Paul Boehlke/KTVB

BOISE - J.R. Simplot has died.

The Idaho billionaire passed away in his downtown Boise home Sunday morning - with the call coming into police dispatch just before 11 a.m.

He was 99.

Simplot died of natural causes, according to Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg.

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.

The potato billionaire's life started humbly, but his death comes with his name on the list of the world's richest men.

John Richard Simplot's legacy is closely tied in with the image of the potato state over the past nearly hundred years.

But his life began not in Idaho -- but Iowa.

His remarkable journey kicked of in Dubuque, along the banks of the Mississippi River in 1909.

He was the oldest of two boy and four girls -- born to Dorothy and Charles Simplot.

His father had made an indelible impression on the young J.R. 

"He taught me to work, and that's the name of the game with him,” Simplot told NewsChannel 7 in 1985.

After a few years in the midwest, J.R. found himself in Idaho -- and by 14, he dropped out of school and moved to Declo, Idaho.

The year was 1923 and Simplot was living in a boarding house in the tiny Idaho town, where several teachers also lived.

Those educators were paid with an IOU, because money was tight for the school district.

Simplot bought the warrants for 50 cents on the dollar, and then took them to town and got full face value from bankers.

That was the first of a long series of trades that helped J.R. build an empire.

He took that cash and bought a bunch of skinny pigs for next to nothing.

"Hogs got awful cheap, and I remember buyin' 500 head of hogs for $500,” he said.

He spent the winter fattening them up by feeding them a steady diet of beef and cooked spuds.

A hot market for hogs that next spring landed J.R. a big check.

“I sold those hogs and got nearly $7,800 for them. And $7,800 was a million at that time,” Simplot said.

He took that cash and leased space to farm.   A legacy J.R. says carried him through.

“I'm just a dumb country farmer frankly.  That's the truth,” he said.

A dispute over a spud sorter in the early 1930s with Simplot's partner at the time hinged on a coin flip, and luck was on Simplot's side.

J.R. is now in the potato sorting business and a revolution about to begin.

“I went from farmin' to sortin' my own potatoes, then I went from potatoes on in to onions, and I accumulated through the 30s about 33 warehouses up and down the Snake River Valley,” he said.

In the next few decades Simplot's business continues to grow -- booming in the war years.

In the 1950s, Simplot's now fast-growing company developed the first frozen french fry and the history of this Idaho icon soon collided with that of an American sensation: McDonald’s.

"We built the first frozen french fry, and made them out of Caldwell,” Simplot said. “I had a chemist that showed me what he could do with a french Fry -- I couldn't believe it!"

J.R. made a hand shake deal with Ray Kroc, the man at the helm of the fast food chain, to supply the new frozen spuds to the fast-growing business.

Like many captains of industry, Simplot had scrapes with the law.

In the mid-70s, Simplot was charged with trying to manipulate Maine potato futures. He was barred from commodities trading for six years and paid $50,000 in fines and an undisclosed amount to settle a lawsuit.

In 1977, he and the J.R. Simplot Co. each paid $40,000 in penalties for failing to report income and claiming false deductions.

Looking back on the incident in the late 1990s, he essentially dismissed it, saying, "basically, I've never done anything wrong that I know of."

The J.R. Simplot Company business continued to expand and grow over the next few decades.  But as the often heard refrain in the Treasure Valley goes – Simplot’s next big gamble wasn’t on potato chips – but computer chips.

He made an early investment in Micron Technology, one that paid off big when the small computer chip maker that started in the basement of a dental office exploded onto the national scene.  Now, Micron is one of the nation’s 500 largest companies, and Simplot still owns a big stake.

Over the years, Simplot gave back to Idaho and the local community including in 2004 when he donated his famous house on the hill - a 7,000 square foot mansion - to the state. While it was designated as a governor’s mansion, little progress has been made on that front.  His former son-in-law – and one-time company executive - C.L. "Butch" Otter is the state’s governor, and elected not to move into the home – citing the need for a host of repairs and upgrades.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report

Dee Sarton outlines Simplot's life

Simplot's life in photos

Leaders react to Simplot's death

  Share your thoughts, condolences

1982 KTVB Documentary: JR Simplot - King of the Hill

2001: Simplot thoughts on religion (or lack thereof) to Esquire Magazine

Idaho PTV profile

2007: Forbes: Potato King has reason to celebrate