Roland Whitney Betts (born May 25, 1946) is an American investor, film producer,

developer Developer may refer to: Computers * Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications * Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games * Web d ...

, and owner of

Chelsea Piers Chelsea Piers is a series of piers in Chelsea, on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located to the west of the West Side Highway ( Eleventh Avenue) and Hudson River Park and to the east of the Hudson River, they were originally a p ...

in New York City. A classmate and

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

(DKE) fraternity brother of

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 ...

, Betts was the lead owner in Bush's Texas Rangers partnership. He is a graduate of St. Paul's School ('64),

Yale 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 wor ...

('68) and

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

('78). Roland and Lois Betts celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 2012. They have two daughters, Maggie and Jessica.

Life and career

Betts was born in

Laurel Hollow Laurel Hollow is a village in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 1,952 at the 2010 census. According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Laurel Hollow was the eight ...

, Long Island, the son of an

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 ...

for the Vincent Astor Foundation. He grew up in Syosset, Long Island. In 1968, after graduating from Yale, Betts worked as a teacher and assistant principal until 1975. In 1978 Betts wrote ''Acting Out: Coping with Big City Schools'', a book which explores his experiences in the public school system. After graduating from

in 1978, he practiced law in the entertainment department at ''

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (known as Paul, Weiss) is an American multinational law firm headquartered on Sixth Avenue in New York City. By profits per equity partner, it is the fifth most profitable law firm in the world. ...

'' until leaving to finance movies. In 1980 he was named the President of International Film Investors, Inc., which produced and financed movies like ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

'' and ''

The Killing Fields A killing field is a concept in military science. Killing field may also refer to: * Killing Fields, a number of sites in Cambodia where collectively more than a million people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of ...

''. In 1983 he founded Silver Screen Management, Inc. (see

Silver Screen Partners Silver Screen Partners refers to four limited partnerships organized as an alternative funding source for film production originally formed by American investor Roland W. Betts as a collaboration with cable television network HBO in 1983. The m ...

) with Tom Bernstein, which financed and produced over 75 films with the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

, including '' Pretty Woman'', ''

The Rocketeer The Rocketeer is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books originally published by Pacific Comics. Created by writer/artist Dave Stevens, the character first appeared in 1982 and is an homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes ...

'', and ''

Three Men and a Baby ''Three Men and a Baby'' is a 1987 American comedy film directed by Leonard Nimoy. It stars Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, and Ted Danson as three bachelors as they attempt to adapt their lives to de facto fatherhood with the arrival of the love ...

''. The Texas Rangers were purchased in 1989 by a group of investors assembled by Roland W. Betts and George W. Bush. For nine years, Betts was lead owner of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club. Since 1992 Roland W. Betts is Founder and Chairman of

Inc. which developed and operates the Chelsea Piers Sports and Entertainment complex. NY Daily News, March 6, 2005
''Two titans fight to build huge complex next to Chelsea Piers'' Betts was the Senior Fellow of the

Yale Corporation The Yale Corporation, officially The President and Fellows of Yale College, is the governing body of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Assembly of corporation The Corporation comprises 19 members: * Three ex officio An ''ex officio'' m ...

, an advisory board member of

Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate business school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Administration (MBA), MBA for Executiv ...

, and is a Trustee of numerous organizations including: the American Museum of Natural History,

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute� ...

Columbia University Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestig ...

, and the

National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation (NPF) is the official charity of the National Park Service (NPS) and its national park sites. The NPF was chartered by Congress in 1967 with a charge to "further the conservation of natural, scenic, historic, scientif ...

. Mr. Betts has recently been appointed as a

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

and

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

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 ...

. From 2001 to 2006 Betts was one of

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

's appointments to the Board of the

Lower Manhattan Development Corporation The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation was formed in November 2001, following the September 11 attacks, to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan and distribute nearly $10 billion in federal funds aimed at rebuilding downtown Manhattan. ...

. In that capacity, Mr. Betts chaired the Site Committee charged with the rebuilding of the

World Trade Center site The World Trade Center site, often referred to as "Ground Zero" or "the Pile" immediately after the September 11 attacks, is a 14.6-acre (5.9 ha) area in Lower Manhattan in New York City. The site is bounded by Vesey Street to the north ...

. Roland W. Betts was also a heavy contributor to the Bush election campaign in 2000, helping raise more than $100,000 to that campaign, also putting down about $50,000 for the Bush Inauguration celebration. Bush has been seen visiting the Betts' at their vacation homes in

Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre and Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, one of the richest counties in the Unit ...

and Santa Fe.

External links

Fortune Magazine about Cipiriani accusing Betts of using his influences to kill the competition
*
Reconstruction Watch bio (PDF)

Hail The Conquering Hero
by Helen Thorpe, ''NY Magazine'', September 20, 1999.
Roland Betts on Conversations with Allan Wolper
Audio, Series: Conversations with Allan Wolper, WBGO.ORG, Length: 31:57. 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Roland W. 1946 births Film producers from New York (state) American entertainment industry businesspeople Living people People from Laurel Hollow, New York Yale University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison people St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni