcia III. The Tempe-based online car retailer’s nine-story car vending machine is a staple of the Loop 202…