J.R. Simplot left home in 1923 at age 14 with four gold coins given to him by his mother. He ended his life as the spud king of America and one of the nation’s richest men.

The Idaho farmer, who dominated the state’s business and political landscape for 70 years, died Sunday at his Boise home at 99.

His businesses, still family owned, manufacture agriculture, horticulture, and turf fertilizers; animal feed and seeds; food products such as fruits, potatoes, and other vegetables, and industrial chemicals and irrigation products. He all but invented the first commercially viable frozen french fries in the world.

Simplot and his family were ranked at no. 80 on Forbes magazine’s 2006 list of richest Americans, with an estimated wealth of $3.2 billion. In 1980, at age 71, Simplot invested $1 million in what became computer chip maker Micron Technology Inc. Micron went on to become a major producer of DRAM memory chips.

After early success with pigs and potatoes, Simplot got into the onion drying business. During World War II, he was among the biggest suppliers of dried potatoes and vegetables consumed by American troops. After the war, Simplot struck a deal with McDonald’s Corp. founder Ray Kroc, and his fry business grew with Americans’ love for fast food.