If you run a business in North America — any business — you have almost certainly ordered from Uline. The bright yellow catalog. The boxes, tape, bubble wrap, and warehouse supplies arriving the same day you ordered them.
The 900-page product guide sitting on a break room shelf. Uline is quietly one of the most important companies in American business infrastructure. And yet almost nobody outside the B2B world knows the remarkable story behind who owns it — or how two people built a $10 billion empire from a basement in Chicago.
What Is Uline?
Uline is the largest privately held distributor of shipping, industrial, and packaging materials in North America. Headquartered at 12575 Uline Drive, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, the company offers over 43,000 products — including shipping boxes, packing materials, bubble wrap, tape, warehouse equipment, janitorial supplies, and retail supplies — available for same-day shipping across most of the country.
As of 2026, Uline operates across 14 branch locations and 17 sales offices throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with approximately 9,800 employees.
In January 2026, Uline received the prestigious 2026 Distributors Deliver Award from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), recognizing its exceptional leadership, workforce development, and community impact.
Who Owns Uline in 2026?
Uline is 100% privately owned by the Uihlein Family — specifically by its co-founders Richard “Dick” Uihlein and his wife Elizabeth “Liz” Uihlein. There are no outside investors, no private equity backers, no institutional shareholders, and no stock market listing of any kind.
Dick serves as CEO and Chairman, and Liz serves as President. The couple’s children — Brian, Phil, and Duke — also hold equity and executive roles within the company, making this a true multi-generational family enterprise.
The Uihlein family has deliberately and consistently rejected any outside investment or public offering throughout the company’s entire 46-year history.
That decision has given them complete freedom over strategy, culture, and capital allocation — with no quarterly earnings pressure, no activist investors, and no board members they did not choose themselves. The family’s estimated net worth exceeds $10 billion, with the overwhelming majority tied directly to their ownership of Uline.
Ownership and Key Stakeholders Table
| Owner / Party | Role | Stake | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard “Dick” Uihlein | Co-Founder, CEO & Chairman | Majority equity, controlling voting power | Founded Uline in 1980; heir to Schlitz brewing fortune |
| Elizabeth “Liz” Uihlein | Co-Founder & President | Majority equity alongside Dick | Co-founded Uline; writes political column in the Uline catalog |
| Uihlein Family (combined) | 100% Owners | Full private ownership | No outside investors, no IPO, no PE — entirely family-controlled |
| Brian, Phil & Duke Uihlein | Children & Executive Roles | Equity holders, partial succession | Third generation entering leadership roles |
| Steve Uihlein | Vice President | Minor executive role | Richard’s brother; VP within the company |
| EAU Holdings Inc. | Family Holding Company | Family-owned | Holds restaurants, salon, and spa in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin |
| No external investors | N/A | 0% | No VC, PE, or institutional shareholders — ever |
The Origin Story: A Basement, One Product, and a Big Idea
Uline was not born in a boardroom. It was born in a basement.
In 1980, Dick and Liz Uihlein were living in the Chicago area when they identified a gap in the market: small and mid-sized businesses were struggling to find reliable, affordable sources for shipping supplies.
Large industrial distributors were not interested in serving smaller accounts, and the few options available were slow and unreliable. The Uihleins saw that gap — and filled it.
They launched Uline from their home basement with a single product: a poly bag. Their entire operation was built around one simple promise — get quality supplies to businesses fast, at fair prices, with excellent service.
Dick Uihlein came from a notable American business lineage: his family had founded the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company in Milwaukee, one of the most famous American beer brands of the 20th century. That heritage gave him both financial grounding and a deep understanding of what it means to build a lasting brand.
From that single basement product, Uline grew steadily through the 1980s and 1990s, expanding its catalog and opening its first distribution centers. The Uline catalog — mailed twice a year to businesses across North America — became one of the most recognized B2B publications in the country.
By 2014, the company was estimated at $2 billion in revenue. By 2020, it had reached $5.8 billion. By 2023, it crossed $11 billion in reported annual revenue, cementing its status as the dominant force in its category.
The Uline Catalog: A 900-Page Marketing Masterpiece
One of the most unusual things about Uline is how it built its brand. In an age of digital advertising and social media marketing, Uline still relies heavily on a physical printed catalog — and it works extraordinarily well.
The Uline catalog is now 900 pages long and advertises over 43,000 products. It is mailed twice a year to hundreds of thousands of businesses across North America. Crucially, Liz Uihlein includes a personal column in the catalog — reflecting on business, culture, and her political views — which has become both a distinctive trademark and a source of controversy over the years.
Uline also relies on extensive online advertising and a sophisticated e-commerce website. In July 2026, uline.com generated $220.2 million in online revenue in a single month — significantly outperforming competitors like Grainger in online revenue despite trailing in raw web traffic.
The Uihleins’ Political Influence
No article about Uline’s owners would be complete without acknowledging the significant role that Dick and Liz Uihlein play in American politics — because it is directly connected to how they run their business.
The Uihleins are among the largest donors to the Republican Party in the United States. They have spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Republican candidates in both federal and state elections, and have funded a network of conservative think tanks and policy organizations.
The couple has been compared to the Koch brothers in terms of their political influence and financial reach within the conservative movement.
Liz Uihlein frequently uses the Uline catalog itself as a platform, including columns that reflect conservative political views. The company has also been known to invite conservative politicians to speak with employees at company facilities.
This political activity has generated both loyalty from their customer base and criticism from others — but it has never appeared to meaningfully hurt their business, which has grown consistently regardless of the political environment.
How Big Is Uline in 2026?
The scale of Uline in 2026 is genuinely staggering for a company that most consumers have never heard of.
Uline operates 14 branch locations and 17 sales offices across North America, with approximately 9,800 employees as of early 2026. In 2025 alone, Uline welcomed approximately 1,200 new team members and added nearly 1.5 million square feet to its North American footprint.
Its distribution center network enables same-day shipping across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and southern Wisconsin on more than 43,000 products.
The company’s 200-acre headquarters campus in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin — which opened in 2010 — features a 1 million square foot warehouse that supplies products to its national distribution network.
The company’s annual revenue has been estimated between $8 billion and $11 billion depending on the source, with the Uihlein family office citing a family net worth exceeding $10 billion driven primarily by the Uline business.
Will Uline Ever Go Public?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions in the B2B business world — and the answer, at least for now, is firmly no.
The Uihlein family has maintained Uline as a private company without outside institutional investors — a deliberate choice that provides full control over business strategy, capital allocation, and growth decisions.
Analysts expect the company to remain privately held well into 2026 and beyond, as the family leverages its extraordinary cash flow for organic growth rather than consolidation or a sale.
The third generation — Brian, Phil, and Duke Uihlein — is already involved in the business, suggesting a succession plan is in place that keeps the company in family hands indefinitely. Dick and Liz Uihlein, now in their 70s, have built something they clearly intend to pass on rather than sell.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Who owns Uline in 2026?
Uline is 100% privately owned by co-founders Richard “Dick” Uihlein and Elizabeth “Liz” Uihlein, with no outside investors or public shareholders.
Q2. When was Uline founded and where?
Uline was founded in 1980 by Dick and Liz Uihlein out of their home basement in the Chicago, Illinois area.
Q3. Is Uline publicly traded?
No. Uline is a fully private, family-owned company and has never listed on any stock exchange in its entire 46-year history.
Q4. What is Dick Uihlein’s net worth?
The Uihlein family’s combined estimated net worth exceeds $10 billion, with the vast majority tied to their 100% ownership of Uline.
Q5. Where is Uline headquartered?
Uline is headquartered at 12575 Uline Drive, Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, on a 200-acre campus featuring a 1 million square foot warehouse.
Q6. How many employees does Uline have?
Uline had approximately 9,800 employees across 14 branch locations and 17 sales offices in North America as of early 2026.
Q7. What products does Uline sell?
Uline offers over 43,000 products including shipping boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, warehouse equipment, janitorial supplies, and retail supplies — all available for same-day shipping.
Q8. Who are the children of Dick and Liz Uihlein?
Dick and Liz Uihlein have three children — Brian, Phil, and Duke — all of whom hold equity and executive roles within Uline as part of the family’s succession plan.
Uline is 100% privately owned by Richard “Dick” Uihlein and Elizabeth “Liz” Uihlein — the husband-and-wife team who founded it in 1980 from a Chicago-area basement with a single product and an unbreakable commitment to fast, reliable service.
Today, Uline is North America’s largest privately held distributor of shipping, industrial, and packaging supplies, with 9,800+ employees, 14 branch locations, a 900-page product catalog, over 43,000 products, and estimated annual revenue between $8–11 billion.
The Uihlein family’s combined net worth exceeds $10 billion — all of it built without ever taking a dollar of outside investment or selling a single share to the public.
