John Hertz, born Schandor Hertz on April 10, 1879 in Szklabinya, Austria-Hungary (in present-day Slovakia), emigarted to Chcago with his family at the age of five.

He left his imprint on the American transport industry, first by founding the Yellow Cab Company in Chicago (1915), which was soon franchised across the country. He acquired the car rental business today known as Hertz in 1924, originally naming it the Hertz Drive-Ur-Self Corporation.