Bradford M. "Brad" Freeman is an American businessman and conservative political fundraiser.

Career

Freeman was born and raised in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

, and attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

on a football scholarship. He received an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1966. Upon graduation, Freeman served six years in the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

and began a career as an investment banker for the firm

Dean Witter Reynolds Dean Witter Reynolds was an American Brokerage firm, stock brokerage and securities firm catering to a variety of clients. Prior to the company's acquisition, it was among the largest firms in the securities industry with over 9,000 account execu ...

. In 1983, Freeman co-founded an investment banking firm called Riordan, Freeman & Spogli with later

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Richard Riordan Richard Joseph Riordan (May 1, 1930 – April 19, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, military commander, philanthropist, and politician. A decorated Korean War veteran and a member of the Republican Party, Riordan served as the 39th ...

and

Ronald P. Spogli Ronald P. Spogli (born 1948) is an American venture capitalist and politician. He is the former United States Ambassador to Italy and United States Ambassador to San Marino, to San Marino. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 30, 2005, afte ...

. The firm was renamed Freeman Spogli & Co. after Riordan's exit. By 2001, the fund controlled over $900 million in assets. Freeman has also served as a director of

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

DW, RDO Equipment, Koll Management Services,

CBRE Group CBRE Group, Inc. (an initialism of Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis) is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm with corporate headquarters in Dallas, Texas and global financial headquarters at Lever House in Midtown Manh ...

Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (SCE), the largest subsidiary of Edison International, is the primary electric utility company for much of Southern California. It provides 15 million people with electricity across a service territory of approximate ...

, and

Edison International Edison International is a public utility A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilit ...

Other activities

Freeman was introduced to

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

in 1979, and the two quickly became good friends. Freeman served on the "Team of 100,"

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

's group of top fundraisers, and helped raise funds for George W. Bush's campaigns for Governor of Texas. Freeman served as a "Pioneer" in Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and helped raise millions of dollars for Bush and the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

. Freeman also served as chairman of the 2000 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Though Freeman himself did not earn a major presidential appointment, Freeman's business partner, Ron Spogli, was appointed Ambassador to Italy in 2005. In the 2016 film ''Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk'', Freeman said that after raising and contributing millions of dollars to George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign, he was expecting a government appointment such as "a chance to run the CIA," but Bush instead offered him his cat. According to friends, Bush did arrange for Freeman a membership of

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

. Freeman has served on the board of trustees of Stanford University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Bradford M. Living people Harvard Business School alumni People from Fargo, North Dakota Year of birth missing (living people) Stanford Cardinal football players Businesspeople from Los Angeles Stanford University trustees Stanford University alumni People from Brentwood, Los Angeles California Republicans

Career

Other activities

See also

References