De Rance Corporation
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The De Rance Corporation was the world's largest Catholic charity until its dissolution in 1992. It was named for Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rance, the 17th-century abbot of the monastery at La Trappe, France.
Begun in the early 1950's by Harry G. John, a grandson of Miller Brewing founder Frederick Miller, De Rance was at one time worth $188 million. In 1983-1984, the charity's value plummeted to $83 million as a result of Harry John's questionable investments of its assets. John's wife, Erica, subsequently sued to have John removed as a De Rance director. She was able to prove her allegations, and John was permanently removed from the De Rance board in August, 1986.
When Harry John died in 1992, the De Rance board voted to award $30 million of the charity's $100 millon in assets to several of John's favorite causes. The remaining $70 million was used to create a new charitable organization, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund. The dissolution of De Rance was controversial, as John was alleged to have been kept alive artificially by his relatives until the charity's assets could be disbursed, although this was never proven.
[edit] Sources
- National Catholic Reporter, September 17, 1993.
