‘I chose God:’ Hobby Lobby owner announces he’s giving away the company

SALT LAKE CITY — The founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, David Green, announced Friday he “chose God” when he decided to give away ownership of the company.

In a Fox News opinion piece, Green recalls the reason why he created the American retail company citing God as his source.

“For me, my source of truth has always been prayer and the Bible,” wrote Green in the opinion piece. “I truly believe that if leaders pray and seek truth from the Bible that their businesses will be revolutionized.”

He continues to cite his religion as his main inspiration for how he operated Hobby Lobby.

“I wasn’t supposed to take the profits of the business and use them for myself,” Green said. “I also had a responsibility to the employees that God had put in my charge. This is why our company pays a minimum wage of $18.50 per hour, why we close on Sunday (which had been our most profitable day of business), and why we close by 8 p.m. every day.”

Green also believes that God gave him the knowledge to know when to step down and pass his responsibilities to a “stewardship.”

“Well-meaning attorneys and accountants advised me to simply pass ownership down to my children and grandchildren. It didn’t seem fair to me that I might change or even ruin the future of grandchildren who had not even been born yet,” Green said.

Green said on a Fox News segment that “100%” of the company’s voting stock was moved to a trust where it can be passed on from one person to another.

“All the voting stock is in 1% in its trust, and it is being managed and being stewarded instead of seeing ourselves as owners,” he added.