Politics / Business & brands
Mitt Romney
born 1947 · politician, businessman
Detroit-born son of automaker and governor George Romney; grew up in Bloomfield Hills, attended Cranbrook, later governed Massachusetts and ran for president in 2012.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 79- Birth name
- Willard Mitt Romney
- Detroit years
- 1947–1965
- Field
- Politics, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Mitt Romney was born at Harper University Hospital in Detroit in 1947, the youngest child of George W. Romney, then an auto-industry executive. In 1953 the family moved from the city to Bloomfield Hills, and a year later his father took charge of American Motors. Romney went to public elementary schools and then entered Cranbrook School, where he helped manage the hockey team and joined the pep squad; when his father became governor, he boarded at the school. After Harvard he passed the Michigan bar but chose business, building Bain Capital in Boston. He later led the 2002 Winter Olympics, served as governor of Massachusetts and as a U.S. senator from Utah. Michigan stayed part of his political story: he announced his 2008 presidential bid in Dearborn and won the state's primary that year, calling it his childhood home.
Highlights
- Born at Harper University Hospital in Detroit, 1947
- Cranbrook School alumnus; Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005
- Co-founder of Bain Capital (1984)
- Governor of Massachusetts 2003–2007; U.S. senator from Utah 2019–2025
- Republican presidential nominee in 2012
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Born here · 1947
Harper University Hospital
The Midtown hospital where he was born on March 12, 1947.
Studied here · 1959–1965
Cranbrook School
The private boys' preparatory school he attended from seventh grade, later boarding there.