Edward Bass

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Perry Edward "Ed" Bass (born September 10, 1945 in Fort Worth ) is an American businessman, banker, philanthropist and environmentalist.

He funded the Biosphere 2 project , an artificial closed ecological system that was built between 1987 and 1991. He is the chairman of the Fine Line, an investment and venture capital management company in Fort Worth , and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a charitable organization. He was listed as No. 239 on the Forbes 400 Richest Americans List in 2012, with an estimated fortune of $ 2 billion .

Early life and education

Bass was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to R. Perry (1914-2006) and Nancy Lee (née Muse) Bass (1917-2013). He is the second oldest of four sons, his brothers are Lee Marshall, Sid Richardson, and Robert Muse . His father was a consultant and later a partner of Sid W. Richardson (1891-1959) from the 1930s. When Richardson died, he left $ 2,800,000 each of the Bass brothers, and Perry managed most of the family's wealth in the form of oil companies, which initially suffered from legal problems.

Ed Bass attended Phillips Academy and graduated from Yale University in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in administration . He served briefly in the United States Coast Guard and returned to Yale to study for a master’s degree in architecture, which he did not graduate. All four brothers attended Yale, where their father graduated in 1937.

Early projects

After leaving Yale, Bass was eager to "explore the world". He moved to New Mexico and spent time with "an unusual counterculture group at Synergia Ranch" led by John P. Allen . In New Mexico, Bass built the Llano Compound, a condominium in Santa Fe , and began working with everyone on ecology projects. He later funded a hotel in Nepal, a 300,000 hectare (1,200 km²) Australian ranch , the purchase of rainforest in Puerto Rico, and the now defunct Caravan of Dreams performing arts center in Fort Worth.

Biosphere 2

In 1984, Bass and Allen founded the Biosphere 2 project , for which Bass initially provided USD 30 million. The project was part of a 2,500 acre ranch in the Santa Catalina Mountains in Oracle, Arizona near Tucson . The purpose of the three hectare habitat was an experiment to "recreate the earth" and a possible way to colonize Mars . The project began with eight people trying to live in an isolated and sealed-off settlement, with the air and water recycled . After the complex was disconnected from the environment in 1991, harmful gases were released, and while some of the 4,000 species thrived, water and crops declined sharply in 1994.

In 1995 the area was converted into a research facility at Columbia University , which in 2003 considered resuming the original experiment, but then dropped it for cost reasons, so that the complex was returned to Bass. In 2007, Bass sold some of the neighboring land and the building was rented to the University of Arizona . The total cost of the privately funded project has been stated on various occasions to be $ 150,000,000 or $ 200,000,000. The University of Arizona announced a complete takeover of the buildings and grounds in June 2011.

Protection efforts

Bass has funded numerous environmental protection projects and stated that he found environmental protection to be most effective "when approached as a company". His investments in Nepal included protecting rhinos and tigers. He supported the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ), the New York Botanical Garden , the Jane Goodall Institute , and the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation. He is currently the vice chairman of the Texas Botanical Research Institute and founded the ecological nonprofit Philecology Trust in 1986.

Urban redevelopment

Bass has been a longtime supporter of downtown redevelopment and has been described as "a leader in what is considered to be one of the most successful urban redevelopments in America." He and his family began development on Sundance Square in 1982. This project combines commercial and residential space in Fort Worth's central business districts and received the 2004 Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Spirit of Enterprise Award . Bass led the development of the Bass Performance Hall, which opened in 1998 without public funding.

philanthropy

  • 2002: Founded the Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholars Program at Yale University
  • 2006: $ 60,000,000 donation to Yale (his family donated more than $ 200 million to Yale in total)
  • 2007: $ 12,000,000 WWF

Current activities

  • 2001 Successor Fellow of Yale Corporation, the umbrella organization of Yale University.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "The Bass Family Tree". Fort Worth Star Telegram. April 26, 1998.
  2. ↑ a b Chronicle of Philanthropy; November 23, 2006, Vol. 19, Issue 4, p. 6. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
  3. ↑ Allen R. Myerson, "Where Cowgirls Go to Get Their Due". The New York Times, June 2, 2002. Retrieved May 27, 2008.
  4. ↑ Edward Bass. on forbes.com, September 19, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  5. ↑ a b c d Joe Simnacher: FW philanthropist Perry Richardson Bass dies. Dallas Morning News, June 2, 2006.
  6. ↑ Steve Campbell: Nancy Lee Bass was the 'first lady of Fort Worth'. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, March 1, 2013. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  7. ↑ a b c Jack Douglas Jr., Mary Rogers: Perry Richardson Bass 1914-2006. Knight Ridder, June 2, 2006.
  8. ↑ a b c d e Biography Reference Bank. HW Wilson. 2008.
  9. ^ A b Edward P. Bass Named to Yale Corporation. ( Memento of the original from September 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Yale University, September 5, 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2008.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.yale.edu
  10. ↑ a b Jim Bartimeo: Is Ed Bass a Visionary - or Seeing Visions? Business Week (People ed.) (3175): 60, Aug. 27, 1990.
  11. ↑ a b c d e William J. Broad: As Biosphere Is Sealed, Its Patron Reflects on Life. The New York Times, September 24, 1991, p. 1. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  12. ^ William J. Broad: Ultimate Survival: Desert Dreamers Build a Man-Made World. The New York Times, May 27, 1986, p. 1.
  13. ↑ a b c Seth Mydans: Visit to a Tiny Planet: Within Glass Walls, Five Climates and 3,800 Species. The New York Times, April 30, 1990, p. 1. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  14. ↑ a b c d e David M. Herszenhorn: Columbia Is Sued Over Pullback on Biosphere. The New York Times, March 25, 2003, p. 13. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  15. ^ Science Watch; New Biosphere Official. The New York Times, March 2, 1993, p. 5, ISSN  0362-4331 . Retrieved June 5, 2009.
  16. ^ Biosphere 2 to Have a Permanent Home With the UA. Office of University Communications, The University of Arizona, June 27, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
  17. ^ A b c Sally Beatty: Gift of the Week: Millions for Wildlife From a Bass Brother. The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 5, 2007, p. W2.
  18. ↑ World Wildlife Fund 2007 Annual Report ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , P. 64. Retrieved May 26, 2008. (dead link)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nxtbook.com
  19. ↑ a b c d Seven Honorary Degree Recipients to be Recognized During Spring Commencement. University of Arizona, April 29, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
  20. ^ Sandra Baker: Chamber to honor Sundance Square. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, May 23, 2005.
  21. ^ Andrew Marton: The first 10 years of a great hall - from transporting arias to errant autos. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 27, 2008.
  22. ^ The Edward P. Bass Distinguished Visiting Environmental Scholars Program. Retrieved May 26, 2008.
personal data
SURNAME Bass, Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bass, Perry Edward (full name); Bass, Ed (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American businessman, banker, philanthropist, and environmentalist
DATE OF BIRTH September 10, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Fort Worth