Early life
Lee Bass was born in 1956. His father wasCareer
In 1989, governor of Texas, Governor William P. Clements, Jr. appointed him to a six-year term as a commissioner of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. In 1995, Governor George W. Bush named him the commission chairman and reappointed him for another six years. In 2001, he was named chairman-emeritus by Governor Rick Perry. He is the primary steward of the historic El Coyote Longhorn Ranch in Encino, Texas, Encino, Texas.Philanthropy
He serves on the boards of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, The Peregrine Fund, and Vanderbilt University. He is a founding director of the International Rhino Foundation, and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. In 1991, under the presidency of Benno C. Schmidt, Jr., he donated $20 million to Yale University to start a new program in Western culture, Western civilization.Tyler Hill, 'Bass money funds Univ.', in ''Yale Daily News'', November 3, 2006 However, in 1995, under the presidency of Richard C. Levin, the gift was returned and the program canceled. In 1993, he also founded the Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation with his wife. In 2009-2010, the foundation donated $700,000 to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he has supported George W. Bush, George Allen (U.S. politician), George Allen, Phil Gramm, John McCain, and Kay Bailey Hutchison. He has also donated $159,760 to Rick Perry.Personal life
He is married to Ramona Seeligson of San Antonio, Texas, the daughter of Arthur A. Seeligson Jr. and Linda Nixon. Lee and Ramona Bass have three children, Sophie, Perry and Ramona. As of September 2011, he is the 595th richest person in the world, and the 220th richest in the United States, with an estimated wealth of US$2.1 billion. The couple lives in Fort Worth, Texas.Thoroughbred racing
Ramona S. Bass, LLC
Ramona Seeligson Bass grew up in a family for which Thoroughbred racing was an important part of life. Her father, Arthur Seeligson Jr., was involved in Thoroughbred racing for several decades and Ramona bred and raced horses with him and she continues to do so now on her own through "Ramona S. Bass, LLC" entity. Her late father owned Graded stakes race, stakes race winners both in the United States and in Europe. He most notably Horse breeding, bred and raced Avatar (horse), Avatar, winner of the 1975 Santa Anita Derby and the third leg of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, U.S. Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes. For a time, Arthur Seeligson was a co-owner of Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. He was a member of the board of directors of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York and a Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee. In partnership with the renowned Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, Ramona Bass owned the 2009 Railbird Stakes winner, Witty. She owned and raced Avenge (horse), Avenge whose wins included back-to-back editions of the Graded stakes race, Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes in 2016 and 2017. Ramona Bass was also the Horse breeding, breeder of Roy H, winner of back-to-back editions of the Breeders' Cup Sprint in 2017 and 2018 and who was voted the American Champion Sprint Horse in both years. Ramona Bass was a driving force behind the creation of ''Fort Worth Zoo#Texas Wild!, Texas Wild!'' at the Fort Worth Zoo.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Lee Marshall Living people 1950s births People from Fort Worth, Texas Yale University alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Businesspeople from Texas American racehorse owners and breeders Philanthropists from Texas American billionaires Texas Republicans Bass family