Hidden U-Haul Billionaire Emerges With Storage Empire

Mark V. Shoen had to endure his father’s suicide, a sister-in-law’s murder and an internecine battle on his way to becoming the largest shareholder of Amerco, the parent of truck rental company U-Haul, North America’s biggest moving and storage business.

Becoming a self-storage baron required additional drama, if only in the courtroom. Shoen’s storage empire was the center of a decade-long shareholder suit that splintered his family and left the 62-year-old in control of a business that made him a billionaire.