T. Denny Sanford
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Thomas Denny Sanford (born December 23, 1935, in
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
) is a
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...
businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of
First Premier Bank First Premier Bank, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is an issuer of MasterCard brand credit cards in the United States. The bank is known for specializing in a wide range of subprime credit cards that are marketed to individuals wi ...
and the chairman and chief executive officer of its holding company, United National.


Career

Sanford's first job was at age 8 working in his father's garment shop. He later became a student at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...
, intending to become a doctor, but struggled with chemistry and switched majors, eventually graduating with a degree in psychology in 1958. Sanford made his fortune as the owner of subprime credit card providers
First PREMIER Bank First Premier Bank, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is an issuer of MasterCard brand credit cards in the United States. The bank is known for specializing in a wide range of subprime credit cards that are marketed to individuals wi ...
and PREMIER Bankcard. The bank is known for specializing in a wide range of high-interest,
subprime In finance, subprime lending (also referred to as near-prime, subpar, non-prime, and second-chance lending) is the provision of loans to people in the United States who may have difficulty maintaining the repayment schedule. Historically, subpri ...
credit cards marketed to people with low
credit score A credit score is a numerical expression based on a level analysis of a person's credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of an individual. A credit score is primarily based on a credit report, information typically sourced from credit bu ...
s. In 2007, Sanford paid $4.5 million as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General that alleged deceptive practices in marketing. Premier Bank offered a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate and a $300 limit, an amount cited by Senator
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
as an example of "extortion and
loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
ing". In 2018, Sanford ranked #1103 on the ''Forbes'' World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at $2.2 billion.


Personal life and education

Sanford was born on December 23, 1935, in
Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, during the Great Depression. His mother, Edith, died when he was four years old from breast cancer. In his teenage years, he was reportedly arrested for drinking and fighting and placed in a juvenile detention center, released after 36 days on the condition that he enroll in college. Sanford has two sons from his first marriage. In 1987, at age 52, Sanford met his second wife, Colleen Anderson (then 36). They married in 1995 and their divorce was finalized in 2005.


Legal issues

In 2020, it was reported that Sanford was being investigated for possession of child pornography. Investigators obtained a search warrant before referring the case to the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
. The investigation has led several institutions to reconsider his philanthropy. The investigation was ongoing as of January 2022 at both the state and federal levels.


List of philanthropic gifts

Sanford has pledged to give away his entire fortune during his lifetime, giving financial contributions to various higher education and healthcare institutions without a formal foundation or permanent staff. In 2006, ''
BusinessWeek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
'' magazine listed him as one of the 50 most generous philanthropists. As of October 2018, he has donated over $1 billion. * In 1999, Sanford agreed to match up to $2 million in donations to the Children's Inn and Children's Home Society of South Dakota, which cares for abused and neglected children, through 2002. * In December 2001, Sanford gave $100,000 to the Sioux Empire United Way to help abused and neglected children. Roundup River Ranch, an affiliate of Paul Newman's Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, in Gypsum, Colorado, received $4 million. * In 2006, Sanford donated $70 million to The State of South Dakota's Science and Technology Authority to help secure a
deep underground science and engineering laboratory The Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), or Sanford Lab, is an underground laboratory in Lead, South Dakota. The deepest underground laboratory in the United States, it houses multiple experiments in areas such as dark matter and neutrino ...
at the former site of the Homestake Gold Mine. *In 2003, Sanford and the University of Minnesota announced that Sanford would donate $35 million toward a proposed new
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadium for the Minnesota Gophers football team, a deal that would have given him full naming rights. The deal fell through in late 2003 when the parties were unable to reach an agreement on terms of the funding. In 2005,
TCF Bank TCF Bank was the wholly owned banking subsidiary of TCF Financial Corporation, a bank holding company headquartered in Detroit. As of August 10, 2020, TCF Bank had approximately 475 branches in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin, ...
won the bid for the naming rights. * In 2004, Sanford announced a gift of $16 million to what became Sanford Children's Hospital. Children's care was one of the five centers of excellence at what was then Sioux Valley Medical Center. The University of South Dakota School of Medicine was renamed the Sanford School of Medicine of the
University of South Dakota The University of South Dakota (USD) is a public research university in Vermillion, South Dakota. Established by the Dakota Territory legislature in 1862, 27 years before the establishment of the state of South Dakota, USD is the flagship univ ...
after the donation. The William Sanford Welcome Center at Bethesda Hospital in
St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
and the T. Denny Sanford Pediatric Center at the
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...
were also later named following sizeable donations from Sanford. *On February 3, 2007, Sanford announced a $400 million gift to Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System, which renamed itself
Sanford Health Sanford Health is a non-profit, integrated health care delivery system, with its headquarters in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with additional offices in Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota. History Sanford Health has its ...
. The gift was featured on ''The Chronicle of Philanthropy'' "Philanthropy 50: Americans Who Gave the Most in 2007." * In 2008, Sanford founded the Sanford Harmony Program at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
's T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. The San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine in La Jolla, California received $30 million, changing its name to the
Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM) or the Sanford Consortium is a non-profit biomedical research institute located in La Jolla, California. It was formed from a collaboration between the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discov ...
. * In 2009, Sanford made a $6 million donation to help fund the TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus. He also gave $100 million to create a breast cancer foundation in memory of his mother. The University of Minnesota accepted a $6 million donation to name the athletic hall of fame within TCF Bank Stadium for Sanford. * In 2010, Sanford's gift to
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College administers Arizona State University's undergraduate and graduate programs in education. The college is headquartered on ASU's Arizona State University at the Tempe campus, Tempe campus, but offers programs on all ...
established the Sanford Inspire Program for teacher preparation at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
. ASU and
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...
housed the program concurrently until 2017, after which it was hosted exclusively by National University. The Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California, and Orlando, Florida, received $50 million in 2010, which was followed by a name change to
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute Sanford Burnham Prebys is a 501(c)(3) non-profit medical research institute focusing on basic and translational research, with major research programs in cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, infectious, inflammatory, and childhood diseases. The ...
. * Sanford was named Philanthropist of the Year in 2011 by the Arizona State University Alumni Association. * In 2013, ''
Physics Today ''Physics Today'' is the membership magazine of the American Institute of Physics. First published in May 1948, it is issued on a monthly schedule, and is provided to the members of ten physics societies, including the American Physical Society. I ...
'' reported that Sanford gave $70 million to a physics lab in the defunct Homestake Mine in South Dakota, renamed the Sanford Underground Research Facility. The
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
also announced a $100 million gift from Sanford for the creation of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UCSD, the second-largest donation in the university's history. Sanford pledged $10 million to the
Crazy Horse Memorial The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills, in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing to hi ...
in South Dakota following a $10 million matching pledge made by Sanford in 2007. * In 2014, Sanford gave $125 million to Sanford Health to create the Imagenetics program. He also gave $1 million to National University to create the Sanford Education Center. He later founded The Sanford Institute of Philanthropy at John F. Kennedy University that month via a $28 million donation to the National University System for initiatives within the Sanford Education Center. The
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...
's School of Education was renamed the Sanford College of Education after the donation. The
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center The Denny Sanford Premier Center is an indoor arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The building is located at 1201 North West Avenue, and is connected to the Sioux Falls Arena and Sioux Falls Convention Center. The Aren ...
in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...
, was also named after donations from Sanford. * In 2018, Sanford founded an endowment within the Horatio Alger Fund of $30 million for college scholarships to students who have faced significant financial or healthcare obstacles in their education. He also donated $30 million toward a remodeling of the San Diego Children's Zoo. * In 2018, Sanford donated $1 million t
support an endowment for Ava’s House by Sanford
a multigenerational hospice facility that offers one of only four in-patient hospice programs for children and young adults. * In 2019, Sanford donated $350 million to
National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...
in addition to $150 million he had given previously. In honor of the donation, National University announced in 2019 that it would change its name on July 1, 2020 to Sanford National University, but the name change was placed on hold after Sanford became subject of a South Dakota child pornography investigation * In 2019, Sanford donated $25 million to suppor
PHASeR
(PHArmacocgenomic testing for Veterans), a program Sanford Health created in partnership with the US Department of Veteran Affairs that offers VA patients free pharmacogenetic (PGx) testing. * In 2021, Sanford donated $300 million to Sanford Health to expand opportunities in graduate medical education and community health and wellness, positioning Sanford Health as a global leader in rural care delivery. * In 2021, Sanford donated $350 million to Sanford Health t
create one of the world’s leading virtual care centers
with a focus on providing more accessible care in rural and underserved areas of the Midwest.


See also

*
List of people from South Dakota This is a list of prominent people who were born in or lived for a significant period in U.S. state of South Dakota. For a larger list by location, see People from South Dakota. Academia * * Vine Deloria Jr., American Indian author, theolog ...
* List of University of Minnesota people


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanford, T. Denny 1935 births 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American chairpersons of corporations American chief executives of financial services companies American financial company founders American philanthropists American bank presidents Businesspeople from South Dakota 21st-century philanthropists Living people Patrons of schools Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni