George Bruce Kaiser was born on July 29,1942 and is an American billionaire businessman.
21 Facts About George Kaiser
1.
2.
George Kaiser is the chairman of BOK Financial Corporation in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
3.
George Kaiser earned a BA from Harvard College in 1964 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1966.
4.
George Kaiser briefly considered joining the US Foreign Service, but instead returned to Tulsa in 1966 to work for his father.
5.
George's father, Herman George Kaiser, had been an attorney in the district of the Kammergericht in Berlin until 1933, when he was dismissed by the Nazis because he was Jewish.
6.
Herman George Kaiser escaped to England in 1937 and his wife and daughter came over in September the following year.
7.
George Kaiser took control of George Kaiser-Francis Oil Company in 1969, after his father had a heart attack.
8.
George Kaiser-Francis was a little-known, privately owned oil prospecting and drilling company at the time.
9.
In 1990, George Kaiser bought Bank of Oklahoma out of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation receivership.
10.
George Kaiser is affiliated with the Egalitarian Conservative Congregation B'Nai Emunah.
11.
George Kaiser avoids publicity, does not attend society functions and hardly ever gives interviews.
12.
George Kaiser is listed third on BusinessWeek's 2008 list of the top 50 American philanthropists, behind Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.
13.
George Kaiser has been notably active in the promotion of early childhood education.
14.
In January 2009, George Kaiser drew attention after he told a committee of the Oklahoma House of Representatives that the state should eliminate or reduce tax incentives for the oil and gas industry, and instead use the money for health care or education programs or for tax cuts for other taxpayers.
15.
George Kaiser's family foundation was a large investor in the now-defunct Solyndra Corporation.
16.
George Kaiser is among those who have made The Giving Pledge, a commitment to give away half of his wealth for charitable purposes.
17.
George Kaiser's philanthropy focuses on stimulating economic growth and combatting poverty with investments in early education and health care for people who need it the most.
18.
George Kaiser is a strong proponent of programs like Early Head Start and Educare.
19.
George Kaiser learned that poverty has a major effect on life expectancy.
20.
George Kaiser concluded that too few doctors were available to treat the poorer people.
21.
George Kaiser was a fundraiser for the 2008 presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and functioned as a campaign bundler for Obama.