Walter Scott Jr. (May 21, 1931 – September 25, 2021) was an American billionaire businessman, civil engineer, philanthropist, and CEO of

Kiewit Corporation Kiewit Corporation is an American privately held construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations ...

. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at US$4.2 billion.

Education

He graduated from Colorado State University in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering.

Career

Scott was first elected to the

board in 1964. In 1979, he was elected president. When Peter Kiewit died later that same year, Scott was selected to succeed him as chairman. He sat on the board of

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Its main business and source of capital is insurance, from which it invests the float (the retained premiu ...

, and was a childhood friend of

Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...

. He was also on the board of directors of

Burlington Resources Burlington Resources Inc. was a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. In 2006, the company was acquired by ConocoPhillips. History In 1988, the company was formed to own the resource assets of Burlington Northern Railroad. The company beca ...

, Commonwealth Telephone Enterprises, Level 3 Communications Inc., MidAmerican Energy Holdings,

RCN Corporation RCN Corporation, originally Residential Communications Network, founded in 1993 and based in Princeton, New Jersey, was the first American facilities-based ("overbuild") provider of bundled telephone, cable television, and internet service del ...

, Valmont Industries, and Peter Kiewit Sons' Inc, and was the chairman of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress. He was a director of the

Joslyn Art Museum The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only m ...

, Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation, and the Omaha Development Foundation. Nationally, he was a director of the

Horatio Alger Association The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphas ...

and the National Forest Association. Scott was chairman of

Level 3 Communications Level 3 Communications was an American multinational telecommunications and Internet service provider company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. It ultimately became a part of CenturyLink (now Lumen Technologies), where Level 3 President ...

Philanthropy

Scott consistently ranked among the wealthiest Americans. With his wife, Suzanne, he founded the public,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation which has funded the Scott Atrium & Education Center at

University of Nebraska Medical Center The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) is a public academic health science center in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1869 and chartered as a private medical college in 1881, UNMC became part of the University of Nebraska System in 1902. R ...

, the Scott Technology Center in Omaha, and The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve. In June 2010, when

appealed to him to join the Giving Pledge, he partially accepted, stating that after his death his remaining estate will go into his eponymous foundation. In 2011, he committed $10 million to the construction of Engineering II, a $70 million, building which will house interdisciplinary energy, environment and health programs at Colorado State University. In November 2016, it was announced Scott would be donating $53.3 million to Colorado State University School of Engineering, CSU's largest ever gift, and that the College of Engineering at CSU will be renamed the Walter Scott Jr. College of Engineering, becoming the only named college of engineering in the state of Colorado.

Collector

In 1996, Scott acquired the original sales document of the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

for his private collection.

Honors and awards

Scott became an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

in 1946 and was a recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...

. He 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 non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

in 1991, presented by Awards Council member

Dennis Washington Dennis R. Washington (born 1934) is an American billionaire industrialist who owns, or co-owns controlling interests in, a large consortium of privately held companies collectively known as the Washington Companies and, in Canada, another collec ...

. Scott was the Host of the 1998 Achievement Summit in

Jackson Hole, Wyoming Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Un ...

Personal life

Scott's second wife, Suzanne ( Marshall; 1930-2013) had been a good friend of his late first wife, Carolyn Jane ( Falk; 1932-1983), but did not know Walter. They wed in 1987 at the Countryside Community Church. Suzanne Scott died in 2013, aged 83. Walter Scott died on September 25, 2021, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Walter Jr. 1931 births 2021 deaths Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska 21st-century philanthropists American billionaires Colorado State University alumni