Richard C. Blum
Encyclopedia
Richard C. Blum is an investment banker and the husband of United States Senator from California Dianne Feinstein
. He is the Chairman and President of Blum Capital
, an equity investment management firm that acts as general partner for various investment partnerships and provides investment advisory services. Blum also serves in various boards of directors of several companies, including CB Richard Ellis
. He is also a Regent of the University of California where until May 2009, he served as the chairman of that board.
in 1975 and pioneered the firm’s hybrid Strategic Block/Private Equity investment strategy. Mr. Blum currently serves as Chairman of the board of directors of CB Richard Ellis and is a director on the boards of directors of three other portfolio companies: Fairmont Raffles Holdings International Ltd., Current Media, L.L.C. and Myer Pty Ltd. in Australia. Mr. Blum co-founded Newbridge Capital in the early 1990s and is Co-Chairman of TPG Asia V, L.P. (the successor fund to the Newbridge franchise that has been incorporated into Texas Pacific Group). In the past, Mr. Blum has served on the boards of many prominent companies, including Northwest Airlines Corporation, Glenborough Realty Trust, Inc., Korea First Bank, URS Corporation and National Education Corporation. In addition, Mr. Blum is active in numerous non-profit organizations. He is the founder and Chairman of the American Himalayan Foundation and is Honorary Consul to Mongolia and Nepal. Mr. Blum also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.
Prior to founding Blum Capital
, Blum was with Sutro & Co. for seventeen years, holding various positions including director, major stockholder and member of the executive committee.
On April 25, 2009 Blum was honored with the Berkeley Medal by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgenau in front of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The talk was sponsored by his American Himalayan Foundation and the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley.
, where he received his B.S. in business administration in 1958, and an MBA in 1959, both degrees coming from the Haas School of Business
. Blum also studied abroad in 1957 at the University of Vienna in Vienna
, Austria
through IES Abroad
.
In the 1970s, Blum supported then Mayor of San Francisco George Moscone
. After Moscone's assassination, Blum supported the new mayor Dianne Feinstein
; they married in 1980.
for $8m, selling it to Mattel
four years later for $40m. On the back of this deal Blum started in business for himself in 1975, founding what is now Blum Capital Partners; a stake in URS Corp.
was one of its first investments.
, has received scrutiny due to her husband's government contracts and extensive business dealings with China and her past votes on trade issues with the country. Blum has denied any wrongdoing, however.
Critics have argued that business contracts with the US government awarded to a company (Perini
) controlled by Blum may raise a potential conflict-of-interest issue with the voting and policy activities of his wife. URS Corp, which Blum had a substantial stake in, bought EG&G
, a leading provider of technical services and management to the U.S. military, from The Carlyle Group in 2002; EG&G subsequently won a $600m defense contract.
In 2009 it was reported that Blum's wife Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to provide $25 billion in taxpayer money to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, a government agency that had recently awarded her husband's real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis, what the Washington Times called "a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms."
to a 12-year term as one of the Regents of the University of California
. Blum also serves on the boards of the following companies:
Blum is also the primary owner of Career Education Corporation
.
Blum has a strong interest in Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism
. In 1981 he attempted to climb Mount Everest
from the Tibetan side with Sir Edmund Hillary. He is the Chairman and founder of the apolitical American Himalayan Foundation
, or AHF, which has given millions of dollars to build hospitals and schools in Tibet and Nepal but has refrained from political involvement with the Chinese control of Tibet.
In addition to the AHF, Blum’s not-for-profit endeavors include service as Trustee of The Carter Center; former Co-Chairman of the The World Conference of Religions for Peace; Member of Governing Council of The Wilderness Society
; member of the Board of Trustees of The Brookings Institution; Member of the Board of Trustees of the American Cancer Society Foundation
; and the founder and a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley. The Center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
. He is the Chairman and President of Blum Capital
Blum Capital
Blum Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE investments in small cap and middle-market companies across a range of industries. The firm is known for pioneering a hybrid private equity / strategic block investment strategy in public companies.The firm,...
, an equity investment management firm that acts as general partner for various investment partnerships and provides investment advisory services. Blum also serves in various boards of directors of several companies, including CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis
CBRE Group, Inc. , a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm . The Company has approximately 31,000 employees , and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices worldwide...
. He is also a Regent of the University of California where until May 2009, he served as the chairman of that board.
Career
Blum founded Blum CapitalBlum Capital
Blum Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE investments in small cap and middle-market companies across a range of industries. The firm is known for pioneering a hybrid private equity / strategic block investment strategy in public companies.The firm,...
in 1975 and pioneered the firm’s hybrid Strategic Block/Private Equity investment strategy. Mr. Blum currently serves as Chairman of the board of directors of CB Richard Ellis and is a director on the boards of directors of three other portfolio companies: Fairmont Raffles Holdings International Ltd., Current Media, L.L.C. and Myer Pty Ltd. in Australia. Mr. Blum co-founded Newbridge Capital in the early 1990s and is Co-Chairman of TPG Asia V, L.P. (the successor fund to the Newbridge franchise that has been incorporated into Texas Pacific Group). In the past, Mr. Blum has served on the boards of many prominent companies, including Northwest Airlines Corporation, Glenborough Realty Trust, Inc., Korea First Bank, URS Corporation and National Education Corporation. In addition, Mr. Blum is active in numerous non-profit organizations. He is the founder and Chairman of the American Himalayan Foundation and is Honorary Consul to Mongolia and Nepal. Mr. Blum also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley.
Prior to founding Blum Capital
Blum Capital
Blum Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE investments in small cap and middle-market companies across a range of industries. The firm is known for pioneering a hybrid private equity / strategic block investment strategy in public companies.The firm,...
, Blum was with Sutro & Co. for seventeen years, holding various positions including director, major stockholder and member of the executive committee.
On April 25, 2009 Blum was honored with the Berkeley Medal by UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgenau in front of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The talk was sponsored by his American Himalayan Foundation and the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley.
Background and personal life
Coming from San Francisco's public schools, Blum graduated from the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where he received his B.S. in business administration in 1958, and an MBA in 1959, both degrees coming from the Haas School of Business
Haas School of Business
The Walter A. Haas School of Business, also known as the Haas School of Business or simply Haas, is one of 14 schools and colleges at the University of California, Berkeley....
. Blum also studied abroad in 1957 at the University of Vienna in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
through IES Abroad
Institute for the International Education of Students
The Institute for the International Education of Students, or IES Abroad, is a non-profit study abroad organization that administers study abroad programs for U.S. college-aged students. Founded in 1950 as the Institute for European Studies, the organization has since been renamed to reflect...
.
In the 1970s, Blum supported then Mayor of San Francisco George Moscone
George Moscone
George Richard Moscone was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California, US from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. Moscone served in the California State Senate from 1967 until becoming Mayor. In the Senate, he served as...
. After Moscone's assassination, Blum supported the new mayor Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
; they married in 1980.
Career
Blum joined investment brokerage Sutro & Co. at the age of 23, becoming a partner before age 30. At Sutro Blum led a partnership that acquired Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey CircusRingling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
for $8m, selling it to Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
four years later for $40m. On the back of this deal Blum started in business for himself in 1975, founding what is now Blum Capital Partners; a stake in URS Corp.
URS Corp.
URS Corporation is an engineering design firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS is a full-service, global organization with offices located in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.-History:...
was one of its first investments.
Controversy
Blum's wife, Senator Dianne FeinsteinDianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
, has received scrutiny due to her husband's government contracts and extensive business dealings with China and her past votes on trade issues with the country. Blum has denied any wrongdoing, however.
Critics have argued that business contracts with the US government awarded to a company (Perini
Perini
Tutor Perini Corporation is one of the largest general contractors in the United States. At the end of 2010 it reported an annual revenue of approximately $3.2 billion. Tutor Perini is headquartered in Sylmar, California and works on many construction projects throughout the United States and...
) controlled by Blum may raise a potential conflict-of-interest issue with the voting and policy activities of his wife. URS Corp, which Blum had a substantial stake in, bought EG&G
EG&G
EG&G, formally known as Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier, Inc., is a United States national defense contractor and provider of management and technical services. The company was involved in contracting services to the United States government during World War II, and conducted weapons research and...
, a leading provider of technical services and management to the U.S. military, from The Carlyle Group in 2002; EG&G subsequently won a $600m defense contract.
In 2009 it was reported that Blum's wife Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to provide $25 billion in taxpayer money to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, a government agency that had recently awarded her husband's real estate firm, CB Richard Ellis, what the Washington Times called "a lucrative contract to sell foreclosed properties at compensation rates higher than the industry norms."
Boards
On March 12, 2002, Blum was appointed by California Governor Gray DavisGray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
to a 12-year term as one of the Regents of the University of California
Regents of the University of California
The Regents of the University of California make up the governing board of the University of California. The Board has 26 full members:* The majority are appointed by the Governor of California for 12-year terms....
. Blum also serves on the boards of the following companies:
- CB Richard EllisCB Richard EllisCBRE Group, Inc. , a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm . The Company has approximately 31,000 employees , and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices worldwide...
(Chairman) - Newbridge Capital (co-Chairman)
- CurrentTV
- Blum CapitalBlum CapitalBlum Capital is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and PIPE investments in small cap and middle-market companies across a range of industries. The firm is known for pioneering a hybrid private equity / strategic block investment strategy in public companies.The firm,...
Blum is also the primary owner of Career Education Corporation
Career Education Corporation
Career Education Corporation , founded in 1994, is a postsecondary education provider with campus-based and online curricula. On July 1, 2003, Career Education Corporation merged with competitor Whitman Education Group, Inc., gaining control over the latter's Sanford-Brown Colleges, Ultrasound...
.
Blum has a strong interest in Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...
. In 1981 he attempted to climb Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
from the Tibetan side with Sir Edmund Hillary. He is the Chairman and founder of the apolitical American Himalayan Foundation
American Himalayan Foundation
The American Himalayan Foundation is a US non-profit organization that helps Tibetans, Sherpas, and Nepalis living throughout the Himalayas. AHF builds schools, plants trees, trains doctors, funds hospitals, takes care of children and the elderly, and restores sacred sites...
, or AHF, which has given millions of dollars to build hospitals and schools in Tibet and Nepal but has refrained from political involvement with the Chinese control of Tibet.
In addition to the AHF, Blum’s not-for-profit endeavors include service as Trustee of The Carter Center; former Co-Chairman of the The World Conference of Religions for Peace; Member of Governing Council of The Wilderness Society
The Wilderness Society (United States)
The Wilderness Society is an American organization that is dedicated to protecting America's wilderness. It was formed in 1935 and currently has over 300,000 members and supporters.-Founding:The society was incorporated on January 21, 1935...
; member of the Board of Trustees of The Brookings Institution; Member of the Board of Trustees of the American Cancer Society Foundation
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
; and the founder and a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley. The Center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.
External links
- Blum Capital Partners, L.P.
- Senator Feinstein's Iraq Conflict: Feinstein voted for appropriations worth billions to her husband's firms Peter Byrne, North Bay Bohemian, Jan. 24, 2007.
- Blum's Plums: Conflicts of interest benefitted Blum's firms during his term as a UC Regent Peter Byrne, North Bay Bohemian, Feb. 21, 2007.