COLORADO BUSINESS HALL OF FAME
  • Laureates By Name
  • Laureates by Year
    • 2025
  • Supporters
  • Junior Achievement
  • PBS Specials
  • Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
  • Nomination Form
  • Laureates By Name
  • Laureates by Year
    • 2025
  • Supporters
  • Junior Achievement
  • PBS Specials
  • Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce
  • Nomination Form

Charles Cassius Gates

Charles Cassius Gates arrived in Colorado after receiving his engineer of mines degree from Michigan College of Mines and Technology in 1904. He purchased the Colorado Tire and Leather Company in Denver in 1911 for $3,500. In 1918, it was renamed The Gates Rubber Company. He expanded the growth across the United States, into Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and Toluca, Mexico. It became one of the world's largest family-owned manufacturing enterprises.

In 1920, he was elected president of the Denver Manufacturers' Association. He was an inventor and held numerous patents. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Michigan Tech. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree by the University of Denver. He was inducted into the Colorado Business Hall of Fame. In 1961, the year of his death, sales totaled $140 million.

​Mr. Gates, together with his wife, Hazel R. Gates, and his brother, John G. Gates, founded the Gates Foundation, which was incorporated in the State of Colorado on November 6, 1946. His philanthropic commitment and goal was to enhance the lives of Colorado citizens. In December 1995, it was renamed the Gates Family Foundation. Its ideals and traditions have carried forward through subsequent generations.
The Colorado Business Hall of Fame is co-presented by
Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain Inc. and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Videos produced by Becky Holden of Biography Media, [email protected]