Amos Barr Hostetter Jr. (born January 12, 1937) is an American businessman, who was the founder, chairman, and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Continental Cablevision MediaOne Group, Inc. (Comcast MO Group, Inc.) was created by US WEST Inc, one of the original Baby Bells Regional Bell Operating Companies, acquisition of Boston-based Continental Cable and combined with its previously acquired Atlanta-based Wom ...

. With an estimated net worth of around $3.5 billion, he is ranked by

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

as the 538th richest person in the world as of 2020. He has also served as the chairman of

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Early life

Hostetter is the son of the late Amos Hostetter, a prominent trader at

Commodities Corporation Commodities Corporation (frequently referred to as "CC") was a financial services company, based in Princeton, New Jersey that traded actively across various commodities. The firm was noted as one of the leading commodity and futures trading firm ...

and

Hayden Stone Hayden, Stone & Co. was a major securities firm founded in 1892 by Charles Hayden and Galen L. Stone. The firm was acquired by Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt in 1972 and, after its name disappeared in 1979, was part of what would become Shear ...

. He attended the

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, and a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus ...

for his secondary education and graduated in the Class of 1954. After graduating from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1958 with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, he obtained a

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1961.

Career

In 1963, Hostetter and his college roommate and fraternity brother, H. Irving Grousbeck, founded

Fostoria, Ohio Fostoria (, ) is a city located at the convergence of Hancock, Seneca, and Wood counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is approximately south of Toledo and north of Columbus. The city is known for its railroads, as app ...

and

Tiffin, Ohio Tiffin is a city in and the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. Developed along the Sandusky River, which flows to Lake Erie, Tiffin is about 55 miles southeast of Toledo. The population was 17,963 at the 2010 census.US West US West, Inc. (stylized as US WEST) was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement (''United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc.'' 552 ...

, it was the largest privately owned cable company. Hostetter is currently chairman of Pilot House Associates, LLC. In 1999, Amos and his wife, Barbara Walsh founded the Barr Foundation which has given out over $710 million in the 21 years since. In 2016, the foundation had assets totaling $1.6 billion and focuses its philanthropy in the Boston region.

Personal life

In 1982, Hostetter married Barbara Lynn Walsh of

Lakeville, Connecticut Lakeville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, close to Dutchess County, New York. It is within the town of Salisbury, but has its own ZIP Code (06039). As of the 2010 census, the population of Lak ...

."Barbara Walsh Becomes a Bride"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', December 16, 1984. They have three children: Caroline, Elizabeth, and Tripp. In 2003, Hostetter purchased the historic

Second Harrison Gray Otis House There are three houses named the Harrison Gray Otis House in Boston, Massachusetts. All were built by noted American architect Charles Bulfinch for the same man, Federalist lawyer and politician Harrison Gray Otis. First Harrison Gray Otis House ...

on Mount Vernon Street in Boston for an estimated $12 million. He is a Life Trustee at Amherst College, his alma mater. Barbara and Amos founded the Barr Foundation in Boston and remain trustees. The $1.6 billion foundation, one of the state's largest philanthropies, makes grants for the arts, education, and climate change. Hostetter donated to the Lincoln Project, a Republican-led super PAC.

References

External links

''Forbes'' profile

Harvard Business School profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hostetter, Amos Jr. 1937 births American billionaires American telecommunications industry businesspeople American Episcopalians Amherst College alumni Businesspeople from New Jersey C-SPAN people Harvard Business School alumni Living people Pingry School alumni