Stewart Rawlings Mott (December 4, 1937 – June 12, 2008) was an American

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

who founded the Stewart R. Mott Foundation. He was the son of Charles Stewart Mott (a co-founder of

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

) and appeared on

Nixon's Enemies List "Nixon's Enemies List" is the informal name of what started as a list of President of the United States Richard Nixon's major political opponents compiled by Charles Colson, written by George T. Bell (assistant to Colson, special counsel to th ...

for his support of liberal causes.

Biography

Stewart Rawlings Mott was born on December 4, 1937, in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, to Charles Stewart Mott and Ruth Rawlings, Mr. Mott's fourth wife. Charles Mott, who had a company manufacturing wheels and axles at the beginning in the 1900s, took advantage of the auto industry’s rapid growth and sold his company to

for stocks, becoming G.M.'s largest individual shareholder. Mott attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

for three years and finished his education at the

Columbia University School of General Studies The School of General Studies (GS) is a liberal arts college and one of the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights, Borough (New York City), New York City. GS is known prima ...

, earning two

bachelor's degrees A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Neo-Latin, Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and university, universities upon completion of a course of study lasting ...

, one in

business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and one in

comparative literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

. Mott graduated in 1961 and inherited $6 million with $850,000 in annual income from two trust funds; Mott used his resources to create the first

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

clinic in his hometown of

. He wrote a thesis on

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

for a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from Columbia, which he never finished. His philanthropy included

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

reform,

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

, sex research,

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, arms control,

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

, civil liberties, governmental reform, and research on

extrasensory perception Extrasensory perception (ESP), also known as a sixth sense, or cryptaesthesia, is a claimed paranormal ability pertaining to reception of information not gained through the recognized physical senses, but sensed with the mind. The term was ad ...

. In the 1970s, Mott contracted for the purchase of a multimillion‐dollar quadruplex penthouse in New York City that he had designed to meet his specific needs—"allowing him to greet the sun on rising from his bed in the East Solarium and to watch it sink from a desk that faces west, all amid 10,000 square feet reserved for planting". By late 1975, never having occupied the penthouse, he was negotiating to get out of the purchase, whose price had risen to $3.5 million. In 1978, Mott gave his occupation as "maverick" in the photo essay ''Cat People''. Shortly prior to his death Mott resided in Bermuda for most of his time, and also traveled to his numerous houses in the United States. His homes included a penthouse in 800

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

in Manhattan, a house trailer on a Florida farm, and a Chinese junk moored on the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

in New York City.''Cat People'', Bill Hayward, introduction by Rogers E. M. Whitaker. New York: Dolphin/Doubleday, 1978 (p. 88)

References

External links

The Last Word (NY Times): Stewart R. Mott
Video obituary
CUNY.tv Day ay Night: Stuart Mott
March 19, 1974, James Day interviews Stuart Mott (length: 27:58) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mott, Stewart Rawlings 1937 births 2008 deaths American philanthropists Columbia University School of General Studies alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Nixon's Enemies List People from Flint, Michigan