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George B. Kaiser (born 1942) is an American self-made billionaire businessman and chairman of BOK Financial Corporation.

Contents

Biography

Born in 1942, he attended Tulsa public schools, and went on to earn a bachelor's degree and MBA from Harvard University. He briefly considered joining the U.S. Foreign Service, but instead returned to Tulsa in 1966 to work for his father. Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. was created in the 1940s by Mr. Kaiser's uncle and parents, Jewish[1] [2]refugees from Nazi Germany who settled in Oklahoma. [3] Kaiser took control of Kaiser-Francis Oil Company in 1969. In 1990, Kaiser bought the Bank of Oklahoma, N.A. from the FDIC, the government agency that guarantees the soundness of the nation's major savings institutions. Buying the Bank of Oklahoma landed Kaiser on the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans. As of 2007, Kaiser's ownership interests in BOKF were worth $2.3 billion. In 2008, with an estimated current net worth of around $12 billion, he was ranked by Forbes as the 20-richest person in America and the richest person in Oklahoma. In March 2009, in the face of the general world economic downturn, Forbes reported that Kaiser's net worth had dropped to $9 billion, ranking him in a tie for 43rd-richest person in the world.[4]

Personal

He is married with 3 children. Splits time, with new wife, Myra, between Tulsa, OK and San Francisco.

Philanthropy

Kaiser is listed third on BusinessWeek's 2008 list of the top 50 American philanthropists, behind Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.[5][6] Among his prominent causes is fighting childhood poverty through the George Kaiser Family Foundation; he is also a major benefactor to the Jewish community in Oklahoma, which numbers about 5,000 people.[3][7] He has been notably active in the promotion of early childhood education.[8][9][10]

Kaiser's family foundation funded the National Energy Policy Institute, a non-profit energy policy organization located at the University of Tulsa and headed by former Alaska governor Tony Knowles.[11] In January 2009, Kaiser drew attention after he told a committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives that the state should eliminate or reduce tax incentives for the oil and gas industry, and instead use the money for health care or education programs or for tax cuts for other taxpayers.[12][13]

References

  1. ^ Holocaust: Records from Ten Ghettos Ghetto: Lodz Name: Dina Laja Wertheim Gender: F (Female) Birth Date: 1886 Profession: Kaufman (Merchant) Address: 4 Flat 24 Muhl Gasse Residence: Lodz, Poland Deportation Type: AUSG Deportation Date: 25 Mar 1942 Deportation Transport: TR 33
  2. ^ The Houston Jewish Herald-Voice Index to Vitals and Family Events, 1908-2007 Name: Ruth Feldgreber [Ruth Wertheim] Maiden Name: Wertheim Event: Death Published Date: 17 Aug 1994 Volume / Number: 86 / 22 Page & Column: p34c1 Reported in: Houston Event Date: 14 Aug 1994 Event Place: Tulsa OK Parents: Late Hugo & Dina Wertheim Funeral Date: 17 Aug 1994 Age: 72 Other Families: MARKOWITZ / KAISE
  3. ^ a b Russel Gold, "Oil billionaire takes a gamble to fix natural-gas shortage," The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2004.
  4. ^ "The World's Billionaires: #43 George Kaiser", Forbes, March 11, 2009.
  5. ^ "The 50 Top American Philanthropists," BusinessWeek, December 8, 2008.
  6. ^ "Warren Buffett Tops BusinessWeek's Annual Ranking of 'The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists," BusinessWeek press release, November 25, 2008.
  7. ^ "25 Billionaires and Millionaires That Became Philanthropists," Business Pundit, August 4, 2008.
  8. ^ David L. Kirp, "You're Doing Fine, Oklahoma! The universal pre-K movement takes off in unlikely places," The American Prospect, November 1, 2004.
  9. ^ David Leonhardt, "Bridging Gaps Early On in Oklahoma," New York Times, February 7, 2007.
  10. ^ "George Kaiser Speech on Childhood Education," New York Times, February 7, 2007.
  11. ^ Rod Walton, "Green group to locate at TU," Tulsa World, March 11, 2009.
  12. ^ Barbara Hoberock, "Kaiser urges shift in state tax breaks," Tulsa World, January 23, 2009.
  13. ^ "Digger George: Kaiser wants plug on energy incentives," The Oklahoman, January 25, 2009.

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