Kenneth Gerard Langone Sr. KSG (born September 16, 1935) is an American billionaire businessman best known for organizing financing for the founders of

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

. He is a major donor to the Republican Party.

Early life

Langone was born in

Roslyn Heights, New York Roslyn Heights is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in N ...

, to Italian American parents. His father was a plumber and his mother a cafeteria worker. He was a student at

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

and the

New York University Stern School of Business The Leonard N. Stern School of Business (also NYU Stern, Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. Founded as the School of Commerce, Accounts ...

Business career

In the early 1960s, Langone began his career at a

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

company named R.W. Pressprich, where he helped develop new business. In 1968 Langone met and persuaded

Ross Perot Henry Ross Perot ( ; June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an Independent politician ...

to let Pressprich handle

Electronic Data Systems Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Corporation was an American multinational corporation, multinational information technology equipment and services company headquartered in Plano, Texas, which was founded in 1962 by Ross Perot. The company was a s ...

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. In 1969, Langone was named Pressprich's president. In 1974, Langone formed the venture capital firm Invemed. Langone organized financing for Bernard Marcus and

Arthur Blank Arthur Morris Blank (born September 27, 1942) is an American Businessperson, businessman. He is best known for being a co-founder of the home improvement retailer Home Depot, The Home Depot. Blank owns three professional sports teams based in At ...

to found

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

. Now an international chain with over 450,000 employees, it is Langone's most notable business venture. Langone was a member of the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

from 1999 to 2005.Matthew J. Belvedere
Ex-director Ken Langone: GE's 'destruction' happened after Jack Welch and it could now be 'busted up'
CNBC (February 28, 2018). He defended

Jack Welch John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001. His long career at General Electric ( ...

's tenure as chief executive of GE, blaming Welch's successors for the company's steep decline. Langone was a member of the boards of

Geeknet Geeknet, Inc. is an American company that is a subsidiary of GameStop based in Fairfax County, Virginia. The company was formerly known as VA Research, VA Linux Systems, VA Software, and SourceForge, Inc. History VA Research VA Research was foun ...

, Database Technologies,

ChoicePoint LexisNexis Risk Solutions is a global data and analytics company that provides data and technology services, analytics, predictive insights, and fraud prevention for a wide range of industries. It is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia (part o ...

Inc., Unifi, and Yum! Brands, Inc. Langone was chairman of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

's Compensation Committee from 1999 to 2003. In 2004, New York Attorney General

Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008 after a prostitution scandal. A member of the Democratic Party, he was also ...

filed a lawsuit against the New York Stock Exchange's former Chairman

Richard Grasso Richard A. "Dick" Grasso (born July 26, 1946) was chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2003. He started in 1968, when he was hired by the Exchange as a floor clerk. He later became embroiled in controversies ...

to return $100 million to the NYSE that were part of his $139.5 million pay package. The lawsuit named Langone, who had approved the pay package. Langone denied that the pay packages were illegal considering that the NYSE had direct knowledge of the board's decision. On July 1, 2008, the

New York State Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the chief judge and six associate judges, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate t ...

dismissed all claims against Grasso because the NYSE had changed its status from a nonprofit to a for-profit organization, which meant that the Attorney General had lost standing to sue Grasso. According to ''Forbes'' magazine, Langone's

net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...

as of 2024 is approximately $8 billion.Ken Langone: $8B Real Time Net Worth as of 1/21/24, #301 in the world today
''Forbes''.

Political involvement and campaign donations

Langone is a major donor to the Republican Party. He describes himself as a "loyal, enthusiastic Republican"Matthew J. Belvedere
Shutdown gave GOP a 'black eye,' Langone says
CNBC (October 30, 2013). and opposes

single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...

, free college tuition, and

guaranteed minimum income Guaranteed minimum income (GMI), also called minimum income (or mincome for short), is a social-welfare spending, welfare system that guarantees all citizens or families an income sufficient to live on, provided that certain eligibility conditions ...

, deeming these policies to be a form of "socialism."Martin Pengelly
Billionaire Republican backer donates to Manchin after he killed key Biden bill
''The Guardian'' (January 28, 2022). A friend of

, Langone was part of the "Business Brigade" of executives who supported Perot's 1992 presidential campaignBrett D. Fromson
Perot's Business Brigade
''Washington Post'' (June 28, 1992).Andy Kroll
The Home Depot Man Who Wants to Demolish Obama
''Mother Jones'' (March/April 2012). and he was an advisor to the Perot campaign. He donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to 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 ...

and to Republican-aligned outside spending groups, such as

Karl Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August ...

's American Crossroads

super PAC Independent expenditure-only political action committees, better known as super PACs, are a type of political action committee (PAC) in the United States. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are legally allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of m ...

, and

Norm Coleman Norman Bertram Coleman Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a United States Senate, United States Senator for Minnesota. From 1994 to 2002, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Mi ...

dark money In politics, particularly the politics of the United States, dark money refers to spending to influence elections, public policy, and political discourse, where the source of the money is not disclosed to the public. In the United States, ...

group, the American Action Network. In 2008, Langone supported

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

's presidential bid, and was a bundler for the Giuliani's campaign. Langone heavily donated to efforts to defeat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

in the 2012 presidential election. He led an effort by a group of wealthy Republican donors to

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

Chris Christie Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician and former United States Attorney, federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party (United States) ...

to run; when he declined, Langone backed

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

. He criticized the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

championed by Obama,Matthew J. Belvedere

CNBC (October 30, 2023). although he was also critical of Republican congressional leadership for triggering a 2013 United States federal government shutdown, government shutdown in an effort to block the ACA. In 2014, Langone likened populist appeals to raise taxes on the rich in the United States to Hitler's rhetoric in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. In July 2022, Langone helped found a group of U.S. business and policy leaders who share the goal of constructively engaging with China in order to improve U.S.-China relations. Langone initially endorsed Christie's campaign for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination; in early 2015, he donated $250,000 to a pro-Christie super PAC, but made no major further financial contributions to support Christie's campaign, and praised

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

as "a very significant positive factor."Daniel Strauss
Christie megadonor Ken Langone hops on the Kasich train
''Politico'' (February 11, 2016). After Christie dropped out of the race, Langone shifted his support to

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

. He also later donated to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. In 2019, Langone praised Trump for raising tariffs on China. In 2017, following the deadly far-right rally in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

, Langone said Trump “completely mishandled the situation in Charlottesville" but continued to support Trump's economic policies. On January 13, 2021, days after the January 6 attack against the U.S. Capitol, Langone said he felt "betrayed" by Trump's actions during the assault. He nevertheless continued to back Trump after the Capitol attack, and contributed $1 million to a fund working to defeat Democratic senators and $500,000 to

Americans for Prosperity Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded in 2004, is a Libertarian conservatism, libertarian conservative political advocacy group in the United States affiliated with brothers Charles Koch and the late David Koch. As the Koch family's primary pol ...

, the Koch family-backed group. In December 2023, Langone endorsed

Nikki Haley Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley (''née'' Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and as the 29th U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from Ja ...

's campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and became a major donor to a

supporting Haley. However, after the January 2024 Iowa caucuses, Langone said he would withhold further major financial support for Haley's candidacy unless she had a strong showing in the

New Hampshire primary The New Hampshire presidential primary is the first in a series of nationwide party primary elections and the second party contest, the first being the Iowa caucuses, held in the United States every four years as part of the process of cho ...

, and said that he believed Trump would likely win the nomination.Alex Rogers
Billionaire Nikki Haley donor says further support depends on New Hampshire vote
''Financial Times'' (January 18, 2024). He said he would "probably" vote for Trump if he were the Republican Party's nominee.

Personal life

He and his wife Elaine Langone have three children; Kenneth G. Jr., Stephen, and Bruce Langone. He lives in

Sands Point, New York Sands Point is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village, village located at the tip of the Cow Neck Peninsula in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead, in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long ...

. He has lived on Elderfields Road in nearby Flower Hill, and has maintained a winter home in

North Palm Beach, Florida North Palm Beach is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The village won an award from the National Association of Home Builders as best planned commun ...

. Langone is a devout

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who has financially contributed to the church and sat on the board of St. Patrick's Cathedral.Rooneys, Langones receive Monan Medal for church philanthropy
Catholic News Service (October 3, 2022). He was made a knight of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

. He has been critical of Benedict's successor,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, taking issue with Francis's statements (for example, in the apostolic exhortation '' Evangelii gaudium'') condemning the indifference of the prosperous toward the poor.Michael Hiltzik
Ken Langone vs Pope Francis: Fat wallet, thin skin
''Los Angeles Times'' (January 3, 2014).Michelle Caruso-Cabrera

CNBC (December 30, 2013).

Philanthropy

Langone and his wife were early signatories to

The Giving Pledge The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority (i.e. more than 50%) of their wealth to philanthropic causes. , the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 ...

.Interview with Ken Langone
''Philanthropy Roundtable'' (summer 2019). Langone has donated $300 million to the NYU School of Medicine and NYU Medical Center (later named NYU Langone Health in his honor); this includes a $100 million pledge in 2018 toward a $450 million program to make tuition free for all medical students at the NYU School of Medicine. Langone has been a member of the boards of trustees of NYU Langone Health, the Harlem Children's Zone, the Robin Hood Foundation, and the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

. He was a member of the

board of trustees from 1981 to 1996; he and his wife gave $11 million to the university in 1999, to fund a new athletics center, and approximately $42 million to the university between 2013 and 2017. In 2019, he donated over $5 million to the Animal Medical Center in New York City.

Awards and Honors

In 2024, Langone received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

In popular media

Langone is portrayed by actor Ray Iannicelli in the 2017

HBO Films HBO Films (formerly called HBO Premiere Films and HBO Pictures) is an American production and distribution company, a division of the cable television network HBO that produces feature films and miniseries. The division produces fiction and non-f ...

production '' The Wizard of Lies''. In the film, Langone rejects an offer to invest money in the schemes of convicted Wall Street swindler

Bernie Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American financial criminal and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion. He was at one time ...

. Langone is extensively featured in the documentary '' Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer'' where he discusses his fierce rivalry with former

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

References

External links

Firm Mines Wealth Of Personal Data
'' Washington Post'', loaded March 14, 2006

''consumeraffairs.com'', May 16, 2006, loaded April 2, 2007

''New York Times'', April 16, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Langone, Kenneth 1935 births Living people American businesspeople in retailing American financiers American corporate directors American billionaires American investment bankers Businesspeople from New York (state) Bucknell University alumni General Electric people 21st-century American philanthropists New York Stock Exchange people People from Roslyn Heights, New York People from Flower Hill, New York People from Sands Point, New York Roslyn High School alumni New York (state) Republicans New York University Stern School of Business alumni The Home Depot people Yum! Brands people Knights of St. Gregory the Great Catholics from New York (state) American people of Italian descent Businesspeople awarded knighthoods