WHEELER-DEALER

New Billionaire Joe Agresti has assembled a car dealership empire that has made him—and his partner, football great Nick Saban—very rich.

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana, car dealer Joe Agresti was on a conference call in 2013 when an unknown number left a voicemail. Nick Saban, the legendary University of Alabama football coach, wanted to open a dealership. “I thought it was a prank call,” Agresti, now 53, recalls. It wasn’t. Within a few weeks, Saban and Agresti met for a 30-minute sit-down that lasted four hours. They quickly agreed to go into business together. “It’s one of the best decisions I ever made,” Saban tells Forbes. “It’s been really good for both of us.”