James Gerald Leprino (November 22, 1937 – June 19, 2025) was an American billionaire businessman and the founder and chairman of Leprino Foods, the world’s largest producer of mozzarella cheese, controlling up to 85% of the U.S. pizza cheese market. Born in Denver, Colorado, as the youngest of five children to Italian immigrant parents, Mike Leprino Sr. and Susie Leprino, James grew up in Denver’s Little Italy. His father, who immigrated from Italy in 1914, started Leprino & Sons, a small grocery store in 1950, where the family made handmade ricotta, ravioli, and scamorza cheese.
After graduating high school in 1956, James joined the family business full-time. However, competition from large grocery chains forced the closure of Leprino & Sons in 1958. Observing the growing popularity of pizza in the U.S., James seized the opportunity to pivot the family business toward cheese production for pizzerias. With an initial investment of $615, he founded Leprino Foods in 1958, focusing on mozzarella cheese tailored for the burgeoning pizza industry, coinciding with the rise of chains like Pizza Hut and Little Caesars.
Under James’s leadership, Leprino Foods revolutionized cheese production. The company developed innovative techniques, such as a method to produce low-moisture mozzarella and individually quick-frozen (IQF) cheese, which simplified pizza preparation and reduced costs for chains. By 1968, Leprino Foods began supplying Pizza Hut, introducing a process to deliver pre-shredded, frozen mozzarella, which became an industry standard. The company grew to become the exclusive cheese supplier for major chains like Domino’s, Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and Little Caesars, and also produced dairy ingredients like whey protein and lactose for products such as baby formula and yogurt. Leprino Foods holds over 50 patents, cementing its dominance in the dairy industry.
James served as CEO and chairman of Leprino Foods, transforming it into a global powerhouse with over $3 billion in annual revenue and operations in the U.S., Mexico, and China. The company, headquartered in Denver, employs thousands and operates facilities worldwide, including a state-of-the-art plant in Greeley, Colorado. His innovations, including reducing mozzarella aging from 14 days to four hours and developing preservative mists to prevent crumbling, reshaped the pizza industry. Forbes dubbed him the “Willy Wonka of cheese” in 2017, recognizing his industry dominance and estimated his net worth at $3.1 billion, later reported as $2.1 billion in 2025.
Known for his private nature, James rarely granted interviews and maintained a low profile. He faced legal challenges in 2020 when his nieces, Nancy and Mary Leprino, who held a 25% stake in Leprino Foods, filed a lawsuit alleging unfair treatment as minority shareholders. They claimed James and his daughters, who owned 75% of the company, prioritized their financial interests, notably through a 2017 dividend distribution that paid $400 million to James’s family and $90 million to the nieces. A Colorado judge ruled against dissolving the company but allowed claims of inequitable treatment to proceed. The Colorado Court of Appeals upheld this decision in 2024.
James was a devout Catholic, a philanthropist supporting medical and healthcare advancements, and a mentor within Leprino Foods, fostering a culture of safety and employee recognition. He received the National Cheese Institute’s NCI Laureate Award in 2008 and was inducted into the Cheese Hall of Fame in 2000. He resided in Indian Hills, Colorado, with his wife, Donna, and had two daughters, Gina Vecchiarelli and Terry Leprino. James passed away on June 19, 2025, at age 87, leaving a legacy as a transformative figure in the dairy and pizza industries.
