Robert Addison Day (December 11, 1943 – September 14, 2023) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder and former chairman and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Trust Company of the West until 2009. He was the chairman and president of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Early life

Robert Addison Day was born in

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

on December 11, 1943.NNDB profile
/ref> He received a Bachelor of Science in economics from

Claremont McKenna College Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It has a curricular emphasis on government, economics, public affairs, finance, and internat ...

in 1965.Claremont McKenna College document
/ref>

Financial career

Day started his career at the financial firm White, Weld and Company in New York City.'Robert Addison Day Elected to Board of Trustees', on Brookings Institution website, July 06, 1998 In 1969, Day founded and managed the portfolio of the Cypress Partners LP, an early example of a hedge fund focusing on recognizing undervalued or overvalued companies. In 1971, he founded the Trust Company of the West (now known as the TCW Group), an asset management firm. In 2001, Day sold 70 percent of TCW Group to the

Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...

for US$2.5 billion, with 30 percent of the company remaining employee-owned.Forbes profile
/ref> Day was also the founder and chairman of Oakmont Corporation, a Los Angeles-based, family-owned investment company founded in 1980.

Other ventures

His family are the owners of Cabo Del Sol, an 1,800 acre master planned community located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. In 2021, Day and Oakmont Corporation announced plans for a new Four Seasons Resort and Residences on Cabo Del Sol, next to the Cove Club, a 500-acre private club and community located within Cabo Del Sol. Day, as the controlling owner of the Foley Timber and Land Company, owned approximately 560,000 acres of timberland in Florida, making him one of the largest landowners in Florida at the time. Day's partners in the Foley Timber and Land Company included Howard H. Leach, Ken Langone and

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

. The timberland was purchased in 1994 from

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/cons ...

, and when it was sold in 2015, it was considered to be the "largest undeveloped tract of private property east of the Mississippi River."

Board positions

Day has served on the corporate boards of Freeport-McMoRan, Fisher Scientific, and

. He has also sat on the board of trustees of th
Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress
the

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is the Presidential library system, presidential library and burial site of Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States (1981–1989), and his wife Nancy Reagan. Located in Simi Valley, California ...

and Institute, and 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 ...

, where he was chairman from 1990 to 1998. Day was a member of the Business Council. From 2001 to 2003, he sat on the

President's Intelligence Advisory Board The President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) is an advisory body to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. According to its self-description, it "provides advice to the President concerning the quality and adequacy o ...

. He was also a member of the Alfalfa Club, the California Club, the

Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. From its founding in 1962 until 1987, it was an affiliate of Georgetown University, initially named the Center for Strategic and Inte ...

, and the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. Day was a Los Angeles County Museum of Art life trustee.

Philanthropy

Day was an active philanthropist throughout his life making major individual contributions and through the W. M. Keck Foundation which he chaired and served as CEO of.

Claremont McKenna College

In 2007, Day made a gift of $200 million to his alma mater

, creating the Robert Day Scholars Program. The donation marked the largest recorded gift to a liberal arts college, the largest gift in the field of economics and finance, and among the top 20 gifts ever given to a college or university at the time.Larry Gordon, 'Claremont McKenna gets huge donation', in ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'', September 27, 200

/ref>

W. M. Keck Foundation

Day was the chairman and former chief executive officer of the W. M. Keck Foundation, named after William Myron Keck. In 1997 under Day, the W.M. Keck Foundation funded a US$50 million grant for the Claremont Colleges, establishing a graduate-level, application-based scientific research and education program called the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences.

University of Southern California

In 1999, at Day's direction, the W. M. Keck Foundation made a gift of US$110 million to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

in 1999, creating the Keck School of Medicine of USC. In 2011, the W.M. Keck Foundation made another contribution of US$150 million to USC. The university's academic medical enterprise was named Keck Medicine of USC, comprising Keck Medical Center of USC and the Keck School of Medicine. The Foundation gave another US$10 million to USC in 2017, renaming a building previously known as Healthcare Center 2 to Willametta Keck Day Healthcare Center. The Willametta Keck Day Healthcare Center contains multiple Keck Medicine of USC clinics, covering primary care and surgical specialties. Nearly US$300 million has been donated to USC by the W.M. Keck Foundation and individual contributions, making the family amongst the university's top benefactors.

University of California Los Angeles

Also in 2007, Day and his then-wife donated US$30 million to the UCLA Department of Surgery through the UCLA Foundation, establishing the Robert and Kelly Day Surgical Endowment.

Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School

In September 2015, through the W.M. Keck Foundation, Day donated US$500,000 to the Martha's Vineyard Public Charter School, including US$400,000 for the purpose of creating a new science center named in honor of his close friend Vernon Jordan, a Civil Rights activist, lawyer, Democratic advisor, and longtime Martha's Vineyard summer visitor. The Jordan Science Center opened a year later.

Personal life and death

Day was the grandson of Superior Oil Company founder William Myron Keck.Haute Living profile
/ref> Robert Addison Day was married to Marlyn Gates. He had three children and lived in Los Angeles. He died in Los Angeles on September 14, 2023, at the age of 79.

Politics

Day has previously been a donor and economics advisor to the former Governor of California,

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...

. Since 1980, Day supported and hosted events for Congressman David Dreier. In October 2006, Day hosted a fundraiser with then-President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, which raised US$1 million for the Republican Party.Gabriel Snyder
Inside Move: H'wood picks side in campaign fund fight
'' Variety'', October 04, 2006 In 2015, Day donated $1.1 million to Super PACs supporting Republican presidential candidates

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. A member of the Bush family, Bush political family, he was an unsuccessful candidate for pre ...

and

Carly Fiorina Cara Carleton "Carly" Fiorina (; ; born September 6, 1954) is an American businesswoman and politician, known primarily for her tenure as chief executive officer (CEO) of Hewlett-Packard (HP) from 1999 to 2005. Fiorina was the first woman to le ...

Recognition

In 2006, Day was awarded the Decoration of Officier de la Légion d'Honneur from the Government of France. In recognition of Day, the Board of Trustees renamed the department of economics to Robert Day School of Economics and Finance at Claremont McKenna College in 2007. In May 2014, the Caltech board of trustees awarded Day with the Robert A. Millikan Medal, its highest recognition, created to honor the life and ideals of the school's co-founder, Robert Andrews Millikan. In December 2021, CMC announced the naming of the Robert Day Sciences Center as home to CMC's integrated sciences program.

External links

W.M. Keck Foundation websiteCMC Memorial postUSC Memorial postReagan Foundation statement

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Robert Addison 1943 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American philanthropists American billionaires American chief executives of financial services companies American investors Businesspeople from Los Angeles California Republicans Claremont McKenna College alumni People from Bel Air, Los Angeles Philanthropists from California