Waite Phillips

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Waite Phillips (January 19, 1883–January 27, 1964) was the son of Lewis "Lew" Franklin Phillips and Lucinda Josephine "Josie" (Faucett) Phillips and the younger brother of Lee Eldas "L.E." Phillips, Sr. and Frank Phillips, who founded Phillips Petroleum. Waite Phillips married Genevieve Elliott in the home of her parents, Mr. & Mrs. J.B. Elliott, on March 30, 1909, in Nashville, Lee County, Iowa, where her father was a banker.

Waite had a twin brother, Wiate, who died at nineteen. Waite would use his oil rights to form the Waite Phillips Petroleum Co, but mainly got involved in real estate and banking.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, he built several office complexes, such as the Philtower and Philcade, as well as his mansion, the Italian Renaissance-style Villa Philbrook. He would later donate his immense house to the city of Tulsa, where it was transformed into the Philbrook Museum of Art. All these buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Interested in ranching, and in having a ranch with recreational activities, he began purchasing land in northern New Mexico near Cimarron, which he named Philmont Ranch. Then, he built a mansion there called Villa Philmonte. His greatgrandchildren occasionally vacation at Philmont Scout Ranch. A restless soul, he would later donate most of the ranch to the Boy Scouts of America to found Philmont Scout Ranch. He also donated the Philtower Building to the Boy Scouts to financially support Philmont Ranch. He contributed substantially to the University of Southern California as well and the Waite Phillips Hall of Education was named in his honor in 1966.

Upon his wife Genevive's death on June 19, 1979, the bulk of the remaining estate was also donated to educational and medical charities. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

He also owned a stretch of land in California, that was later developed into Rodeo Drive, known for its upper-class shopping.