David Bonderman (November27, 1942December11, 2024) was 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. He was the founding partner of

TPG Inc. TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, stock, public equity, and debt investments. The f ...

(formerly Texas Pacific Group), and its Asian affiliate, Newbridge Capital. He was also one of the minority owners of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

as well as the co-founder and co-majority owner (along with Jerry Bruckheimer) of the

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The t ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. At the time of his death,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

estimated his net worth at US$7.4 billion, making him the 400th richest person in the world.

Early life and education

Bonderman was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family,Taub, Orna (March 26, 2013)
"TPG Sells Shares of Indian Company – Win-win for Everybody!"
.

Jewish Business News ''Jewish Business News'' is an online newspaper published in English, which primarily covers stories relating to businesses owned, or managed, by Jewish business people around the world, as is implied by the paper's nameplate. The newspaper laun ...

. in Los Angeles on November 27, 1942, and was educated there at University High School. Bonderman studied Russian at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, where he graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

in 1963, and at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where he graduated ''magna cum laude'' in 1966. He was also a member of the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...

'' and a Sheldon Fellow. During his time at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

, he traveled to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Egypt, to study

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.Fiqh
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

; consequently, he became known in various Islamic legal circles, ultimately developing a near-native fluency in

Modern Standard Arabic Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or Modern Written Arabic (MWA) is the variety of Standard language, standardized, Literary language, literary Arabic that developed in the Arab world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and in some usages al ...

. Bonderman began providing the funding for the Bonderman Travel Fellowship at the

in 1995 which gives eight undergraduate and six graduate students per year with the opportunity to travel the world independently, with very little structure or regulations. In 2013, Bonderman's daughter, Samantha Holloway, donated the funding to create a similar fellowship at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. While the fellowships share the same name (the Bonderman Fellowship), they vary in both eligibility and execution.

Career

Bonderman was an assistant professor at Tulane University Law School during 1967 and 1968; he then was a special assistant to the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

during 1968 and 1969. In 1971, he joined the law firm of

Arnold & Porter Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, doing business as Arnold & Porter, is an American multinational law firm. It is a white-shoe firm and among the largest law firms in the world, both by revenue and by number of lawyers. Arnold & Porter was f ...

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 ...

, where he became a partner and specialized in corporate, securities, bankruptcy and antitrust litigation. In 1983, he joined the Robert M. Bass Group, Inc. (RMBG), an investment company of Robert Bass which now does business as Keystone Inc., and became the chief operating officer. Bonderman was a principal at TPG 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 ...

, from December 1992, where he was also co-founder and chairman. TPG went public in January 2022, trading on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...

under the ticker symbol "TPG". In 2008, Bonderman was named as one of the investors of what became the

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. Bonderman was a director of

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

, Bell & Howell,

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...

, Credicom Asia, the Education Corporation of America, Beringer Vineyards, Carr Realty,

Virgin Cinemas Virgin Cinemas was founded in 1995 when Richard Branson's Virgin Group acquired MGM Cinemas, the largest cinema operator in the United Kingdom. Virgin Group bought the cinemas for £195m, and subsequently sold 90 of the chain's smallest cinema ...

CoStar Group CoStar Group, Inc. is an American provider of information, analytics, and marketing services to the commercial property industry in North America and Europe. Founded in 1987 by Andrew C. Florance and based in Arlington, Virginia, the company has ...

Gemalto Gemalto was an international digital security company providing software applications, secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens, e-wallets and managed services. It was formed in June 2006 by the merger of two companies, Axalto and ...

, and

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

. He was on the boards of The Wilderness Society, the Grand Canyon Trust, the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

, The University of Washington Foundation and the

American Himalayan Foundation The American Himalayan Foundation (AHF) is a non-profit organization in the United States that helps Tibetans, Sherpas, and Nepalis living throughout the Himalayas. AHF builds schools, plants trees, trains doctors, funds hospitals, takes care o ...

. He previously was on the boards of

Washington Mutual Washington Mutual, Inc. (often abbreviated to WaMu) was an American Bank holding company, savings bank holding company based in Seattle. It was the parent company of Washington Mutual Bank, which was the largest savings and loan association in ...

, American Savings Bank, Denbury Resources and

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

. He was a board member of

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. is an American multinational transportation company that provides Ridesharing company, ride-hailing services, courier services, food delivery, and freight transport. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, a ...

until he resigned from that position in June 2017. In June 2017, Bonderman resigned from the board of

amidst controversy surrounding a sexist response to fellow board member Arianna Huffington during a company all-hands meeting. "There's a lot of data that shows when there's one woman on the board, it's much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board," said Huffington. Bonderman replied, "actually, what it shows is that it's much more likely to be more talking." The Uber meeting was, among other things, slated to discuss efforts to rein in a toxic and sexist culture at the company. In 2018, Bonderman filed an application for a

(NHL)

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

to play at a renovated

Climate Pledge Arena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as the Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. The NHL Board of Governors voted to approve the team, named the

, on December 4.

Wildcat, Infinity Q, Velissaris

Wildcat Capital Management was originally Bonderman's family office.Weiss, Miles (February 22, 2021)
"Mutual Fund Locks Out Founder After SEC Questions Swaps Pricing"
. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved February 27, 2021. In early 2019, a

mutual fund A mutual fund is an investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase Security (finance), securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV in ...

named Infinity Q Diversified Alpha Fund had reportedly said on its website that the "investment team and control functions are largely the same for both Wildcat and Infinity Q." Wildcat also reportedly had $100 million invested in the fund. Infinity Q had been founded in 2014. In early 2021, the $1.7 billion Infinity Q fund suspended redemptions, the SEC was investigating asset valuations and the chief investment officer, James Velissaris, had been placed on administrative leave. Zweig, Jason (February 26, 2021)
"Investors Piled Into This Magical Money Machine. Now They're Stuck"
. ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. Retrieved February 26, 2021. Leonard Potter, Infinity Q's non-executive chairman and owner of Wildcat, was designated to take over Infinity Q's management. Wildcat "managed more than $3 billion at the end of 2019, including capital from Bonderman." In February 2021, SEC charged Velissaris in a fraudulent scheme to overvalue assets held by the Infinity Q Diversified Alpha mutual fund and the Infinity Q Volatility Alpha private fund. According to the complaint, Velissaris collected more than $26 million through fraudulent conduct, deceived SEC staff by creating backdated minutes non-existent valuation meetings, and altering valuation policy documents. The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Velissaris, and the

Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US government created in 1974 that regulates the U.S. derivatives markets, which includes futures contract, fut ...

(CFTC) announced parallel civil charges against him. In April 2021, ''The'' ''Wall Street Journal'' analyzed specific valuation problems in the fund portfolios and received some comment on them. It also reported an apparent loss of $500 million in the fund, bringing valuation to $1.2 billion, and some discussion of the loss. Velissaris was identified as having been majority owner and in control of the fund with Bonderman family investment interests as passive investors in it. Infinity Q was expected to present a plan to distribute funds to investors by May 24, the report concluded.Banerji, Gunjan (April 20, 2021)
"Behind the Mysterious Demise of a $1.7 Billion Mutual Fund"
. ''

''. Retrieved April 20, 2021.

Personal life and death

Bonderman was married to Laurie Michaels; they had five children, and lived in

. He was reported to be in a relationship with Christa Campbell in February and May 2019 though he stayed married with Michaels. In 2002, for his 60th birthday, Bonderman had

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

and

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

play at his birthday party at The Theater at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. John Mellencamp played for an hour, The Rolling Stones played for an hour and a half, and comedian

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedie ...

entertained guests between acts. The party cost $7 million, making it one of the most expensive private concerts ever held. In 2012, for his 70th birthday party, Bonderman held a private concert by former

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

member

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

at Wynn Las Vegas for 1,020 guests.

also performed a comedy routine. Bonderman donated $1000 to each guest's charity of choice. Bonderman died in Los Angeles, on December 11, 2024, at the age of 82. In tribute, the Seattle Kraken added a "Bondo" (Bonderman's nickname) patch to its jerseys and a matching sticker to its helmets on December 12.

Awards and honors

* 1999: 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 ...

* 2004: The M&A Advisor Hall of Fame * 2016: Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship * 2017: Texas Business Hall of Fame

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonderman, David 1942 births 2024 deaths Death in Los Angeles 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American businesspeople American billionaires American chief executives of financial services companies American financial company founders American financiers American investors American lawyers American philanthropists American sports businesspeople Arnold & Porter people Continental Airlines people Uber people Burger King people Seattle Kraken owners Boston Celtics owners Businesspeople from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Texas Businesspeople from Washington, D.C. Corporate lawyers Harvard Law School alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Lawyers from Fort Worth, Texas National Hockey League owners Private equity and venture capital investors TPG Capital Tulane University Law School faculty Tulane University faculty University High School (Los Angeles) alumni University of Washington alumni