Lorry I. Lokey
Lorry I. Lokey | |
---|---|
Born |
Portland, Oregon | March 27, 1927
Education | Stanford University |
Occupation | Business executive |
Employer | Business Wire |
Title | Chairman & CEO |
Religion | Judaism[1] |
Lorry I. Lokey (born March 27, 1927) is an American businessperson and philanthropist. A native of Portland, Oregon, he founded the company Business Wire in 1961 and has donated in excess of $700 million to charities, with the majority of the money given to schools. He resides in San Francisco, California.[2]
Early life
Lorry Lokey was born on March 27, 1927, in Portland, Oregon and raised in a Jewish family[3][4] in Portland, attending Alameda Elementary School.[2][5][6] Growing up in Northeast Portland, he graduated from Grant High School before joining the United States Army and fighting in World War II.[7] While in the service he worked on the Pacific Stars & Stripes as an editor after the war ended.[7]
In 1949 he graduated from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism.[8] While at Stanford he served as editor of the school newspaper, the Stanford Daily.[8] Upon graduation Lokey began working for United Press, now United Press International, and then at newspapers and in the public relations field.[8] One newspaper he worked for was the Longview Daily News in Longview, Washington.[7]
Business career
In 1961, Lokey started Business Wire, a news release service.[6] Founded in San Francisco, California, the company started with seven clients on the first day of business.[9] The company expanded and became an international wire service with 30 offices around the world.[6] By 2003, the company had grown to 450 employees with annual revenue of $110 million.[9] In 2006, Lokey sold Business Wire for approximately $600 million to Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's corporation.[6]
Philanthropy
Lokey began donating large sums of money to charities in 1990. By 2007 he had donated more than $400 million, of which 98 percent was given to secondary and post-secondary education.[6] Some schools include the University of Oregon, Mills College, Stanford University, the Technion,[10] Santa Clara University, Bellarmine College Preparatory, and Portland State University.[2][8][11][12] These efforts led to his listing as one of the ten highest donors in the United States by the Chronicle of Philanthropy in 2006.[6]
As of June 2014, Lokey has donated a total of $139.9 million to the University of Oregon in Eugene.[13] This includes a $74.5 million donation in 2007 that was the second most ever given to the school, and the largest donation designated for academics.[6] The 2007 donation went towards the creation of the Lorry I. Lokey Science Advancement and Graduate Education Initiative.[6]
In October 2008, the Stanford School of Medicine announced that Lokey would donate $75 million for a research facility.[14] The facility is named the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building.[14]
References
- ↑ jweekly.com: "Big top Jews, Giving back, 10 years 11 more, Blessing the sun, Short..." by Suzan Berns May 7, 2009
- 1 2 3 “Portland native pledges $5M for library”. Portland Business Journal, May 29, 2007.
- ↑ jweekly.com: "Local wealthy Jews pledge to give away half their fortunes" by Jacob Berkman August 12, 2010
- ↑ JTA: "Lorry Lokey on giving it all away" By Jacob Berkman August 9, 2010
- ↑ Public and Media Relations: Lorry I. Lokey: Biographical Information. University of Oregon. Retrieved on July 24, 2008.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ”Lokey gives UO largest gift: $74.5M”. Portland Business Journal, October 15, 2007.
- 1 2 3 McBride, Tess. “The man behind the money”. Oregon Daily Emerald, February 9, 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 “Lorry Lokey gives Stanford stem cell institute $33M”. San Jose Business Journal, February 27, 2007.
- 1 2 Caldwell, Douglas E. “Profile: Spreading the word”. San Jose Business Journal, July 4, 2003.
- ↑
- ↑ “Lorry Lokey donates $1.5M to Judaic Studies at PSU”. Portland Business Journal, August 28, 2007.
- ↑ Duxbury, Sarah. “Mills College goes to B-school”. San Francisco Business Times, April 4, 2008.
- ↑ "UO sciences benefit from latest gift from Lorry Lokey". University of Oregon. June 6, 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- 1 2 Toews, Robert (October 9, 2008). "Stanford alum donates to medical school". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 2008-10-09.
External links
- Philanthropy News Digest
- The Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building
- The Lorry I. Lokey Interdisciplinary Center for Life Science & Engineering