Howard Fieldstad Ahmanson Jr. (born February 3, 1950) is an American Christian philanthropist. He is the son of Howard F. Ahmanson Sr., the founder of Home Savings Bank.

Biography

Ahmanson was born on February 3, 1950. He is the son of Dorothy Johnston Grannis and the American financier Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. (1906–1968).Larsen, Peter. "Burden of Wealth" Orange County Register. August 8, 2004. See also, Eric John Abrahamson, ''Building Home: Howard F. Ahmanson and the Politics of the American Dream'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013) He has Tourette syndrome. His father was a prominent businessman in the savings and loan industry; Howard Sr. founded H.F. Ahmanson & Co., which thrived in the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. and ultimately expanded throughout California and into

New York state New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. His father was well known for his support of the arts, an area in which Ahmanson Jr. has continued to be active. His parents divorced when he was ten years old. Despite the trappings of wealth, Howard Jr. was a lonely child. He has said, "I resented my family background, y fathercould never be a role model, whether by habits or his lifestyle, it was never anything I wanted."Haas, Jane Glenn. "The Salvation of H.F. Ahmanson Jr." Orange County Register. 1985. His father died when he was eighteen, and Ahmanson Jr. inherited his father's fortune.Doward, Jamie
Anti-gay millionaire bankrolls Caravaggio spectacular.
''The Observer''. March 6, 2005. He attended

Occidental College Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is ...

, where he obtained a degree in economics. He then toured Europe, but returned because of complications with

arthritis Arthritis is a general medical term used to describe a disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, Joint effusion, swelling, and decreased range of motion of ...

. He earned a master's degree in

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

at the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

. In 1986, Howard married journalist Roberta Green.

Monetary contributions

Organizations and projects

Fieldstead and Company, Howard and Roberta Ahmanson's personal office, has a steady history of contributing parts of his father's inherited fortune to a plethora of organizations and initiatives. It is stated that the mission of Fieldstead and Company is to "make the world more like ... a place where there is no darkness, no sickness, no hunger or thirst, no slavery, no prisoners, no tears, no death". The following is a list of organizations to which the Ahmansons have contributed significant amounts in the past: *

American Anglican Council The American Anglican Council began as an organization of theologically conservative Anglicans from both the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and The Episcopal Church in the United States. According to its membership brochure, it was fou ...

;

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 ...

:→''Association of orthodox Episcopal churches, led by Rev. Canon David Anderson.'' *

Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor' ...

;

La Mirada, California La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities, on the border with Orange County, California, Orange County. The population was 48,008 at the 2020 ...

* California Policy Center;

Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, United States, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city does not include the unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated communit ...

Calvin College Calvin University, formerly Calvin College, is a private Christian university in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1876, Calvin University is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reforme ...

;

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

:→''Roberta Ahmanson graduated from Calvin College in 1972.'' *

Chalcedon Foundation The Chalcedon Foundation is an American Christian Reconstructionist organization, founded by Rousas John Rushdoony in 1965. Named for the Council of Chalcedon, it has also included theologians such as Gary North, who later founded his own or ...

;

Vallecito, California Vallecito ( Spanish for "Little Valley") is a census-designated place (CDP) in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 442 at the 2020 census, exactly the same as at the 2010 census. The town is registered as California ...

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...

;

Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...

:→''By way of Fieldstead & Company, Ahmanson Jr. sponsors series of conferences and events predominantly focused on matters such as housing policy and urbanism, all held at Chapman University's Wilkinson College for Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.'' *

Claremont Institute The Claremont Institute is an American conservative think tank based in Upland, California, founded in 1979 by four students of Harry V. Jaffa. It produces the ''Claremont Review of Books'', '' The American Mind'', and other publications. Th ...

;

Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...

:→''Think tank seeking "to restore the principles of the American Founding to their rightful, preeminent authority in our national life."'' *

Discovery Institute The Discovery Institute (DI) is a conservatism in the United States, politically conservative think tank that advocates the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific concept Article available froUniversiteit Gent of intelligent design (ID). It was fou ...

;

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

:→''Howard Ahmanson Jr. served on the board of directors for the Center for Science and Culture, a proponent for the

intelligent design Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins".#Numbers 2006, Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for it ...

movement.'' *

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

;

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...

:→''Founders of a team that published 28 volumes of the "

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (ACCS) is a twenty-nine volume set of commentaries on the Bible published by InterVarsity Press. It is a confessionally collaborative project as individual editors have included scholars from Eastern Or ...

."'' * Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC);

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 ...

:→''Think tank that view domestic and foreign policy issues from a

Judeo-Christian The term ''Judeo-Christian'' is used to group Christianity and Judaism together, either in reference to Christianity's derivation from Judaism, Christianity's recognition of Jewish scripture to constitute the Old Testament of the Christian Bibl ...

point of view.'' *

Food for the Hungry Food for the Hungry (also known as FH) is a Christian international relief, development, and advocacy organization. Food for the Hungry was founded in 1971 by Larry Ward. Food for the Hungry's stated mission for long-term development is to gradu ...

;

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

:→''Evangelical-based relief organization with annual budget of about $76 million and programs in 37 countries in the developing world.'' * Fullhart-Carnegie Museum Trust;

Perry, Iowa Perry is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States, along the North Raccoon River. The population was 7,836 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is part of the Des Moines– West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Perry was ...

:→''The contribution funds a museum in the town of Perry, Iowa, in which Roberta Ahmanson grew up.'' *

Hudson Institute Hudson Institute is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporation. Kahn ...

;

* International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT USA);

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA (IVCF) is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christianity, Christian student movement with affiliate groups on university campuses in U.S.. It is a member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students ...

;

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

* John & Vera Mae Perkins Foundation * Maranatha Trust;

* Mariners Christian School;

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

:→''Private school in Costa Mesa with about 650 students in preschool to eighth grade.'' * National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families (formerly National Coalition Against Pornography);

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. * Orange County Classical Academy;

:→''A K-12 Classical Education public charter school.'' * Orange County Rescue Mission;

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

:→''The Orange County Rescue Mission provides housing, support, and treatment, for people struggling with poverty and drug addiction.'' *

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

;

Malibu, California Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...

:→''Similar to his programs at Chapman University, Ahmanson Jr. sponsors events and conferences on the topics of urbanism and affordable housing at Pepperdine's School of Public Policy.'' * St. James Anglican Church;

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

:→''Formerly "St. James Episcopal Church", the Ahmansons have attended the "evangelical church with charismatic roots."'' * CityGate ''(Formerly "Sen USA")'';

Hobart, Indiana Hobart ( , ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 29,752 at the 2020 census, up from 29,059 in 2010. It has been historically primarily residential, though recent annexation has added a notable retail corridor to ...

:→''Evangelical Christian missionary group working in Central and Eastern Europe.'' * Strong Towns;

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

:→''Ahmanson Jr. has made several contributions to Strong Towns, a think tank and community that encourages Americans and Canadians, alike, to rethink the way municipal infrastructure is developed and sustained in their respective communities.'' *

Voice of OC Voice of OC is a small, local, non-profit, online news agency reporting on local issues covering Orange County, California. Its coverages range from topics such as transportation, the environment, social justice, health, public safety, housing, ...

;

:→''Fieldstead & Company has supported Voice of OC, a startup nonprofit newsroom founded by Norberto Santana, Jr. to cover events in Orange County.'' *

World Vision The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk of a "plu ...

;

Howard has previously served as a board member for both the John & Vera Mae Perkins Foundation and the

. Ahmanson is a major supporter of the

, whose Center for Science and Culture supports ideas centered around

. Through Fieldstead, Ahmanson's wife Roberta, a former religion reporter and editor for the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

'', has funded and been directly involved with some programs of the

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) is an international organization of evangelical Christian colleges and universities. The headquarters is in Washington, D.C., United States. History In 1976, presidents of colleges in Chri ...

, including the Washington Journalism Center that encompasses both the Summer Institute of Journalism, and the Fieldstead Journalism Lectures. Fieldstead has funded other Christian journalistic projects such as Gegrapha and GetReligion. A common thread in all of these organizations is Terry Mattingly, a personal friend of Roberta Ahmanson, who directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, teaches journalism, and writes a weekly column for the Scripps-Howard News Service. Roberta Ahmanson recently co-edited a book called ''Blind Spot.'' Howard and Roberta are also supporters of ''The Media Project,'' an organization that "educates journalists on the importance of religion" and its digital magazine, ''Religion Unplugged.'' The Ahmansons have also supported the creation of the 29-volume ''Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture'', published by

InterVarsity Press Founded in 1947, InterVarsity Press (IVP) is a Christian publisher located in Lisle, Illinois. IVP focuses on publishing Christian books and digital resources that discuss influential cultural moments, provide tools for mental growth through a ...

Social advocacy and political involvement

Ahmanson was a major advocate for the abolition of California redevelopment agencies, especially concerned about what he viewed as the widespread abuse of

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

and public subsidies. He financed the publication ''"Redevelopment: The Unknown Government"'' and the formation of Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform (MORR), alongside Chris Norby, California legislator and former mayor of

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

, in 1995. Norby later served in the California State Assembly when redevelopment agencies were abolished in 2011 and MORR was disbanded, having succeeded in its sole purpose. Ahmanson was a registered Republican until 2008; Ahmanson, worried about the narrowing focus of the California Republican Party on lowering taxes, announced that he switched parties and was a registered Democrat from 2008 to 2018. Finding fault with both parties, he is now officially registered as a "No Party Preference" (NPP) voter (formerly referred to as a decline-to-state voter by the state of California). In the 2020 presidential election Ahmanson voted for and endorsed

Brian Carroll Brian Carroll (born July 20, 1981) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder, notably appearing for D.C. United Columbus Crew and Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer. He is the only player in ML ...

of the

American Solidarity Party The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is an United States, American Christian democracy, Christian democratic List of political parties in the United States, political party. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party ...

. ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine included the Ahmansons in their 2005 profiles of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America, classifying them as "the financiers." In the 1970s, Howard became a board member of the

and served until 1996. In 1996, he said he had left the Chalcedon board due to the fact that he "did not embrace" all of the teachings held by its leadership. In 2004, the ''

'' wrote a five-part profile of the Ahmansons. Holding a strong interest and passion in the activity of

standup paddleboarding Standup paddleboarding (SUP) is a water sport born from surfing with modern roots in Hawaii. Standup paddleboarders stand on boards that are floating on the water and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. The sport was documen ...

, Ahmanson Jr. has assumed a role of activism alongside FreeSUP SoCal in opposition to a particular determination made by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

(USCG) that has been used to require operators of standup paddleboards to wear a

personal flotation device A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suit that is worn by a u ...

(PFD). FreeSUP SoCal maintains that a leash is the more common and frequently most effective safety equipment, as evidenced by its widespread usage and the sport's significantly diminished mortality rate compared to other water sports. In 2014, the organization that would come to be known as FreeSup SoCal and which receives funding by Ahmanson, offered a formal, public comment to the USCG that explained how the PFD determination which was intended to promote safety for standup paddleboarders sorely lacked data justifying the determination, and that making determinations without the necessary data could have the opposite effect of putting paddleboarders in peril.

Arts and humanities

Organizations

Howard has made numerous contributions and offered support for art initiatives across

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and Orange County. The following is a collection of organizations and projects in the arts & humanities that have benefited from the support of Howard Ahmanson, Jr. * Bridge Projects * Stanley Spenser: An English Vision installment at the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C. * The Sacred Made Real * Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS) *

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

: The Final Years at the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, London *

Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra With its debut in 1993, the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO) became the first educational program of Pacific Symphony and is now one of four youth orchestras in the Pacific Symphony Youth Ensembles (PSYE) program. Pacific Symphony Youth O ...

* Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, published by

The Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District, San Francisco, Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally built for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Comp ...

in San Francisco * The Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City

Bridge Projects

Bridge Projects is an LA-based art gallery that consists of a community of artists, scholars, and collectors who are inspired by art history, spirituality, living religious traditions, and contemporary art practices. Roberta, wife of Ahmanson and current chair of Bridge Projects, founded the gallery and community with LA-based artist, Linnea Spransy, back in 2017. While Howard played a supportive role in bringing this project to fruition, Roberta spearheaded the vision for Bridge Projects, which has featured a number of progressive art installations, such as: * ''"10 Columns,"'' an immersive light installation created by prominent Southern California artist, Phillip K. Smith III(active:10/12/19-2/16/20). * ''"A Composite Leviathan,"'' a two-part exhibition created by a collection of emerging Chinese artists (active: 9/12/20-2/27/21). * ''"To Bough and To Bend,"'' an exhibition of many artists using trees as imagery for discussions around ecological issues (active: 03/11/20-07.25/20).

Personal life

Ahmanson lives with

Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome (TS), or simply Tourette's, is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. Common tics are blinkin ...

.Doward, J
Anti-gay millionaire bankrolls Caravaggio spectacular.
''The Observer''. March 6, 2005. His primary residence is in

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city of about 85,000 in southern Orange County, California, United States. Located about southeast of downtown Los Angeles, Newport Beach is known for its sandy beaches. The city's harbor once supported maritime indu ...

, CA.

References

External links

The Ahmanson Foundation

Howard Ahmanson, Board of DirectorsDiscovery Institute

Ahmanson's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmanson, Howard Jr. 1950 births Living people Occidental College alumni University of Texas at Arlington alumni Discovery Institute fellows and advisors Former American Anglican Church in North America members Dominion theology Intelligent design advocates People with Tourette syndrome Christians from California Fellows of King's College London