In 1967, Shahid “Shad” Khan stepped into a historic Midwest blizzard with melting shoes and only $500 to his name. Today, the Pakistan-born immigrant is a billionaire auto-parts magnate and one of the first immigrant owners of an NFL franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
How did a college student washing dishes to survive manage to build a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing empire? In this exclusive Forbes profile, Khan opens up about his incredible journey and the resilience required to achieve the American Dream. He shares the early hurdles of trying to find a job without a green card, the sobering realities of post-9/11 discrimination, and the surprising reason why he still carries his passport to the grocery store today.
0:00 A $500 Start In The Snow
2:34 The Green Card Dilemma & Bumper Works
05:25 The New Face of Manufacturing
10:56 Burden Of The Immigrant Experience
12:12 The Current State Of The American Dream
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/giacomotognini/2026/06/09/america-doesnt-work-without-immigrants-heres-why/
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