William E. "Bill" Conway Jr. (born August 27, 1949) is an American billionaire businessman, investor and philanthropist. Conway serves as Co-Executive Chairman of the Board, Founder of the Carlyle Group. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Johns Hopkins Medicine and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America. According to Forbes, Conway had a net worth of US$3.6 billion as of April 2022.

Early life and education

Conway attended Dartmouth College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Science in 1971. Continuing his studies at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, he received his MBA degree in 1974 with his main focus being on Finance. Conway went to night school for his MBA while working at the First National Bank of Chicago.

Career

He started his career by serving in a variety of positions in corporate finance, commercial lending, workout loans and general management for almost ten years with

First National Bank of Chicago First Chicago Bank was a Chicago-based retail and commercial bank tracing its roots to 1863. Over the years, the bank operated under several names including The First National Bank of Chicago and First Chicago NBD (following its 1995 merger with ...

. From 1981 to 1986, Conway had worked in various financial positions at MCI Communications being named senior vice president and

chief financial officer The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...

in 1984. In 1987, Conway founded The Carlyle Group with David Rubenstein and Daniel A. D'Aniello. The firm has grown into a global investment firm with $293 billion of assets under management, with more than 1,800 employees in 31 offices on six continents.Patrick McGeehan, 'Look Who Hit Pay Dirt in the Nextel Deal', in '' The New York Times'', December 19, 200

/ref> He has served as the chairman of the boards of Nextel Communications and

United Defense Industries United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American defense contractor which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by BAE Systems in 2005. The company produced combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers an ...

. He has made charitable donations to the Catholic Church. As of April 2022, he is the 809th richest person in the world and is worth of $3.6 billion. Conway is scheduled to speak at the November 2022 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, with the

Hong Kong Democracy Council Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) is a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan, non-governmental organization (NGO) with a stated mission of "protect ngHong Kong’s basic freedoms, autonomy, and the rule of law." HKDC's research and political work focuse ...

claiming that his presence, along with other financial executives, legitimizes the Hong Kong government's whitewashing of the erosion of freedoms in the city. Several members of Congress also warned that US financial executives should not attend the Summit, saying "Their presence only serves to legitimise the swift dismantling of Hong Kong's autonomy, free press and the rule of law by Hong Kong authorities acting along with the Chinese Communist Party."

Political activities

Conway's son, also named Bill Conway, ran in the 2020 Democratic primary election for Cook County State's Attorney against incumbent Kim Foxx. Conway donated $10.5 million of his personal fortune to his son's ultimately unsuccessful campaign.

Personal life

In 1999, Conway bought

Merrywood Merrywood is a historic home located in McLean, Virginia on the Palisades overlooking the Potomac River that has hosted several presidents and members of the British royal family. The Georgian Revival style brick dwelling was built in 1919 for Ne ...

, the childhood home of Jackie Kennedy, from Alan I. Kay for $15.5 million. Less than a year later, however, he sold it to

Steve Case Stephen McConnell Case (born August 21, 1958) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist best known as the former chief executive officer and chairman of America Online (AOL). Case joined AOL's predecessor company, Quantum Computer ...

, the former CEO of

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo (2017� ...

and his wife,

Jean Villanueva Jean Case (previously Villanueva and Wackes, born 1959) is an American businesswoman, author, and philanthropist who is chair of the board of National Geographic, CEO of Case Impact Network, and CEO of the Case Foundation. She is married to AOL ...

, for $24.5 million. Conway was previously married and divorced. He has one child from his prior marriage, Bill Conway. He is currently married. Today, he and his wife Joanne live in McLean, Virginia. The

nursing school Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...

of the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

, the

Conway School of Nursing The Conway School of Nursing is the nursing school of The Catholic University of America. It was founded in 1935, and was named after Joanne and Bill Conway in 2019. Courses and degree programs at the school include Bachelor Science in Nursing, ...

, is named after him and his wife.

Philanthropy

Conway and his wife Joanne support a number of charities and institutions. In June 2019 they donated $20 million to the Catholic University of America to create the Conway School of Nursing. Since 2012, Conway pledged over $55 million for the

Latin American Youth Center Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1968 in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Initially created to empower Latino youth, it later expanded its mission to include youth of all races with the aim of emp ...

to finance the organization's educational programs. Other significant donations of Conway and his wife Joanne include Villanova University’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing Trinity Washington University and more.

Publications

*''Why We're Investing in America'', The Wall Street Journal (November 19, 2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, William E. Jr. 1949 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople American billionaires American chief executives of financial services companies American chief financial officers American financiers American investors Businesspeople from Massachusetts Businesspeople from Virginia The Carlyle Group people Catholics from Virginia Dartmouth College alumni People from Lowell, Massachusetts People from McLean, Virginia Private equity and venture capital investors University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni