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David Bonderman

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David Bonderman
Full-body shot of Bonderman, an elderly man during a Web Summit conference.
Bonderman in 2016
Born(1942-11-27)November 27, 1942
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 11, 2024(2024-12-11) (aged 82)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education
OccupationBusinessman
Known for
SpouseLaurie Michaels
PartnerChrista Campbell (from 2023)
Children5

David Bonderman (November 27, 1942 – December 11, 2024) was an American billionaire businessman. He was the founding partner of TPG Inc. (formerly Texas Pacific Group), and its Asian affiliate, Newbridge Capital. He was also one of the minority owners of the NBA's Boston Celtics as well as the co-founder and co-majority owner (along with Jerry Bruckheimer) of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League. At the time of his death, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$7.4 billion, making him the 400th richest person in the world.[1]

Early life and education

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Bonderman was born to a Jewish family,[2] in Los Angeles on November 27, 1942,[3] and was educated there at University High School.[4] Bonderman studied Russian at the University of Washington,[5] where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1963, and at Harvard Law School, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1966. He was also a member of the Harvard Law Review and a Sheldon Fellow. During his time at Harvard, he traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to study Islamic jurisprudence and law; consequently, he became known in various Islamic legal circles, ultimately developing a near-native fluency in Modern Standard Arabic. Bonderman began providing the funding for the Bonderman Travel Fellowship at the University of Washington 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.[6] In 2013, Bonderman's daughter, Samantha Holloway, donated the funding to create a similar fellowship at the University of Michigan. While the fellowships share the same name (the Bonderman Fellowship), they vary in both eligibility and execution.[7]

Career

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Bonderman at the 2016 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland

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 during 1968 and 1969.[8] In 1971, he joined the law firm of Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C.,[9] where he became a partner and specialized in corporate, securities, bankruptcy and antitrust litigation.[8] In 1983, he joined the Robert M. Bass Group, Inc. (RMBG)[9], an investment company of Robert Bass which now does business as Keystone Inc., and became the chief operating officer.[8] Bonderman was a principal at TPG in Fort Worth, Texas, from December 1992, where he was also co-founder and chairman.[8] TPG went public in January 2022, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "TPG".[10]

In 2008, Bonderman was named as one of the investors of what became the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.[11]

Bonderman was a director of Continental Airlines, Bell & Howell, Ducati, Credicom Asia, the Education Corporation of America, Beringer Vineyards, Carr Realty, Virgin Cinemas, CoStar Group, Gemalto, and Ryanair. He was on the boards of The Wilderness Society, the Grand Canyon Trust, the World Wide Fund for Nature, The University of Washington Foundation and the American Himalayan Foundation. He previously was on the boards of Washington Mutual, American Savings Bank, Denbury Resources and Burger King. He was a board member of Uber until he resigned from that position in June 2017.[8][12]

In June 2017, Bonderman resigned from the board of Uber amidst controversy surrounding a sexist response to fellow board member Arianna Huffington during a company all-hands meeting.[13] "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.[14][15][16]

In 2018, Bonderman filed an application for a National Hockey League (NHL) expansion team to play at a renovated Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington.[17] The NHL Board of Governors voted to approve the team, named the Seattle Kraken, on December 4.[18]

Wildcat, Infinity Q, Velissaris

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Wildcat Capital Management was originally Bonderman's family office.[19] In early 2019, a mutual fund 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.[20] Infinity Q had been founded in 2014.[21] In early 2021, the $1.7 billion Infinity Q fund[21] suspended redemptions, the SEC was investigating asset valuations and the chief investment officer, James Velissaris, had been placed on administrative leave.[20] 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."[19] 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 (CFTC) announced parallel civil charges against him.[22]

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.[21]

Personal life and death

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Bonderman with Karen B. Brooks (right) and Alexa L. Wesner (left) in 2019

Bonderman was married to Laurie Michaels; they had five children, and lived in Fort Worth, Texas.[1][23] He was reported to be in a relationship with Christa Campbell in February and May 2023, though he stayed married with Michaels.[24][25]

In 2002, for his 60th birthday, Bonderman had The Rolling Stones and John Mellencamp 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 entertained guests between acts. The party cost $7 million, making it one of the most expensive private concerts ever held.[26]

In 2012, for his 70th birthday party, Bonderman held a private concert by former The Beatles member Paul McCartney at Wynn Las Vegas for 1,020 guests. Robin Williams also performed a comedy routine. Bonderman donated $1000 to each guest's charity of choice.[27]

Bonderman died in Los Angeles, on December 11, 2024, at the age of 82.[28][29][30] 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.[31]

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Forbes profile: David Bonderman". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ^ Taub, Orna (March 26, 2013). "TPG Sells Shares of Indian Company – Win-win for Everybody!" Archived January 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Jewish Business News.
  3. ^ "Business Leaders Biography: David Bonderman". MarketScreener. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  4. ^ Bryant, Adam (November 11, 1992). "Deal Maker Takes Aim at Skies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  5. ^ "In appreciation of David Bonderman, whose vision broadened horizons and changed lives". Undergraduate Academic Affairs. University of Washington. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Bonderman Travel Fellowship". University of Washington. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "Bonderman Fellowship". University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Archived from the original on January 1, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Executive Profile – David Bonderman J.D." Bloomberg L.P. May 22, 2023. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Steffy, Loren (March 1, 1988). "Bonderman rides to rescue of corporate wrecks". The Journal News. White Plains, New York. Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Ross Sorkin, Andrew; Karaian, Jason; Kessler, Sarah; Gandel, Stephen; de la Merced, Michael; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (January 13, 2022). "TPG Becomes 2022's First Big I.P.O." The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  11. ^ Kantowski, Ron (September 15, 2008). "Report: Harrah's out as proposed arena partner". Las Vegas Sun. Archived from the original on November 3, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
  12. ^ "Uber Confirms That It Raised $258M From Google Ventures And TPG". TechCrunch. August 23, 2013.
  13. ^ "Uber director David Bonderman resigns from board following comment about women". Muslim Global. Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  14. ^ Isaac, Mike (June 13, 2017). "David Bonderman Resigns From Uber Board After Sexist Remark". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  15. ^ Bensinger, Greg (June 13, 2017). "David Bonderman Resigns From Uber Board in Wake of Disrespectful Comment". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  16. ^ Benner, Katie; Isaac, Mike (July 17, 2017). "As Uber Leaders Step Aside, Arianna Huffington's Influence Grows" Archived June 18, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  17. ^ "Seattle group files application for NHL expansion team to play at KeyArena". The Seattle Times. February 13, 2018. Archived from the original on February 14, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  18. ^ "After years of trying and a cast of characters in between, the NHL will finally put a team in Seattle". The Seattle Times. December 3, 2018. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  19. ^ a b Weiss, Miles (February 22, 2021). "Mutual Fund Locks Out Founder After SEC Questions Swaps Pricing" Archived February 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  20. ^ a b Zweig, Jason (February 26, 2021). "Investors Piled Into This Magical Money Machine. Now They're Stuck" (subscription required) Archived February 27, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  21. ^ a b c Banerji, Gunjan (April 20, 2021). "Behind the Mysterious Demise of a $1.7 Billion Mutual Fund" (subscription required) Archived April 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  22. ^ "SEC Charges Infinity Q Founder with Orchestrating Massive Valuation Fraud". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on August 5, 2022. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  23. ^ Osberger, Madeleine (November 21, 2012). "Paul McCartney helps Wildcat Ranch homeowner celebrate his 70th". Aspen Business Journal. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013 – via Wayback Machine.
  24. ^ Quintana, Dolores (February 4, 2023). "Two Industry Titans Invest $30M in Lavish Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica Homes". Santa Monica Mirror. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  25. ^ "Hedge funder ID'd in $47.5M buy of side-by-side Palisades estates". The Real Deal. May 24, 2023. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  26. ^ Klauder, Benjamin (July 8, 2009). "Legendary Billionaire Parties". Forbes.
  27. ^ Lattman, Peter (November 19, 2012). "Tough Times? You Wouldn't Know at Party for Private Equity Titan". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 21, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  28. ^ Carey, David; Griffin, Matthew; Tan, Gillian (December 11, 2024). "David Bonderman, Buyout Dealmaker Who Co-Founded TPG, Dies at 82". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  29. ^ Nishimura, Scott (December 12, 2024). "Revered Fort Worth financier, lawyer David Bonderman dies at 82". Fort Worth Report. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  30. ^ "David Bonderman, co-founder of private equity firm TPG and co-owner of Seattle Kraken, dies at 82". The Economic Times. December 12, 2024. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  31. ^ Booth, Tim (December 12, 2024). "Kraken honor late owner David Bonderman before topping Bruins". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  32. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". American Academy of Achievement. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  33. ^ "Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients". The M&A Advisor News. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  34. ^ "Wilson Awards for Public Service and Corporate Citizenship in New York and Austin". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  35. ^ "TBHF Legends". Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.

Further reading

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