William Oberndorf
Bill Oberndorf | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Ernst Oberndorf |
| Education | Williams College (BA) Stanford University (MBA) |
| Occupation(s) | Philanthropist, Hedge fund manager |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Susan Oberndorf |
William Ernst Oberndorf is an American billionaire businessman and Republican political donor.
Career
[edit]Oberndorf attended University School in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from Williams College in 1975. He received an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1978.[1] Oberndorf was inspired to become an investor by Warren Buffett.[2] In 1989, Oberndorf founded the investment firm SPO Partners.[3] Oberndorf was a major investor in Voyager, which created a literacy curriculum that was implemented by Florida Governor Jeb Bush.[4]
Oberndorf has served on the boards of numerous companies, including Calpine, Aggregates USA, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Equity Funds, Plum Creek Timber, Voyager Learning Company, Taft Broadcasting, and Wometco Cable Television Corporation.[5]
Other activities
[edit]Oberndorf is most recently known for funding the recall on San Francisco's District Attorney, Chesa Boudin.[6] Oberndorf and his wife Susan Oberndorf are active philanthropists who have donated millions of dollars to education-related causes and institutions.[7] Oberndorf currently serves as chair of the UCSF Foundation, which raises money to support the University of California, San Francisco’s mission of advancing health worldwide.[8] In 2010, Business Insider named Oberndorf one of the top ten university endowment managers.[9]
The Oberndorfs are strong supporters of school choice and have made a number of large donations to organizations designed to "bring about systemic and sustainable reform by promoting broad-based parental choice that aids low-income families." In 2013, the couple made grants to two Bay Area public charter schools, KIPP Bay Area Schools and Gateway Public Schools, and donated $100,000 to the Foundation for Excellence in Education.[10] Other educational institutions that have received donations from the Oberndorfs include Marquette University, Williams College, and Stanford University.
Oberndorf is a major political donor who has contributed funds to national and California-based initiatives and candidates. Oberndorf was a prominent supporter of California Proposition 32, an effort to reform the political influence of teacher’s unions.[11] In 2016, Oberndorf donated $49,999 to Proposition Q, a ballot measure prohibiting tents on public sidewalks that was passed by voters.[12]
A registered Republican, Oberndorf donated over $1 million to the California Republican Party and its candidates between 2001 and 2011.[13] He was a major backer of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012, but ultimately donated to Barack Obama’s campaign prior to the 2008 election.[14] Oberndorf has also donated to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California.[15]
In 2016, Oberndorf was one of several high-profile Republican donors who refused to support Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump.[16][17][18] Oberndorf said he would not vote for Trump, telling the New York Times, “If it is Trump vs. Clinton... I will be voting for Hillary.”[19][20][21] Earlier in the 2016 presidential cycle, Oberndorf co-hosted two fundraisers for Jeb Bush [22] and played a major role in discouraging Romney from running for president for a third time.[23]
Since 2016, Oberndorf has been a major donor to Republican congressional and Senate candidates as well as associated political action committees. He continued on his past giving to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell[24] by giving another $2 million to McConnell's leadership committee as well as individual contributions directly to candidates.[25]
In 2022, Obendorf donated to a PAC supporting Kyrsten Sinema's 2024 Senate re-election campaign.[26]
References
[edit]- ^ "William Ernst Oberndor". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg. October 16, 2015.
- ^ Lowenstein, Roger (July 24, 2013). Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. Random House. p. 275. ISBN 978-0804150606. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ^ Lattman, Peter (September 28, 2010). "Bill Patterson, Investor and Philanthropist, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ "Charitable Profile of Bill Oberndorf '75".
- ^ "William E. Oberndorf Joins Calpine's Board of Directors". Businesswire. 5 January 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ Phillips, Justin (June 5, 2022). "S.F. 'Democrats' used a Republican playbook to gin up recall support".
- ^ "Charitable Profile of Bill Oberndorf '75".
- ^ "About the UCSF Foundation". 3 November 2016.
- ^ Leah Goldman (January 29, 2011). "The 10 Best University Endowment Managers". Business Insider.
- ^ Edward W. Morley (May 16, 2018). "The Charitable Profile of Bill Oberndorf '75". Eph Blog.
- ^ Federal Election Commission Individual Contributions query
- ^ "San Francisco homeless: New plan to clear tents off streets". BBC. November 21, 2016.
- ^ Novak, Bob Biersack Viveca and Tucker, Will (August 1, 2015). "A few new donors-but not many-among megadonors to presidential super pacs". OpenSecrets.org.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Novak, Bob Biersack Viveca and Tucker, Will (August 1, 2015). "A few new donors-but not many-among megadonors to presidential super pacs". OpenSecrets.org.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Federal Election Commission Individual Contributions query
- ^ Lah, Kyung (May 31, 2016). "Republicans for Hillary?". CNN.
- ^ Balluck, Andrew and Rachal, Maria, |title= Republican exodus from Trump grows, The Hill, 8/10/16
- ^ Blake, Aaron (November 7, 2016). "78 Republican politicians, donors and officials who are supporting Hillary Clinton". The Washington Post.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan and Burns, Alexander (November 7, 2016). "Key G.O.P. Donors Still Deeply Resist Donald Trump's Candidacy". The Washington Post.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Martin, Jonathan and Burns, Alexander (May 5, 2016). "These Wealthy People Refuse to Give Donald Trump Money. Here's Why". The New York Post.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ting, Eric (2022-04-08). "Who is William Oberndorf, the GOP billionaire backing Boudin recall?". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
- ^ Andrew Balluck And Maria Rachal (August 10, 2016). "Republican exodus from Trump grows". The Hill. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016.
- ^ Lah, Kyung (May 31, 2016). "Republicans for Hillary?". CNN.
- ^ "Updated list of McConnell's biggest donors".
- ^ "OpenSecrets".
- ^ Regimbal, Alec (2022-07-26). "San Francisco's biggest recall bankrollers love Kyrsten Sinema". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-07-27.