Fred Eychaner (born c. 1945) is an American businessman and philanthropist. Eychaner is the chairman of Newsweb Corporation. He was included in ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' magazine's 2014 list of the 100 most powerful Chicagoans. In 2005, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' estimated his wealth at $500 million. In 2015, he was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame. Eychaner is a major donor to Democratic campaigns, gay rights advocacy groups, and arts organizations.

Early life and education

Eychaner was born to a middle-class

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

family in DeKalb, Illinois, the son of Mildred (Lovett) and Howard Franklin Eychaner. His father owned a moving and storage business.National Journal: "Meet Fred Eychaner, the Most Mysterious Figure in Democratic Party Politics - Tracking down Fred Eychaner, one of the most reclusive—and powerful—donors in Democratic politics, was no easy task" by Daniel Libit
May 8, 2014 He has three siblings, including Iowa businessman Rich Eychaner. He attended the

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...

Business interests

In the late 1970s, Eychaner founded Metrowest Corporation, which would eventually become Newsweb, which prints a wide variety of newspapers. It was in 1982 that, through Metrowest, he launched Chicago television station

WPWR-TV WPWR-TV (channel 50) is a television station licensed to Gary, Indiana, United States, broadcasting the MyNetworkTV programming service to the Chicago area. It is one of two commercial television stations in the Chicago market to be licensed in ...

Channel 50 in Chicago. It was also in 1982 that, alongside

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

owners

Jerry Reinsdorf Jerry Michael Reinsdorf (born February 25, 1936) is the owner of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and MLB's Chicago White Sox. He started his professional life as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service. He has been the owner of the White So ...

and

Eddie Einhorn Eddie Einhorn (January 3, 1936 – February 24, 2016) was minority owner and vice chairman of the Chicago White Sox. Biography Einhorn grew up in a Jewish family in Paterson, New Jersey, the son of Mae (née Lippman) and Harold B. Einhorn and resi ...

, he was involved in the launching of the subscription sports television service

Sportsvision Sportsvision (SV) was a subscription sports television service founded by Chicago White Sox owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn and media mogul Fred Eychaner. The service broadcast live sporting events, and for much of its time of operati ...

. The service was sold to

Cablevision Systems Corporation Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

in 1984, who converted it into a basic cable service. In 2002, WPWR was sold to

Fox Television Stations Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...

for a reported $425 million. Then, in 2005, through Newsweb, he launched Chicago radio station WCPT (850 AM), branded as Chicago's Progressive Talk.

Philanthropy

He is President of the charitable organization Alphawood Foundation which granted the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury a ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

£20m in 2013. Eychaner has given the Clinton Foundation more than $25 million. He is also credited with getting the long-delayed FDR Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island in New York finally constructed. In November 2013, Alphawood announced a $2 million matching grant to help jumpstart construction of the Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago. P1100993 (47700052771)

Eychaner commissioned architect Tadao Ando to design his house in Chicago, which was completed in 1997, and the Wrightwood 659 gallery next door, which officially opened in 2018.

Political activities

He has been a top Democratic donor for several cycles and in the 2012 election cycle was the top donor to Democratic Super PACs, giving more than $14 million.

Boards

He serves on the board of the Joffrey Ballet, and of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is also a trustee of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. In September 2010, President

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

appointed Eychaner a general trustee to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eychaner, Fred Living people 1945 births American philanthropists LGBT businesspeople from the United States LGBT people from Illinois Inductees of the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame