Warren Amerine Stephens (born February 18, 1957) is an American businessman. He is the chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Stephens Inc., a privately held

investment bank Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

. Stephens lives in

Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

Early life and education

Stephens was born in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, the son of Jackson T. Stephens and Mary Amerine Stephens. Warren's father, "Jack" Stephens, and his uncle, "Witt" Stephens, partnered as investors and financiers in the investment firm, Stephens Inc. Warren began his education in Little Rock, and in 1975, graduated from Trinity Presbyterian High School in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

. He graduated from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

in 1979 with a BA in Economics, and received his MBA from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

in 1981.

Career

Stephens joined his father and uncle in the investment banking business in Little Rock, which had 139 employees. At that time, the firm resembled and operated much like one of the old British merchant banks, investing the firm's and family funds in various businesses and ventures, and it still operates the same way today. Stephens Inc is noted for handling the IPO of

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Stores in 1970. Stephens began work as an associate in the corporate finance department, concentrating on oil and gas. He became head of the department in 1983 and spent a lot of time on mergers and acquisitions. On February 18, 1986, Stephens was appointed president and CEO of Stephens Inc. In 1990, he was the senior advisor to

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It annually ...

in their acquisition of Holly Farms in a nine-month takeover battle. He is only the third chairman, president and CEO in the firm's more than 80 years of operations since 1933. In 2006, Stephens acquired 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Stephens Inc from the other family members. Stephens serves on the board of Dillard's.

Political involvement

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 supported Bob Dole in 1996,

Steve Forbes Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandso ...

in 1999, and has supported Mike Huckabee. Stephens was a bundler for Mitt Romney in 2012. He has been critical of Presidents

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 ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

.Forbes profile
/ref>BusinessWeek profile
/ref>Steven Barnes, 'PRIVATE SECTOR; Understatement, at $5 Billion', in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', November 21, 199

/ref> During the 2016 election, Stephens and his brother Jackson Stephens were major financial supporters of the Stop Trump movement.

Philanthropy

Stephens served on the board of trustees of his alma mater, Washington and Lee University. Stephens and his wife Harriet are benefactors of various organizations, most notably the

Episcopal Collegiate School Episcopal Collegiate School is an independent college preparatory school located in Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = ...

and the Arkansas Arts Center, both in Little Rock.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Warren 1957 births Living people American chief executives of financial services companies American billionaires Businesspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas Washington and Lee University alumni Wake Forest University alumni Arkansas Republicans People named in the Paradise Papers