Lee Marshall Bass (born 1956) is an American businessman and philanthropist.Forbes profile
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Early life

Lee Bass was born in 1956. His father was

Perry Richardson Bass Perry Richardson Bass (November 11, 1914 – June 1, 2006) was an American heir, investor, philanthropist and sailor. Early life Perry Richardson Bass was born on November 11, 1914, in Wichita Falls, Texas.Leslie WaynePerry R. Bass, 91, Patriarch ...

, an investor and philanthropist, and his mother,

Nancy Lee Bass Nancy Lee Bass (1917–2013) was an American philanthropist. She was known as the " First Lady of Fort Worth, Texas."Steve CampbellNancy Lee Bass was the "first lady of Fort Worth" ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', March 1, 2013 Early life Nancy ...

, was a philanthropist. His great-uncle was oil baron Sid Richardson. He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1979 and received a Master of Business Administration from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

in 1982.Texas Parks & Wildlife Commissioners
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Career

In 1989,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

William P. Clements, Jr. William Perry Clements Jr. (April 13, 1917 – May 29, 2011) was an American businessman and Republican Party politician who served two non-consecutive terms as the governor of Texas between 1979 and 1991. His terms bookended the sole t ...

appointed him to a six-year term as a commissioner of the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...

. In 1995, Governor

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

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 A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most ofte ...

in Encino, Texas.

Philanthropy

He serves on the boards of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, The Peregrine Fund, and

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

. He is a founding director of the

International Rhino Foundation The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is a Texas-based charity focused on the conservation of the five species of rhinoceros: the White Rhinoceros and Black Rhinoceros in Africa, and the Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoc ...

, and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the

Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) is an art museum of post-World War II art in Fort Worth, Texas with a collection of international modern and contemporary art. Founded in 1892, The Modern is located in the c ...

. In 1991, under the presidency of Benno C. Schmidt, Jr., he donated $20 million to Yale University to start a new program in

Western civilization Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

.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 The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsor ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he has supported George W. Bush,

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

, 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 ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, 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 Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

Thoroughbred racing

Ramona S. Bass, LLC

Ramona Seeligson Bass grew up in a family for which

Thoroughbred 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 i ...

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 stakes race winners both in the United States and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. He most notably bred and raced

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

, winner of the 1975

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is one ...

and the third leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes. For a time, Arthur Seeligson was a co-owner of

Hialeah Park Race Track The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East ...

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Miami metropolitan area ...

. He was a member of the board of directors of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

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 The Angels Flight Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Santa Anita Park in Inglewood, California. A Grade III event open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested on dirt over a distance of a six and one-half furlongs. ...

winner, Witty. She owned and raced Avenge whose wins included back-to-back editions of the

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by ...

Rodeo Drive Stakes The Rodeo Drive Stakes is a Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three-years-old and upwards. It is run at Santa Anita Park with a current purse of $300,000 and is contested over a distance of . Originally named the Yellow Ribbo ...

in 2016 and 2017. Ramona Bass was also the

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, ...

Roy H Roy H (foaled April 22, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who is the two time winner of the Breeders' Cup Sprint. He was named the American Champion Sprint Horse of 2017 and 2018. He did not start racing until age three, when he won only one ra ...

, winner of back-to-back editions of the

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually s ...

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 '' Texas Wild!'' at the

Fort Worth Zoo The Fort Worth Zoo is a zoo in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, that was founded in 1909 with one lion, two bear cubs, an alligator, a coyote, a peacock and a few rabbits. The zoo now is home to 7,000 native and exotic animals and has been nam ...

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