Charles Wyly, Jr. (October 13, 1933 – August 7, 2011), was an American entrepreneur and businessman, philanthropist, civic leader, and a major contributor to
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 ...
causes and art projects in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. This included $20 million to build a performing arts center in Dallas. In 2006, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine estimated his net worth at $1 billion. His younger brother,
Sam Wyly
Samuel Evans Wyly (born October 4, 1934) is an American businessman. He first appeared on ''Forbes''s list of richest Americans in 2000 with a net worth of $750 million, and he remained on that list throughout 2010 with a net worth of $1 billio ...
, is nearly equal in wealth; the two brothers were close with their business affairs, and were often referred to as the "Wyly brothers". Together the brothers had donated almost $2.5 million to more than two hundred Republican candidates and committees at the federal level over the past two decades. Wyly was inducted into the
Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame The Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1984 to honor student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and benefactors who have been highly successful at Louisiana Tech
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tec ...
in 2003; he was a
Bulldogs
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.football player.
Early life and education
Born during the Great Depression, Charles Wyly was a child when the collapsed economy forced the surrender of his family's
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
East Carroll Parish
East Carroll Parish (french: Paroisse de Carroll Est) is a parish located in the Mississippi Delta in northeastern Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 7,459. The parish seat is Lake Providence. An area of cotton plantations in the antebell ...
in northeastern
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. He attended Delhi High School in
Delhi, Louisiana
Delhi (), originally called Deerfield, is a town in Richland Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,622.
History
During the American Civil War, Delhi and Monroe, the seat of Ouachita P ...
, graduating in 1951 after staying an extra semester to play halfback as a fifth-year senior and help the football team win a Louisiana state championship. Charles and his younger brother went on to attend Louisiana Tech University in Ruston at the same time and then to work for IBM. Charles played varsity football for four seasons at Louisiana Tech and earned a degree in business administration in 1956.
Career
He helped his brother, Sam, run their startup computer software company, University Computing, and later founded and led several other companies. He also was a former member of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
Advisory Council for Management Improvement. During their lifetime, the Wyly brothers together gave more than ninety million dollars to a wide range of charities.
Scandal and controversy
In the summer of 2010, the Internal Revenue Service and Securities and Exchange Commission accused Wyly and his brother of using offshore havens to hide more than a half a billion dollars in profits over 13 years of insider stock trading and fraud. The brothers denied the claims and were fighting the allegations.
Charles and Sam Wyly, according to a jury in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
in 2013 in a
civil
Civil may refer to:
*Civic virtue, or civility
*Civil action, or lawsuit
* Civil affairs
*Civil and political rights
*Civil disobedience
*Civil engineering
*Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism
*Civilian, someone not a membe ...
trial, acted fraudulently by trying to hide assets which they controlled in four public companies that were sold for billions of dollars.
The
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
jury returned its verdict against 79-year-old Sam Wyly and the estate of his brother, Charles, whom the Securities and Exchange Commission had accused of earning more than $500 million illegally by using offshore accounts to trade securities.
Death
On Sunday, August 7, 2011, Wyly, who maintained a home in the rural town of Woody Creek in
Roaring Fork Valley
The Roaring Fork Valley is a geographical region in western Colorado in the United States. The Roaring Fork Valley is one of the most affluent regions in Colorado and the U.S. as well as one of the most populous and economically vital areas of th ...
near
Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, was turning onto a highway near the local airport when his Porsche was hit by a sport utility vehicle according to the
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...