Quote:St Louis isn't going to grow. Businesses are leaving Missouri. You throw in all the other crude from the past two years and yeah done.

Quote: 

“It’s a different era there, and different age,” Khan said. “If you look at the big picture, the world’s changing. Obviously St. Louis has changed.

“I mean I lived not too far from St. Louis for many, many years. Just think about what St. Louis used to be. One of the big hubs of TWA and American (airlines). You know, Ralston Purina. Monsanto. Anheuser-Busch.”

Khan’s Flex-N-Gate automotive parts plant in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., has helped make him one of country’s richest men, with a net worth of $5.3 billion, according to Forbes.

His business made him very familiar with St. Louis over the years.

 
 
“I remember we had the Ford Explorer plant (in St. Louis) — gone,” Khan said. “The Chrysler minivan plant — gone. We still have the GM plant. ... It used to be a huge automotive center. It changed.

“And the corporates. All the corporate headquarters are gone. I mean, NFL football, the corporate sponsorships — that premium revenue — is huge.”