Senator on January 23, 2023. Born in Nebraska City and raised in Omaha, Ricketts is the son of an entrepreneur and a school teacher. Senator Ricketts and his wife, Susanne Shore, have been married for 26 years and live in Omaha. They have three children: Roscoe, Margot, and Eleanor. Ricketts graduated from Westside High School before attending the University of Chicago where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and an M.B.A. in marketing and finance. After graduate school, Ricketts returned to Omaha and worked for Union Pacific before working as a customer services representative in his family’s business, a company that would eventually become known as Ameritrade. He went on to hold leadership roles in the company including Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Senior Vice President of Product Development, Senior Vice President of Marketing, President, and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Ricketts also founded Drakon, LLC, which supports Nebraska entrepreneurs and startup companies, and was a past board member of TD Ameritrade’s Board of Directors and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Ricketts was sworn in as Nebraska’s 40th Governor on January 8, 2015 and reelected to a second term in November 2018. As governor, Ricketts dramatically improved services to Nebraskans, and worked with the Legislature to deliver over $12.7 billion in tax relief, including over $10 billion in property tax relief, by 2027. Additionally, he fully eliminated state taxes on veterans’ retirement income starting in 2022 and on Social Security benefits by 2025. Ricketts also reduced the rate of state spending growth, created new workforce development programming, cut unnecessary red tape to bolster Nebraska’s business-friendly climate, and expanded international markets for Nebraska’s farmers and ranchers. Thanks in part to the Governor’s leadership, Nebraska won the Governor’s Cup for the most economic development projects per capita three years in a row from 2016 to 2018. He was also appointed to serve on the Council of Governors and the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by President Donald J. Ricketts has also taken on leadership roles in local and state associations and organizations. He serves on the board of the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts, as a director of the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation, a member of the Board of Advisors of Opportunity Education Foundation, a member of the Archbishop’s Committee for Development, a member of the Knights of Columbus, and a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. Senator Ricketts and his family attend St. Margaret Mary’s church.
