Rick Scott

Rick Scott

Richard Lynn Scott (né Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American businessman and politician, serving as the 45th and current Governor of Florida since 2011. He is the United States Senator-elect from Florida. Born in Bloomington, Illinois, Scott is a graduate of the University of Missouri, Kansas City, later receiving his law degree from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law. In 1987, after serving in the United States Navy and becoming a law firm partner, he co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation. Columbia later merged with another corporation to form Columbia/HCA, which eventually became the largest private for-profit health care company in the United States.Scott was pressured to resign as chief executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997. During his tenure as chief executive, the company defrauded Medicare, Medicaid and other federal programs. The Department of Justice ultimately fined the company in what was at the time the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history. Scott was never charged with any crime. Following his departure from Columbia/HCA, Scott became a venture capitalist and pursued other business interests. Scott ran for Governor of Florida in 2010. He defeated Bill McCollum in the vigorously contested Republican primary election, then narrowly defeated Democratic nominee Alex Sink in the general election, spending roughly $75 million of his own money in the process. Scott was re-elected in 2014, defeating former Governor Charlie Crist. Scott was barred by term limits from running for re-election in 2018. On April 9, 2018, Scott announced his candidacy in the 2018 United States Senate election in Florida, vying for the seat held by incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson. A machine recount of the race was completed on November 15 and a manual recount was completed on November 18, confirming Scott's lead. On November 18, Nelson conceded and Scott was declared the winner. Scott will take office on January 8, 2019, when his term as Governor expires.

Update this biography »
Complete biography of Rick Scott »