William Oberndorf

William Oberndorf
Born William Ernst Oberndorf
Nationality American
Alma mater Williams College
Stanford Business School
Occupation Hedge fund manager

William Ernst Oberndorf is an American businessman and conservative political donor.

Career

Oberndorf graduated from Williams College in 1975 and received an MBA from Stanford Business School in 1978.[1] Oberndorf was inspired to become an investor by Warren Buffett.[2] In 1989, Oberndorf founded the investment firm SPO Partners.[3] Oberndorf was a major investor in Voyager, which created a literacy curriculum that was implemented by Florida Governor Jeb Bush.[4]

Oberndorf has served on the boards of numerous companies, including Aggregates USA, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Equity Funds, Plum Creek Timber, Voyager Learning Company, Taft Broadcasting, and Wometco Cable Television Corporation.[5]

Other activities

Oberndorf is a major donor to the California Republican Party, and donated over $1 million to the party and its candidates between 2001 and 2011.[6] Oberndorf was a prominent supporter of California Proposition 32.[7] Oberndorf is a strong supporter of education privatization, and has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Foundation for Excellence in Education.[4]

Oberndorf was a major backer of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012, but played a major role in discouraging Romney from running for a third time in 2016.[8] In 2015, Oberndorf co-hosted two fundraisers for Jeb Bush.[9]

On October 12, 2016, The Guardian reported William Oberndorf "donated $49,999 to a divisive ballot measure intended to clear San Francisco’s streets of homeless encampments, according to campaign filings."[10]

References

  1. ↑ "William Ernst Oberndorf". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Lowenstein, Roger (24 July 2013). Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist. Random House. p. 275. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Lattman, Peter (28 September 2010). "Bill Patterson, Investor and Philanthropist, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 Stokols, Eli (18 September 2015). "Jeb Bush's rush through the revolving door". Politico. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "William E. Oberndorf Joins Calpine's Board of Directors". Businesswire. 5 January 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Halstead, Richard (1 November 2012). "Mill Valley hedge fund managers spend big to promote anti-union initiative and defeat tax measure". Marin Independent Journal. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Harmon, Steven (9 October 2012). "Who's who of rich and powerful behind Proposition 32". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Parker, Ashley; Martin, Jonathan (30 January 2015). "Support Waning, Romney Decides Against 2016 Bid". New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  9. ↑ Richman, Josh (2 April 2015). "Jeb Bush visits Bay Area on super PAC fundraising sweep". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Wong, Julia. "Wealthy San Francisco tech investors bankroll bid to ban homeless camps".
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