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Richard Gilder | |
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| Born | (1932-05-31)May 31, 1932 Manhattan,New York City, U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 2020(2020-05-12) (aged 87) |
| Alma mater | Yale College |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 4, includingVirginia |
Richard Gilder Jr. (May 31, 1932 – May 12, 2020), was an American stockbroker and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of theGilder Lehrman Institute of American History. He also headed the brokerage firm Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co., whose specialty is tradingleveraged stocks andshortselling.[1] Gilder joined forces withGeorge Soros in revitalizingCentral Park, which galvanized the creation of theCentral Park Conservancy, of which he was a trustee.
Gilder was born inManhattan on May 31, 1932, a fifth-generation New Yorker ofBohemian Jewish descent. His father, Richard Sr., worked as a property manager for a real estate company; his mother, Jane (Moyse), was a housewife.[2] Gilder attendedNorthfield Mount Hermon School before enrolling inYale College, graduating in 1954 with a BA in history.[3] He received aDoctor of Humane Letters in 2007 from Yale. He provided $4 million, over half the necessary funding, in honor of his daughter,Virginia Gilder, a two-time Olympian, for the recently completedGilder Boathouse for Yale rowers. The boathouse carries only the Gilder last name to honor three generations of Yale alumni.[3][4]
After working at the brokerage firm ofA.G. Becker & Co., Gilder founded the firm now known as Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co. in 1968.[5] He was chairman of the executive committee at theNew-York Historical Society and served on the executive board of theOmohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. WithLewis Lehrman he was a co-founder (1994) and trustee of theGilder Lehrman Institute.
Gilder worked together withGeorge Soros in 1974 to revitalizeCentral Park. Their efforts led to the creation of theCentral Park Conservancy six years later,[2] and he served as a trustee of that organization.[6] In 1993, he made the then-largest private donation to a public park when he promised $17 million if the Conservancy and the municipality did the same.[2]
He was also a trustee of theMorgan Library and Museum, theAmerican Museum of Natural History, and theThomas Jefferson Foundation. He was chairman emeritus of theManhattan Institute, aconservativethink-tank,[7] and theClub for Growth, a conservativepolitical action committee,[8] to which his ex-wifeVirginia James continues to be a major donor.[9] In 2005, Gilder andLewis Lehrman received theNational Humanities Medal for their work promoting the study of American history.[10] He then set up a PhD program at the American Museum of Natural History in his own name, theRichard Gilder Graduate School at AMNH.[11]
Gilder had four children,[5] all from his first marriage to Britt-Marie Lagerljung.[2][12] One of his daughters,Virginia Gilder (born 1958), also a Yale graduate,[3] was a member of the American women'squadruple sculls team that won the silver medal at the1984 Summer Olympics.[13] and is a co-owner of theSeattle Storm, a professional women's basketball team in theWNBA.[14] His other children were Peggy, Britt-Louise, and Richard Gilder III.[2]
Gilder's marriage to Britt-Marie, as well as his subsequent marriages to Virginia Chromiak and then Teresa Maria Dempsey, all ended in divorce.[2] In 2005 he married former model and actressLois Chiles.[15] Her paternal uncle was oil tycoonEddie Chiles.[16]
Gilder died on May 12, 2020, at his home inCharlottesville, Virginia, at the age of 87.[17][2] News of his death was first announced by his wife, who confirmed that it was due to congestive heart failure.[2]
Gilder's father, Richard Gilder '54, gave $4 million toward the current crew boathouse, completed in 2000.
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