Carol Jenkins Barnett

Carol Jenkins Barnett is the daughter of Publix supermarket founder George Jenkins and an heir to the Florida-based fortune. The billionaire daughter of the Publix Super Markets founder has died after having early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, the company announced Wednesday. Carol Jenkins Barnett was 65. Barnett died Tuesday December 7 2021 night at her home in Lakeland, Florida, Publix said in a news release. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2016. She owns just under 5% of the business, which is the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. After 33 years on the Publix board, she stepped down in June 2016 following a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Barnett and her husband, Barney Barnett, have donated vast sums in recent years to Florida Southern College — Carol’s alma mater — and to Lakeland Regional Health and other local and state entities. Barnett is survived by her husband, two sons and three grandchildren. The Barnetts’ two grown sons, Wesley Barnett and Nicholas Barnett, both live in Polk County and have become prominent philanthropists as well, along with their wives, Ashley Bell Barnett and Ashley Gibson Barnett. Carol Barnett is also survived by three grandchildren, Raleigh, Birdie and Zoey. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Florida Southern College in 1979, she worked in Publix’s corporate marketing research and development department. Publix, founded in 1930, employs 188,000 people in 1,152 stores across 7 states and has revenues of $34 billion. She started working for Publix at age 16.