Robert Muse Bass (born 19 March 1948) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman and philanthropist. He was the chairman of Aerion Corporation, an American aerospace firm in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. In 2018, he had a net worth of $5 billion. Bass has served on the Texas Highway & Public Transportation Commission.

Early life

Robert Muse Bass was born on 19 March 1948 in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. His father, Perry Richardson Bass, was an investor, philanthropist and sailor. His mother, Nancy Lee Bass, was a philanthropist. He has three brothers: Lee Marshall Bass,

Ed Bass Edward Perry "Ed" Bass (born September 10, 1945) is an American businessman, financier, philanthropist and environmentalist who lives in Fort Worth, Texas. He financed the Biosphere 2, Biosphere 2 project, an artificial closed ecological s ...

, and Sid Bass. His uncle is Sid Richardson. Bass attended

The Governor's Academy The Governor's Academy (informally known as Governor's or Govs) is a co-educational, college-preparatory day and boarding school in Byfield, Massachusetts. Established in 1763 in memory of Massachusetts governor William Dummer, Governor's is ...

, and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he received a bachelor of arts degree. He received a master in business administration from the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective ...

Career

Bass's father founded Bass Brothers Enterprises in 1960 after inheriting $11 million from his great uncle Sid W. Richardson in 1959. In 1985, Robert Bass founded the Robert M. Bass Group as his personal investment company. In 1990, it was renamed Keystone, Inc., after the Keystone Field in West Texas from which the Bass family derived their fortune. He founded

Oak Hill Capital Partners Oak Hill Capital Partners is a private equity firm headquartered in New York City, with more than $19 billion of committed capital from entrepreneurs, endowments, foundations, corporations, pension funds and global financial institutions. Ro ...

as a

family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

in 1986. In April 1987, Bass and other owners of TFBA Limited Partnership bought and took private

Taft Broadcasting Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President ...

for $1.43 billion. In March 1988, Bass sold the Plaza Hotel to

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 ...

, thanks to their mutual friend

Tom Barrack Thomas Joseph Barrack Jr. (born April 28, 1947) is an American private equity real estate investor and the founder and executive chairman of Colony Capital, a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT). Barrack has for decades been a ...

. In April 1988, he led a buy-out of Bell & Howell. In June 1988, Bass made an offer to purchase Macmillan Inc., the publishing and information company, but the company responded with a restructuring. Bass formerly served as chairman of the board at Aerion Supersonic, a developer of supersonic business jets. Bass was replaced by Tom Vice as chairman upon the announcement of a partnership between

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

and Aerion on February 5, 2019. It is reported Boeing invested several hundred million dollars for an approximate 40 percent share in Aerion.

Philanthropy

Bass has served as chairman of

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 ...

's board of trustees, Stanford Management Company, the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

, and Cook Children’s Medical Center . He is a trustee of Stanford University, a director of Stanford Management Company, a trustee of the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

, a trustee of

Rockefeller University The Rockefeller University is a Private university, private Medical research, biomedical Research university, research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and pro ...

Groton School Groton School is a Private school, private, college-preparatory school, college-preparatory, day school, day and boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts, United States. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcop ...

Middlesex School Middlesex School (informally known as MX) is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational, Private school, independent, and Nonsectarian, non-sectarian boarding school, boarding secondary school located in Concord, Massachusetts, Concord, Middlesex Count ...

, and the Amon Carter Museum. Bass and his wife Anne donated $13 million to fund the renovation of Yale's Cross Campus Library, which was renamed the Bass Library. In 2005, they donated $30 million to the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In 2013, they donated $50 million to

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

to support Bass Connections, an initiative to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration and studies. In 2001, Bass and his wife donated $10 million to Duke to strengthen undergraduate teaching. They also donated $10 million in 1996 to establish the Bass Society of Fellows at Duke. They also contributed to the creation of Bass Hall in Downtown Fort Worth (performing arts venue located in Fort Worth, Texas that routinely hosts musical and theatrical performances).

Personal life

Bass is married to Anne T. Bass. They have four children. One daughter, Margaret, was featured in a ''Wall Street Journal'' article as an example of a student whose wealth and family connections helped her receive admission to an elite university. They reside in the town of Westover Hills near

, and also have homes in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

They also have a home in Seal Harbor on the southeast side of Mount Desert Island, Maine (south of

Acadia National Park Acadia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor, Maine, Bar Harbor. The park includes about half of Mount Desert ...

References

External links

Aerion Corporation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Robert 1948 births Living people Businesspeople from Fort Worth, Texas American businesspeople American billionaires Yale University alumni Benefactors of Yale University Stanford University trustees Private equity and venture capital investors Corporate raiders Bass family People from Woodside, California Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni Brookings Institution people The Governor's Academy alumni