John Wesley Hanes II (April 24, 1892 – December 24, 1987) was an American

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

and corporate turnaround specialist who served as Under Secretary of the United States Treasury and was President of the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest Thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens; Belmont Park ...

and a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse owner and breeder named an Exemplar of Racing.New York Times - December 31, 1987 obituary for John W. Hanes
/ref>

Family, education, military service

Born in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, John Hanes II was the son of John Wesley Hanes and Anna Jannette Hodgin Hanes. His father was the founder of

Shamrock Mills Shamrock Mills, also known as Hanes Hosiery Mill #1, is a historic textile mill building located at Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, Forsyth County, North Carolina. It was built in 1911, and is a one-story brick building with daylight ...

who was also a significant shareholder of

Reynolds Tobacco Company The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) is an American tobacco manufacturing company based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and headquartered at the RJR Plaza Building. Founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875, it is the second-largest tobacco comp ...

through the sale of a tobacco business he had started. John Hanes II was educated at the

Woodberry Forest School Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 405. Students come from 28 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia ...

Madison County, Virginia Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837. Its county seat is Madison. History Madison County was established in December 1792, created from Culpeper County. The cou ...

and went on to graduate from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1915. Financial management proved to be Hanes II's forte as it was for his elder brother, Robert March Hanes (1890–1959), a career banker who rose from the teller's job in 1919 at Wachovia Bank & Trust Co. to become its President in 1931, a position he held until his retirement in 1956. John Hanes II married Agnes Mitchel in 1916 with whom he had three children. She died at their home in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

on September 19, 1935, In 1937 he married Hope Yandell, former wife of William Arnold Hanger, with whom he had a son and a daughter.

Private and Government career in finance

John Hanes II served with 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 I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. When the war ended, he went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where found employment as a

bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

salesman with the

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

stock brokerage firm, Charles D. Barney and Company. He quickly demonstrated his skills and was made a

general partner General partner is a person who joins with at least one other person to form a business. A general partner has responsibility for the actions of the business, can legally bind the business and is personally liable for all the partnership's debts an ...

in the firm and by 1935 had been elevated to senior partner. Hanes became a governor of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

and his high-profile resulted in President Roosevelt appointing him to the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission in 1937. In May 1938, President Roosevelt appointed John Hanes II as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and in October to

Under Secretary of the Treasury The United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, in the United States government, advises and assists the Secretary of the Treasury in the supervision and direction of the Department of the Treasury and its activities, and succeeds the Secret ...

to succeed

Roswell Magill Roswell Foster Magill (November 20, 1895 – December 17, 1963) was an American tax lawyer and Treasury Department official. He was one of the most important tax officials of the 1930s and one of the leading tax experts. Born in Auburn, Illinois ...

. His main focus was a Revenue Revision Study that he had completed when he handed in his resignation effective December 31, 1939 when he resigned to return to private enterprise. In the 1940 presidential election, Hanes broke with the Roosevelt Administration and supported

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican ...

in his unsuccessful campaign for president.

Financial restructuring expertise

In June 1940, John Hanes II was hired by the financially troubled

United States Lines United States Lines was the trade name of an organization of the United States Shipping Board (USSB), Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all ...

and its parent company, the

International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...

. Hanes was made a member of the company's

Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

and named chairman of the executive committee for both entities. Such was his reputation that a month later, John Hanes II was also hired by the

Hearst Corporation Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...

to restructure that debt-ridden company's finances. He was made a member of the company's Board of Directors which appointed him Chairman of the Finance Committee. John Hanes II was a long-time friend of fellow horse racing enthusiast, John M. Olin, President and Chairman of

Olin Corporation Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Olin che ...

. He was hired by Olin in 1949 to undertake a restructuring of the company. It turned into a ten-year job and for thirty-two years Hanes served on the Olin Corporation's

Thoroughbred horse racing

Owner and breeder

It was Hope Hanes who introduced her husband to the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Together they raced horses in the United States,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. John and Hope Hanes were part of the syndicate that purchased top stars for breeding such as

My Babu My Babu (1945–1970) was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who became one of the most influential sires in American breeding of show jumpers, eventers and hunters. His descendants include Bruce Davidson's former eventing mount JJ Babu, ...

Nashua Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places In Australia: * Nashua, New South Wales In the United States: * Nashua, California * Nashua, Iowa * Nashua, Minnesota * Nashua, Kansas City ...

, and

Royal Charger Royal Charger (1942–1961) was a British Thoroughbred that was successful as a horse racing, racehorse, but much more important as a Horse breeding#Terminology, sire. Background Royal Charger was a chestnut horse sired by the important stallio ...

. Among their other notable horses, they purchased

Bold Bidder Bold Bidder (1962–1982) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Bred by the Wheatley Stable partnership of Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden L. Mills, Bold Bidder was sired by their great stallion Bold Ruler, an eight-time ...

in partnership with

John R. Gaines John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and John M. Olin.

Racing industry executive

John Hanes II served as President of the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

from 1968 to 1970. In 1982 he was named an Exemplar of Racing, an honor bestowed on only four other people. In 1953, John Hanes II was elected a steward of the

and served as it unpaid President from 1954 to 1960 when he was named Chairman. During his tenure he oversaw the construction of the new

Aqueduct Race Track Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing ...

that opened on September 14, 1959. In 1960, he was honored by the New York Turf Writers Association as "the man who did the most for racing." Hanes resigned from the NYRA executive at the end of 1961 following treatment for a heart problem at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

.Hartford Courant - December 28, 1961
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanes II, John Wesley 1892 births 1987 deaths Yale University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War I American financiers American stockbrokers Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Hanes family New York Stock Exchange people Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission United States Assistant Secretaries of the Treasury American racehorse owners and breeders United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Winston-Salem, North Carolina People from Millbrook, New York New York Racing Association executives Woodberry Forest School alumni