He was born in Detroit, Michigan on June 5, 1927. Manuel Moroun graduated from the University of Notre Dame. After college he transformed his father’s small delivery business into a major trucking and real estate empire. Moroun was the Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of CenTra, Inc. CenTra controls the Ambassador Bridge, which Mr. Moroun purchased from the former owners, the Bower Family, in the late 70s. The bridge is a busy border crossing between Canada and the United States. At its peak, the value of this privately owned bridge was between $1.5 and $3 billion. In addition to owning the bridge, Manuel Moroun also controls multiple shipping companies, including Central Transport International and Universal Truckload Services, Inc. In 2009, the State of Michigan sued Manuel for failing to build ramps that would connect the Ambassador Bridge to nearby expressways. Michigan soon announced plans to build a public bridge just two miles from his privately owned bridge. He is fighting to stop the development, as it has the potential to have a large and very negative effect on the profitability of his bridge.