Costco Co-Founder Jeff Brotman Dies At Age 74

SEATTLE, WA — Jeff Brotman, the co-founder and chairman of Costco, has died, the company announced Tuesday. Brotman and business partner Jim Sinegal opened the first Costco Wholesale store in Seattle in 1983. The company set the standard for wholesale club stores and now operates 736 warehouses across the world, including 511 in the U.S.

"The thoughts of Costco’s board, management and employees are with Jeff’s wife and family," Costco said in a statement.

Brotman was born in Tacoma in 1943 but was raised in Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1967 with a law degree. Before Costco, he and his brother, Michael, ran a jeans store for women called Bottoms.

Brotman got together with Sinegal in 1982 to open the first Costco in Seattle. Pieces of that first store are still on display at the SODO Costco in Seattle. The second and third Costco locations opened shortly after in Portland, Oregon, and Spokane.

Outside of Costco, Brotman served on the Starbucks board and was a Seattle Art Museum trustee. Brotman had served as Costco chairman since 1994.

"Jeff's commitment to the community was legendary, from launching scholarship programs at the University of Washington and Seattle University to helping Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center," King County Executive Dow Constantine said in a statement. "Many national and global leaders – including presidents and those who aspired to be president – made pilgrimages to his home."

Image via Ralph Radford/Associated Press