Forrest Preston

Forrest Lee Preston was born and grew up in Massachusetts, the son of a Seventh-day Adventist pastor father,[3][4] Benjamin M. Preston and his wife Ethel Preston.[5] His father died in 1994, and Preston endowed the Benjamin M. Preston scholarship at Atlantic Union College, of which his father was an alumnus.[6]

He was educated at Walla Walla College and Oregon State University.[2] His original intent was to become a medical doctor, and he became a certified X-Ray technician.[7]

Preston moved to Cleveland, Tennessee, in the late 1950s a few years after his brother Winton Russell Preston, who had come to study at Southern Missionary College in nearby Collegedale.[5][7]

Together with his brother Winton, he co-founded a company called Hospital Publications to create patient booklets and public relations materials for hospitals, and the company operated until 1972.[5] The idea had come from his work in hospitals, where he concluded that there was a need for better public relations in the healthcare system. Through this business, he observed the conditions of elderly patients in hospitals, and concluded that there was a need for better long term care.[7]

In 1970, Preston founded Life Care Centers of America in Cleveland, and is the sole owner, chairman and CEO.[8] It later grew to be the largest privately owned long term care facility chain and the third largest privately owned long-term care facility in the United States.[3]

As of September 2015, he had an estimated net worth of US$2.1 billion.[2]

Preston was married to Kathleen Marchant (1936-2017) until her death.[9] He lives in Cleveland.[2] His residence is located near the residence of fellow businessman Allan Jones.[3][1] He is of the Baptist faith, and attends First Baptist Church in Cleveland.[9]