Lee Bass (born c. 1957) is one of three brothers who inherited a family fortune created by their oil baron uncle Sid Richardson.[1][2]
He graduated from Yale University in 1979 and received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1982.[1][3][4][2]
In 1989, Governor William P. Clements, Jr. apppointed him to a six-year term as a commissioner of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.[3] In 1995, Governor George W. Bush named him Chairman and reappointed him for another six years.[3] In 2001, he was named Chairman-Emeritus by Governor Rick Perry.[3][4]
He serves on the boards of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, The Peregrine Fund, and Vanderbilt University.[3][4][5] He is a founding director of the International Rhino Foundation, and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.[4] In 1991, under the presidency of Benno C. Schmidt, Jr., he donated $20 million to Yale University to start a new program in Western civilization.[6] However, in 1995, under the presidency of Richard C. Levin, the gift was returned and the program canceled.[6][7] In 1993, he also founded the Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation with his wife.[8] In 2009-2010, the foundation donated $700,000 to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.[9] A Republican, he has supported George W. Bush, George Allen, Phil Gramm, John McCain, and Kay Bailey Hutchinson.[2] He has also donated $159,760 to Rick Perry.[10]
As of September 2011, he is the 595th richest person in the world, and the 220th richest in the United States, with an estimated wealth of US$2.1 billion.[1] He lives in Fort Worth, Texas.[1][4] He is also a steward of the El Coyote ranch in Kingsville, Texas.[11]