The Cloisters On The Platte

Joe Ricketts is a native of Nebraska City.  He graduated from Creighton University in 1968 with an economics degree and began his professional career in the financial services field.  In 1975, he co-founded First Omaha Securities.  Under Mr. Ricketts’ leadership, First Omaha Securities grew quickly and evolved into TD Ameritrade, a trailblazer in the online trading industry.  TD Ameritrade managed hundreds of billions of dollars in client assets and led its competitors with hundreds of thousands of trades per day.  In 2020, TD Ameritrade merged with The Charles Schwab Corporation.

Since 2008, Mr. Ricketts has devoted himself to a variety of entrepreneurial ventures.  He has also actively engaged in philanthropy through Opportunity Education Foundation, The Ricketts Conservation Foundation, The Ricketts Art Foundation, and The Cloisters on the Platte Foundation.  His book, “The Harder You Work, the Luckier You Get: An Entrepreneur’s Memoir,” was published in 2019 by Simon & Schuster.

Mr. Ricketts and his wife of 58 years have four children and 14 grandchildren.