Howard Fieldstad Ahmanson Sr. (July 1, 1906 – June 17, 1968) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of an

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

and

savings and loan A savings and loan association (S&L), or thrift institution, is a financial institution that specializes in accepting savings deposits and making mortgage and other loans. While the terms "S&L" and "thrift" are mainly used in the United States, ...

association, H.F. Ahmanson & Co. He made his fortune during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

selling

fire insurance Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or boi ...

for property under

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

. He also bought real estate and invested in oil.

Early life

Ahmanson was born on July 1, 1906, in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. When his father died in 1925, he moved with his mother to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He enrolled at the University of Southern California, graduating in 1927 with a B.S. in Business Administration. In college, he began selling fire insurance for National American Fire Insurance, a company founded by his father. Enlisting in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

in 1943, he spent a year in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, as a procurement officer.

Career

Ahmanson launched his career by selling fire insurance in the late 1920s. During the Great Depression, he specialized in fire insurance on foreclosed properties and began buying real estate, which began to build his fortune. Through the rest of the decade, his business grew as he specialized in serving savings and loans. In 1944, while still on active duty in the Navy, he acquired control of National American Fire Insurance. After returning to Los Angeles in 1945, he began investing in savings and loans. In 1947, he bought Home Building and Loan (later known as Home Savings). In an era when state and federal regulations limited branching, Ahmanson and his top executive, Kenneth D. Childs took advantage of the

home construction Home construction or residential construction is the process of constructing a house, apartment building, or similar residential building generally referred to as a 'home' when giving consideration to the people who might now or someday reside t ...

and real estate boom around Los Angeles to make Home Savings and Loan the largest thrift in the United States.

Political activism

Involved with the

California Republican Party The California Republican Party (CAGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the U.S. state of California. The party is based in Sacramento and is led by chair Corrin Rankin. As of October 2023, Republicans represent app ...

since the mid-1930s, Ahmanson began to take a more active role in 1954 when his long-time friend

Goodwin Knight Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician and judge who served as the 31st governor of California from 1953 to 1959. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 35th lieutenant ...

ran for governor. With the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

slated to be held in San Francisco in 1956 and the possibility that two favorite sons—Knight and

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

—might be running for president, Ahmanson became the focal point for a bitter fight within the party when Knight picked him to become vice chairman of the party. Although Ahmanson was elected to the position, the fight further poisoned the relationship between Knight and Nixon. After a heart attack, Ahmanson was forced to relinquish the position and withdraw from political leadership.

Philanthropy

Beginning in the mid-1950s, Ahmanson began to play a major role in the cultural life of Los Angeles. He served on the board of the Museum of Science and Industry, helped found the support organization for the Los Angeles County Art Institute (also known as the

Otis Art Institute Otis College of Art and Design is a Private university, private Art school, art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is l ...

), gave $2 million to help fund the construction of the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, provided a major gift to support construction of the

Los Angeles Music Center The Los Angeles Music Center (officially the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Located in downtown Los Angeles, The Music Center is composed of the Dorothy Chandler Pa ...

, and provided generous funding to his alma mater, the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. He gave $1 million in 1962 to help fund the development of a biosciences research center.Dick Turpin, "$1 Million Given to USC by Howard Ahmanson," Los Angeles Times, May 17, 1962, A1. He also influenced the cultural life of Southern California when he hired the artist

Millard Sheets Millard Owen Sheets (June 24, 1907 – March 31, 1989) was an American artist, teacher, and architectural designer. He was one of the earliest of the California Scene Painting artists and helped define the art movement. Many of his large-scale b ...

in 1953 to begin designing Home Savings' branches. Sheets integrated the work of local muralists, ceramic and glass artists into the design of the buildings.

Yachting

A successful yachtsman, he bought his first racing vessel in 1948 and named it Sirius. For years, he sailed out of the Newport Harbor. He was a multiple winner of the San Diego to Acapulco Race. In 1961, he and his crew aboard the M class yacht Sirius II (formerly Barlovento) won the Transpac race to Honolulu. His crew included USC President

Norman Topping Norman Topping (1908 – November 18, 1997) was the President of the University of Southern California between 1958 and 1970. He succeeded Fred D. Fagg, Jr., and was succeeded by John R. Hubbard. He was chancellor between 1971 and 1980. He b ...

, architect

William Pereira William Leonard Pereira (April 25, 1909 – November 13, 1985) was an American architect from Chicago, Illinois, who was noted for his Futurist architecture#Post-modern futurism, futuristic designs of landmark buildings such as the Transamer ...

and architect Bill Ficker who later was skipper of Intrepid, winner of the 1970 Americas Cup.

Personal life

On June 24, 1933, he married Dorothy Johnston Grannis (1907-1979) in Los Angeles. In 1950 they had a son, Howard Fielstad Ahmanson Jr. The couple divorced in 1962. On January 14, 1965, he married

Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson (April 12, 1918 – June 21, 2005) was an American fashion consultant, businesswoman and philanthropist. She was a corporate director of The Walt Disney Company and the Fluor Corporation. She served as Chairman of th ...

, a fashion consultant who was a regular on the Art Linkletter show.Associated Press
Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson; prominent Southern California philanthropist; 83
''

U-T San Diego ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'', June 25, 2005

Death

He died on June 17, 1968, while traveling with his wife and son in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. A major portion of his assets went to the Ahmanson Foundation in Los Angeles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmanson, Howard F. Sr. American financiers 1906 births 1968 deaths Businesspeople from Los Angeles Philanthropists from Los Angeles People associated with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art American businesspeople in insurance Businesspeople from Omaha, Nebraska California Republicans 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists