Peter Kiewit (1900-1979)
Kiewit transformed a small Omaha, Nebraska, construction company, Peter Kiewit Sons’, Inc., into one of North America’s largest and most respected contractors. In 1931, at age 30, Kiewit became president of the company and shifted its emphasis to the highway market, which rapidly became the largest portion of the business. Under Kiewit’s leadership, the firm built more lane miles of the U.S. Interstate Highway System than any other contractor, prompting Forbes magazine to call him the “Colossus of Roads.”
Since his death in 1979, the Peter Kiewit Foundation has awarded more than $640 million in grants and scholarships.
