Short answers, pulled from the story.
Isadore Sharp designed a motel for a family friend in the early 1960s which sparked the vision to create Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The company opened its first property, the Four Seasons Motor Hotel, in Toronto during 1961 with help from investors Murray Koffler, Fred Eisen, and Eddie Creed.
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts shifted to a management-only model where it operates properties on behalf of real estate owners following financial crisis in 1974. Contracts typically allow Four Seasons to participate in design while retaining total control over operations and earning three percent of gross income plus about five percent of profits from each property.
Four Seasons Hotels Limited became majority-owned by Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal in 2007 when Microsoft Chairman Gates and Saudi Prince Al-Waleed paid 3.8 billion dollars for a controlling stake. By January 2022, Gates-controlled Cascade Investment increased its stake to 71.25% and Alwaleed-controlled Kingdom Holding Company owns 23.75%.
Some properties like the Four Seasons Resort Maui became central to HBO's The White Lotus series during lockdowns in 2020. The show filmed its second and third seasons at resorts in Taormina, Italy, and Ko Samui, Thailand.
The Michelin organization awarded twenty-nine stars to twenty of the company's restaurants including locations in Hong Kong, Paris, Beijing, and Florence. Restaurants at Four Seasons hotels have received recognition from both Zagat and Michelin organizations consistently.