George B. Kaiser, corporate financial executive. Named one of Forbes 400: Richest Americans, since 1995, World's Richest People, Forbes Magazine, since 2001. Founder Tulsa Community Foundation, 1998, George Kaiser Family Foundation.
Background
George B. Kaiser is the donor to George Kaiser Family Foundation. George B. Kaiser is president, CEO and primary owner of GBK Corporation, parent of Kaiser-Francis Oil Company, which he has managed for 40 years. He is chairman of the board and majority shareholder of BOk Financial Corporation and a major shareholder in several energy, oil and gas, mining and technology companies. As a lifelong Tulsan, Mr. Kaiser has been engaged in numerous civic activities, including working with others to establish both the Tulsa Community Foundation and Tulsa Educare. Additionally, he has chaired the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and was a trustee at The University of Tulsa and a national elected director of the Harvard Alumni Association. He also chaired the board of trustees of Hillcrest MedicalCenter and was a member of the boards of the Tulsa Psychiatric Center and the Tulsa Medical Education Foundation.
Mr. Kaiser attended Tulsa Public Schools and earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 1964 and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1966.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Harvard University; Master of Business Administration, Harvard University.
He attended Central High School in Tulsa.He earned a B.A. from Harvard College in 1964 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1966
Career
George B. Kaiser is the donor to George Kaiser Family Foundation. George B. Kaiser is president, CEO and primary owner of GBK Corporation, parent of Kaiser-Francis Oil Company, which he has managed for 40 years. He is chairman of the board and majority shareholder of BOk Financial Corporation and a major shareholder in several energy, oil and gas, mining and technology companies. As a lifelong Tulsan, Mr. Kaiser has been engaged in numerous civic activities, including working with others to establish both the Tulsa Community Foundation and Tulsa Educare. Additionally, he has chaired the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and was a trustee at The University of Tulsa and a national elected director of the Harvard Alumni Association. He also chaired the board of trustees of Hillcrest MedicalCenter and was a member of the boards of the Tulsa Psychiatric Center and the Tulsa Medical Education Foundation.
Achievements
Politics
Kaiser was a fundraiser for the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and functioned as a campaign bundler for Obama: an individual who collects contributions to a candidate from others that are then simultaneously given to the candidate.
Views
I prefer doing things rather than sitting around talking about doing things.
George Kaiser
Quotations:
Rich, smart parents tend to have rich, smart kids - not because it's genetic but because they can create a home environment and sensory stimulation that lower-income kids often don't get.
George Kaiser
Membership
Founder Tulsa Community Foundation, 1998, George Kaiser Family Foundation.
Personality
Kaiser could be considered a workaholic. One article about him says that he typically works 70 hours a week in his office, spending half his time on philanthropy and the rest on banking, energy and other business interests.
Kaiser apparently values his personal privacy, for he avoids publicity, does not attend society functions and hardly ever gives interviews. While he owns homes in both Tulsa and San Francisco, he is said to own no vacation homes, airplanes or yachts.
Interests
Philanthropy: Kaiser is listed third on BusinessWeek's 2008 list of the top 50 American philanthropists.
Sport & Clubs
In April 2014, Kaiser bought Tom L. Ward's interest in The Professional Basketball Club LLC, the investment group headed by Clayton Bennett that owns the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association, as well as its Tulsa 66ers minor league affiliate.
Connections
His first wife was Betty Eudene.Betty died in 2002.The couple had three children: Philip, Leah and Emily
Named one of Forbes 400: Richest Americans, since 1995, World's Richest People, Forbes Magazine, since 2001
George Kaiser on Forbes Lists
#53 Forbes 400 (2015)
#42 in 2014
#142 Billionaires (2015)
#51 in United States.
Named one of Forbes 400: Richest Americans, since 1995, World's Richest People, Forbes Magazine, since 2001