Richard L. Bloch (June 12, 1929 – October 27, 2018) was an American investor, real estate developer, banker, and philanthropist.

Biography

Early life

Richard L. Bloch was born on June 12, 1929 in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

. Kenneth Michael Absher, Michael Charles Desch, Roman Popadiuk, ''Privileged and Confidential: The Secret History of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board'', Louisville, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2012, p. 35

/ref> He graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949.City National Bank: Board of Directors
/ref> He then attended graduate school at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

from 1950 to 1952. Meanwhile, he also served in the Anti-Aircraft Artillery of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

from 1951 to 1953, retiring as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

Career

In 1957, he founded a

real estate development Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw Real Estate, land and the sale of developed land or parcels ...

company in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. He co-developed and owned the Gulf & Western Building in

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 ...

, a

Hyatt Hotel Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the Transamerica Building in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

.Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Richard L. Bloch
/ref> Additionally, he owned buildings used by IBM and

Allstate Insurance The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Northfield Township, Illinois, near Northbrook since 1967. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993 but still partially owned by S ...

. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Trust Managers of Columbus Realty Trust. He became President and majority owner of the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...

, an NBA basketball team, in 1968. He served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. In 1973, he purchased

KVOA KVOA (channel 4) is a television station in Tucson, Arizona, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Allen Media Broadcasting. The station's studios are located on West Elm Street north of downtown Tucson, and its primary transmitter is ...

, a television station in Tucson, Arizona affiliated with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

. He was also co-owner of KNYN and

KTMN KTMN (97.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Cloudcroft, New Mexico. The station is owned by Cloudcroft Broadcasting Corporation. It airs a classic rock format. The station was assigned the KTMN call letters by the Federa ...

, two radio stations based in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

. From 1976 to 1982, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of

Filmways Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production c ...

, including its subsidiaries, Union Fidelity Insurance and Grosset & Dunlap. He served on the Board of Directors of Glenayre Technology (previously known as

Nu-West Nu-West Group Ltd. was a Canadian growth-oriented house building company that grew into an internationally diversified conglomerate. In 1957 Nu-West Homes was a small, privately owned, house-building company operating in Calgary, Alberta. In 196 ...

) from 1987 to 1992, the Data Broadcasting Corporation from 1993 to 1995 and Ascendant Solutions from March 2002 to February 16, 2005. In 1997, he co-founded CLB Partners, and served as its co-manager.Forbes: Richard L. Bloch
/ref> He served on the Board of Directors of City National Bank, headquartered in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. B ...

, beginning in 1979. He was a major donor to Democratic candidates. During the tenure of President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, he served on the

President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board The President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) is an advisory body to the Executive Office of the President of the United States. According to its self-description, it "provides advice to the President concerning the quality and adequacy of ...

Philanthropy

He is a former trustee of the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

and the

Museum of New Mexico The Museum of New Mexico is a collection of museums, historic sites, and archaeological services governed by the State of New Mexico. It currently consists of six divisions : the Palace of the Governors state history museum, the New Mexico Museum of ...

Foundation. He served on the Boards of Trustees of the

American Grand Prix Association The American Grandprix Association (AGA) is a national association that promotes Olympic-level show jumping in the United States. The AGA was established in 1978 by Eugene R. Mische. Leonard King was the AGA's president from 1978 through 1999. A ...

, the

United States Equestrian Team The United States Equestrian Team (USET) refers to the American national teams in Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines of horse sport. US Equestrian, the governing body of horse sport in the United States, selects, trains and funds the teams. The O ...

, the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

in New York City, St. Vincent's Hospital in

, the

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

near

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

Personal life

He was married to Nancy Bloch. He had been the owner of Pinon Farm in

since 1982.Corey Pein
Where's the Money? SFR hunts for Santa Fe’s wealthiest
''

Santa Fe Reporter The ''Santa Fe Reporter'' (''SFR'') is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Santa Fe, New Mexico. First published in 1974, the ''Santa Fe Reporter'' features reports on local news, politics, art and culture, and is published once a week o ...

'', September 8, 2009 Bloch died on October 27, 2018 at the age of 89 after a fall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloch, Richard L. 1929 births 2018 deaths American investors American corporate directors Phoenix Suns executives Phoenix Suns owners United States Army personnel of the Korean War People from Pontiac, Michigan People from Santa Fe, New Mexico Military personnel from Michigan University of Chicago alumni University of Arizona alumni 20th-century American philanthropists United States Army officers Deaths from falls