William J. Maier Jr. was born into modest means in Clarksburg, West Virginia. While growing up, his mother always stressed the importance of an education. After graduating from high school at the age of 16, he attended Harvard College on a Price Greenleaf Scholarship. While at Harvard, he was a recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship and studied at Oxford University in England. There at Balliol College, he focused most of his studies on philosophy, politics and economics. After the completion of his studies at Oxford, he returned to Harvard and worked as an economics tutor to pay his way through its law school. He graduated Cum Laude from Harvard Law School.

After graduation, Mr. Maier returned to his native West Virginia and began practicing corporate law, while investing in natural gas and warehousing properties in West Virginia and Ohio. After several years, the success of the ventures allowed him to stop practicing law and focus his efforts on the business full time.

After attending college with the help of financial aid and following his mother's advice to "do good with all the money you can spare," Mr. Maier decided to give something back. In 1958, he created the Sarah and Pauline Maier Scholarship Foundation, named after his mother and wife. It has focused most of its resources on the higher education of West Virginia students and on cultural activities in the Charleston, West Virginia area. In 2003, the Sarah and Pauline Maier Foundation was renamed the Maier Foundation, Inc.