James S. Davis (born 1943) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businessman, the owner and chairman of

New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...

, and an early investor in

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff ...

Early life

James S. Davis was born in 1943 in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of Greek immigrants. He attended the

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

, and he received a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

in 1966.Sarah C. Ray, 'Library named for Jim Davis '66 and his family', May 7, 201

/ref> While in college, he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Career

Davis started his career as a sales engineer at the LFE Corporation in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

, and as marketing manager for the Applied Geodata Systems Division of Techven Associates of

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

. In 1972, he bought New Balance, then only a 6-employee firm in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and turned it into a 4,000-employee global corporation with revenues averaging around $2.5 billion every year. He has been a board member of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the International Athletic Footwear & Apparel Manufacturers Association, and the Two/Ten Foundation. He also sits on the board of directors of the Citizen's Bank in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

.Major League Lacrosse Founders
He has donated $5 million to the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

. He is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from his alma mater, Middlebury College. A library on its campus has also been named for him. He formerly sat on its board of trustees, on the Worcester Academy's, and on Newbury College's. He sits on the board of trustees of the Sports Museum of New England and formerly Boston Children's Museum. As of 2017, Davis is the 324th richest person in the world, and the 94th richest in the United States, with an estimated wealth of US$5.1 billion.

Personal life

Davis is married, and has two children. He lives in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

Politics

Davis has donated $500,000 to

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

's Super PAC, ''Restore Our Future''. Davis donated almost $400,000 to the

Trump Victory Committee The Trump Victory Committee was a joint fundraising committee for Donald J. Trump for President (the Donald Trump presidential campaign organization), the Republican National Committee (RNC), and 11 state Republican committees. Overview The ...

in September 2016. In an interview given to

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

reporter Sara Germano on the day following the 2016 presidential election of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, a New Balance senior executive suggested support for Trump due to his opposition to the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa ...

. Widely reported social-media reaction documented numerous New Balance owners destroying or disposing of their shoes—with many pledging lifetime boycotts of the company. In 2021, Davis gave $495,000 to a super PAC supporting Boston mayoral candidate

Annissa Essaibi George Annissa Essaibi George (born December 12, 1973) is an American politician who served as an at-large member of the Boston City Council. First elected in 2015, she served on the council from 2016 to 2022. She was a candidate in the 2021 Boston ma ...

, who won second place in the preliminary election in September, enough to advance to the general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jim Living people 1943 births Middlebury College alumni Middlebury Panthers football players People from Newton, Massachusetts American businesspeople American billionaires American people of Greek descent

Early life

Career

Personal life

Politics

See also

References