William Holder is the brother of Eric H. Holder, an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015.
William Holder is a Wake County businessman. He is one of the sons of Eric Himpton Holder Sr.( 1903-1998), a real estate broker, and Miriam Holder (1924-2010). His maternal grandparents were emigrants from Saint Philip, Barbados.
In 2017, William Holder officially became a member of the N.C. State Board of Community Colleges. He was appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to an at-large seat on the board. His term expires in June 2023.
Holder owns many McDonald’s franchises in North Carolina and New York.
In 2012, a Carolina Journal investigation found at least one of the franchises in Raleigh owned by William Holder and his wife Deborah had hired illegal immigrants — including at a location in Knightdale the then-attorney general visited several months earlier.
William Holder has been married to Deborah for 34 years and has twin daughters.