Joe Lewis Allbritton (December 29, 1924 – December 12, 2012) was an American banker, publisher and philanthropist.

Early life

Joe Allbritton was born on December 29, 1924, in

D'Lo, Mississippi D'Lo is a town in Simpson County, Mississippi, United States, along the Strong River. The population was 452 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi metropolitan area. The town was featured in Life (magazine), ''Life'' magazi ...

, the sixth of seven children. His family soon relocated to Houston, Texas, where his father owned a small business. Allbritton served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He completed his undergraduate degree and law degree from

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

, where he was a national champion debater.Notice of death of Joe Allbritton
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Business

After naval service and law school, he borrowed $5,000 to buy land outside Houston, which was later used in the construction of a freeway connecting Houston and

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

, earning Allbritton a small fortune. He also chaired Houston International Bank, Houston Citizens Bank and University Bankshares. In 1975, he purchased

The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Sta ...

along with its television station and smaller stations in the south. In 1978, he was forced to divest the newspaper. This became the foundation of his company,

Allbritton Communications The Allbritton Communications Company was an American media company. Based in Arlington, Virginia, Allbritton was the leading subsidiary of Perpetual Corporation, a private holding company owned by the family of company founder and former Riggs B ...

, which includes

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/ MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also s ...

, NewsChannel 8, short lived Internet venture TBD, and

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

, now run by his son,

Robert Allbritton Robert Allbritton (born February 16, 1969) is the owner and founder of Capitol News Company, the parent company of Capitol Hill political newspaper and website ''Politico''. Allbritton also served as the chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communicat ...

. From 1981 to 2001, he was chairman of

Riggs Bank Riggs Bank was a bank headquartered in Washington, D.C. For most of its history, it was the largest bank headquartered in that city. On May 13, 2005, after the exposure of several money laundering scandals, the bank was acquired by PNC Financia ...

. In 1992, he sold the Los Angeles based Pierce National Life Insurance Co. that he had owned since 1958. Ten years after acquiring Riggs Bank, the bank started to under perform, causing great financial distress on Allbritton. He resigned due to prostate cancer during investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission involving oil money from Equatorial Guinea at the same time that Riggs was facing broader charges of money laundering; his son Robert assumed the chairman position after his resignation; the bank was later purchased by PNC in 2005. The Riggs Bank was also investigated for concealing Pinochet's money, an investigation that revealed direct tied between the dictator and Joe Allbritton. He remained a member of the board of Riggs Bank's parent company Riggs National Corporation until 2004.

Philanthropy

Allbritton and his wife, Barbara, were major contributors through to numerous organizations through the Allbritton Foundation. Organizations they donated to including the

Baylor College of Medicine Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a medical school and research center in Houston, Texas, within the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest medical center. BCM is composed of four academic components: the School of Medicine, the Graduate S ...

, the Allbritton Art Institute, the Oxford Scholars, and the establishment of the International School of Law, which has become the

George Mason University School of Law The Antonin Scalia Law School (previously George Mason University School of Law) is the law school of George Mason University, a public research university in Virginia. It is located in Arlington, Virginia, roughly west of Washington, D.C., a ...

. He sat on the boards of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, to which he donated the official

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

portrait of

President Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. He contributed to

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

, where he was made a

Lay canon A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

Thoroughbred racing

Allbritton also made a name for himself in

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

. In 1991, his 3-year-old horse,

Hansel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hanse ...

, won two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

and the Belmont stakes.

Death

He died on December 12, 2012, aged 87, of heart trouble, in Houston, Texas. He is survived by his widow, Barbara, and their son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and two grandchildren.

References

External links

Obituary at www.politico.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allbritton, Joe 1924 births 2012 deaths People from Simpson County, Mississippi Lawyers from Houston Baylor University alumni Texas lawyers United States Navy personnel of World War II American newspaper publishers (people) Businesspeople from Houston Journalists from Houston 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American philanthropists Burials at Washington National Cathedral