Carl Moyer Net Worth 2026: Karl Chevrolet Founder and Car Collection

Carl Moyer, the founder of Karl Chevrolet in Ankeny, Iowa, died on September 28, 2024, at the age of 83. No reputable outlet ever published an estimate of his net worth, and the $12.5 million figure this page used to show had no source. What is on record is the business he left behind, the Karl Auto Group, with 10 companies employing over 800 people in Iowa, and a classic car collection that sold for more than $5 million at auction in January 2026.

What was Carl Moyer's net worth?

Moyer's wealth sat mainly in privately owned car dealerships, real estate and his collection of cars. Dealership groups do not publish profits, and his estate's value was never reported. For that reason we do not give a figure.

Two public numbers give a sense of scale. Automotive News described his classic car collection as worth about $6 million before it went to auction, and when 34 of the cars were sold by Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee, Florida, on January 17, 2026, they brought in more than $5 million in total, according to KCCI. That collection was only one part of his assets; the dealerships themselves were much larger businesses.

Where the money came from

Karl Chevrolet

Moyer opened Karl Chevrolet on January 9, 1978, in a one-car showroom in Ankeny. In 1983 he moved to the corner of Oralabor Road and Delaware Avenue, where the dealership still operates on a campus of about 30 acres. It became one of the country's biggest Chevrolet stores: Automotive News reported in 2011 that it ranked among the top U.S. Chevy dealers for new-vehicle sales, certified used-vehicle sales and accessories.

The dealership reports that it has been named the top GM certified dealer in the nation 18 times and won 22 consecutive Dealer of the Year awards from 2004 to 2025. In August 2026 it said it ranked seventh in the nation for all Chevrolet sales and fifth for the Silverado pickup so far that year, and that it typically keeps more than 1,500 new and used vehicles in stock. It also reports a 49.2% market share within 30 miles of Ankeny in the second quarter of 2026.

Karl Auto Group

From the Ankeny store Moyer built a group of dealerships across Iowa. According to Performance Brokerage Services, the Karl Auto Group has locations in Ankeny, Marshalltown, Stuart and Webster City, selling Chevrolet, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles. Moyer bought Karl Ford of Story City from the Gookin family in 2021. He also founded Karl Performance, a high-performance and custom vehicle business.

Career timeline

After his death (2025-2026)

Moyer's son Bret Moyer now runs the Karl Auto Group. In November 2025 the group sold Karl Ford of Story City to Johnson Automotive Group. In January 2026 Moyer's car collection was auctioned. The top lot was a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 split-window coupe, one of only 199 built, which originally sold for about $5,976 and went for $709,500. Other notable sales included a 1958 Corvette convertible at $352,000 and a 1935 Packard custom convertible at $297,000.

Family and personal life

Moyer married Penny, whom he met on a blind date at 16, in 1960. He was survived by her, his children Bret, Pam and Brad, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The old version of this page named his wife as Sharon Moyer; his obituary shows that was wrong, and it has been corrected. The unsourced height, weight and income table have also been removed.

Racing was his lifelong hobby. As boys he and his brothers listened to races at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, and he competed as a professional drag racer from 1986 to 2000. His family asked that memorial donations go to Community Champions, an Ankeny charity.

Net worth compared

Other car dealers profiled on this site include Bob Tasca and Brian Benstock. See also Amanda Ivanelli and Andrea Rogers. For family-owned dealership groups, wealth depends on franchise values and land that are rarely disclosed.

Why there is no reliable figure

Any single number for Moyer would be a guess. His dealerships were private, their profits and property values were never published, and his estate was settled privately. The only hard figure tied to his personal assets is the roughly $5 million his car collection raised at auction, which is a floor for one part of his wealth rather than an estimate of the whole.