Rex Andrew Sinquefield is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who has been called an "index-fund pioneer" for creating the first passively managed index fund open to the general public.
32 Facts About Rex Sinquefield
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Rex Sinquefield's father died when he was five years old.
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Rex Sinquefield told the BBC that the school's regimentation taught him self-discipline.
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Rex Sinquefield graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School in 1962.
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Rex Sinquefield studied to be a priest at the Diocesan Seminary at Cardinal Glennon College in St Louis.
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Rex Sinquefield majored in business for his undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University and received an MBA from University of Chicago.
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Rex Sinquefield is a proponent of passive investment, meaning that he believes you simply cannot beat the market.
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Rex Sinquefield is one of the top right-wing political funders in the country, and the single top political spender in Missouri, having spent at least $31.5 million between 2006 and 2014, Brendan Fischer, general counsel of the Center for Media and Democracy, wrote in 2014.
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Rex Sinquefield has contributed toward measures to dismantle teacher tenure, enact water privatization and right-to-work, privatize the St Louis Lambert International Airport, merge St Louis City and St Louis County, and expand charter schools.
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On his return to St Louis, Sinquefield co-founded the Show-Me Institute with R Crosby Kemper III, a Kansas City banker.
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Rex Sinquefield began giving money to Missouri politicians of both political parties after the state legislature eliminated campaign-finance limits in 2009, and by 2015, had given money to "big majorities" of lawmakers in both houses of the Missouri legislature.
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Rex Sinquefield has particularly focused on altering public education, tax reform, and accountability in government.
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Rex Sinquefield has donated to Missouri candidates Shane Schoeller, Chris Koster, and Sarah Steelman, as well as to the 2016 gubernatorial campaign of Catherine Hanaway.
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Rex Sinquefield is a major funder of right-wing groups and PACs, such as Pelopidas, LLC.
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In 2019, Rex Sinquefield was found to be among the dark money donors behind a failed 2018 medical cannabis initiative.
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In 2021, Rex Sinquefield donated $250,000 to two campaigns: Scott Fitzpatrick's bid for state auditor and Mike Kehoe's prospective candidacy for governor in 2024.
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Rex Sinquefield has long tried to change tax policy in Missouri, particularly in ways that would reduce his taxes and raise those of lower earners.
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Rex Sinquefield advocates eliminating the state's income tax and replacing it with a more comprehensive sales tax.
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Rex Sinquefield advocates replacing Missouri's and Kansas' income tax with a state sales tax on things like childcare, restaurants, and hotels.
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Rex Sinquefield gave money to the group Kansans for No Income Tax which helped governor Sam Brownback lower the state income tax in 2012.
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Rex Sinquefield has repeatedly backed measures to repeal the earnings taxes of St Louis and Kansas City, Missouri.
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Rex Sinquefield is the primary financial supporter of the Let Voters Decide committee.
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Rex Sinquefield and Let Voters Decide President Travis Brown say that replacing the income tax with a sales tax would help create jobs, promote economic development and make state revenue collection less volatile.
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Rex Sinquefield supported the successful effort to return local control of the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department to the City of St Louis.
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Rex Sinquefield donated $300,000 to "A Safer Missouri", a group supporting the campaign for local control.
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Rex Sinquefield has been deeply involved in efforts to privatize the St Louis Lambert International Airport.
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Rex Sinquefield has contributed to the St Vincent Home for Children.
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Rex Sinquefield is a director of St Vincent Home for Children in St Louis, and a life trustee of DePaul University.
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Rex Sinquefield serves on the boards of Saint Louis University, the St Louis Symphony, the St Louis Art Museum, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Contemporary Art Museum St Louis.
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Rex Sinquefield advises the Archdiocese of St Louis on finance.
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Since the 2000s, Rex Sinquefield has spent tens of millions of dollars to boost chess in St Louis and the United States, believing that the game can transform children and their academic lives.
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In 2010, Rex Sinquefield bought the recently-closed World Chess Hall of Fame, renovated a house across the street from the Chess Club, and moved it to St Louis.