Jon Stryker

Jon Lloyd Stryker (born ca. 1958) is an American architect, philanthropist and activist for social and environmental causes. He is a billionaire stockholder and heir to the Stryker Corporation medical supply company fortunes of grandfather Homer Stryker alongside sisters Pat and Ronda. In 2010, his net worth was estimated at $1.2 billion.^[1]

Stryker is the founder and President of Arcus Foundation, an international foundation supporting Great Ape conservation and social justice endeavors. The threatened colobine species Rhinopithecus strykeri is named for him.

Family and education

Stryker is the grandson of Homer Hartmen Stryker, founder of the medical supply company Stryker Corporation. Jon Lloyd's father, Lee Stryker,^[2] died in an airplane crash in 1976.^[3]

Stryker received his Bachelor's of Arts/Science from Kalamazoo College in 1982. He later served on the college's Board of Trustees and was recipient of their 2010 Distinguished Service Award.^[4] He received his Master of Architecture from University of California at Berkeley.^[5]

Stryker is a registered architect in Michigan and is President of Depot Landmark LLC, a development company specializing in the rehabilitation of historic buildings.^[6]

Philanthropy and activism

Stryker has donated over $247 million to charitable organizations, supporting primate conservation and LGBT rights.^[7]

Primate conservation

Stryker is founder and President of the Arcus Foundation, a private foundation that supports great ape conservation as well as human social justice causes including sexual orientation and gender equality. He is a founding Board Member of the Ol Pejeta Wildlife Conservancy in Northern Kenya, Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Florida and Greenleaf Trust in Kalamazoo, Michigan.^[8]

Naming of Rhinopithecus strykeri

In 2010, the newly discovered Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey was named Rhinopithecus strykeri in his honor; Stryker's Arcus Foundation had supported the primate research teams who discovered the colobine, already known and hunted for food by natives in Northern Myanmar on the Maw River, during the course of a survey of Hoolock Gibbons.^[9]

Social justice and human rights

Stryker's Arcus Foundation supports groups advancing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) human rights and social justice.^[10] Stryker is a Platinum Council (US $50,000 and over annual contributions) donor to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund.^[11]

In 2009, Kalamazoo College received a $200,000 planning grant from Stryker's Arcus Foundation to prepare for the establishment of a social justice leadership center.^[12] In January 2012, the College announced that they had received a $23 Million Grant from the Arcus Foundation to fund the now functioning Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership.^[13]

Visual artist Nan Goldin's work in Pictures by Women: A History of Modern Photography has been supported by the purchase and exhibition of silver dye bleach prints "through the generosity of" Stryker.^[14]

Political contributions

Stryker formed the political action committee Coalition for Progress in August 2006 to fund election campaigns for Michigan Senate and Michigan House of Representatives district candidates, particularly from the Democratic Party.^[15] Stryker personally contributed $4.7 million while sister Pat Stryker contributed $500,000 by November 2006.^[16] In the 2006 Michigan gubernatorial election, Jennifer Granholm was re-elected as Governor of Michigan over Republican opponent Dick DeVos, the subject of advertising paid for by the Coalition.^[17] In early August 2012, Stryker donated $325,000 to the group, Freedom to Marry Minnesota, which went on to defeat a referendum that would have placed a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Minnesota. ^[18] In 2013 Minnesota became the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

Personal life

Stryker is divorced and has two children.^[3] Stryker is gay.^[10]

In June 2010, Stryker enlarged his contiguous residential property in Palm Beach, Florida, initially enlarged by purchasing the ocean-access lot next to the one containing his 1924 Mediterranean-style house designed by Marion Sims Wyeth, whose west facade was designated a landmark in 1990, by the further purchase of the adjoining residence of Jimmy Buffett and Jane Buffett for $18.5 million using as titular buyer Via Marina LLC.^[19] Stryker has also maintained one or more residences in Kalamazoo,^[5] and in 2003 surprised himself by finding that a commercial building he bought in Kalamazoo formerly housed his grandfather's Orthopedic Frame Co. which became Stryker Corp. Stryker is credited with built-space revitalization efforts in the city.^[7] Stryker has purchased an apartment in the Time Warner Center in New York City.^[20] In June 2013 it was reported that Stryker purchased the Mystery Point property on the Hudson River, putting part of the property under a conservation easement for public access while retaining the home for private use.^[21] It has also been reported that Stryker purchased the pioneering eco resort Maho Bay Camps ^[22] but the buyer and their intentions have not been disclosed eight months after the property was sold.

References