October, 1998

After Henry Salvatori:  California’s ‘Most Generous’ Conservative Philanthropists

by John Gizzi

The "promised land." That’s how professional fundraisers for charities, foundations, think tanks and other nonprofits characterize California. The largest state in the nation — and were it a country, the 7th largest economic power in the world — the Golden State is the first stop for those seeking generous donors to their causes.

In 1996 Californians claimed the most charitable tax deductions of any state: $10.9 billion. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, "As Americans are moving west, so is their philanthropy."

Indeed, when Fortune magazine listed its "40 Most Generous Americans" last February, California was home to more of the "Most Generous" than any other state. Nine of the 40 philanthropists are Golden State residents, donating a total of $329 million in 1997 primarily for higher education, medical research and the arts.

Among the notables are David Duffield of Danville, California, who donated $20 million to his alma mater Cornell University, mostly for construction of a facility devoted to the study of subatomic particles. Former Seattle Seahawks owner Kenneth Behring, also of Danville, gave $20 million to the National Museum of Natural History to relocate the Smithsonian’s Hall of Animals to a new home in Behring’s name. Michael and Judy Ovitz of Los Angeles, both alumni of UCLA and supporters of the school for more than two decades, contributed $25 million toward rebuilding the earthquake-damaged UCLA Medical Center. Leslie Gonda of Beverly Hills, founder of one of the world’s largest aircraft lessors (International Lease Finance), gave $50 million to the Mayo Clinic.

Others among California’s "Most Generous" prefer to donate through privately owned foundations. For example, last year Disney head Michael Eisner and his wife Jane donated $89 million to their new Eisner Foundation. The foundation supports education, medical care and assistance for underprivileged and learning-disabled children in Southern California.

Salvatori Remembered

Among those whose cherished causes tend to be on the conservative or free-market side, the Californian most sought after by fundraisers is now gone. Henry Salvatori died in July 1997 at the age of 96.

The son of Italian immigrants, Salvatori settled in Depression-ridden Los Angeles in 1933. He borrowed money from the Bank of America and invested his life savings of $9,000 in an oil exploration company. By the time he sold Western Geophysical to Litton Industries in 1960, Salvatori’s company was a multimillion dollar titan in the oil industry and he was among California’s richest.

Salvatori never failed to tell visitors to his Century City office how indebted he was to the adopted country in which he thrived. Accordingly, he devoted much of his time and resources to advancing causes that promoted the American tradition and the free market, in addition to other charitable endeavors. The goal of his generosity, according to Claremont Institute president Larry Arnn, was "to study and teach the American Founding to teachers, students and citizens."

Salvatori endowed programs at the conservative Claremont Institute, Intercollegiate Studies Institute and Heritage Foundation. He also was a major benefactor of Claremont McKenna College, Pepperdine University, the University of Southern California and Good Samaritan Hospital. Joined by Grace, his wife of 52 years and co-chair of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Salvatori was a major backer of the arts in Los Angeles.

He is perhaps best-known as a pivotal figure in launching the political career of Ronald Reagan. It was Salvatori who in October 1964 convinced Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater to allow actor Reagan to give a nationally televised address on Goldwater’s behalf. Salvatori raised the funds necessary to broadcast Reagan’s half-hour testimonial. The program, titled "A Time for Choosing" (also known as "The Speech" among Reagan enthusiasts), generated more donations to Goldwater’s campaign than to any political campaign in the history of television. It immediately sparked calls for Reagan himself to seek public office.

Two years later, Salvatori chaired the committee of fellow California business leaders that raised the early "seed money" for Citizen Reagan to run for governor. The rest, as they say, is history.

Widely mourned among conservatives for his generosity and devotion to advancing their cause, Salvatori’s passing last year also prompted fresh questions: Would there be anyone like him again? At a time when the political climate in California appeared to be moving to the Left, despite the full bloom of several conservative institutions in the state, would there be another Californian for whom the terms "philanthropist" and "conservative true believer" were not mutually exclusive?

Passion for Anonymity

Given the expansion and million-dollar budgets of notably conservative institutions in California like the Claremont Institute and Pepperdine University, there is no question that Henry Salvatori’s philanthropic spirit continues.

The Claremont Institute is perhaps the best-known object of generosity among California’s conservative philanthropists. Founded in the college community east of Los Angeles in 1979, it deals with national issues but gives "special emphasis to the problems of our country’s largest state," according to its statement of principles. In seeking answers to national dilemmas, Claremont "finds the answers to America’s problems in the principles upon which our nation was founded." Recovering those principles means "recovering a limited and accounted government that respects private property, promotes stable family life and maintains a strong defense."

Similarly, Pepperdine University — founded by ministers of the Church of Christ and now located in Malibu — also has become a favorite haven for both conservative donors and scholars. Most of the major backers of Claremont also are significant supporters of Pepperdine, which last year attempted to hire Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr as dean of its law school and founding dean of a new school of public policy.

It appears that while conservative donors certainly exist, few have followed Salvatori’s example of advocacy for conservative principles and conspicuous philanthropy. Many modern-day backers of Southern California’s conservative institutions are adamantly opposed to public attention.

For example, the owner of a highly successful life insurance firm in California has made generous donations to the Claremont Institute and like-minded groups. A chair in his honor has been established at the business school from which he and his sons graduated, and he is a major and faithful contributor to charities affiliated with the Catholic Church.

"But please don’t put the spotlight on Dad," a son asked me. "Everyone and his brother-in-law will be calling with their hands out to him."

Fear of being panhandled aside, it is likely that conservative donors have developed a passion for anonymity because of the atmosphere of so-called "political correctness" that pervades California. They seem to fear public harassment or some kind of retribution. Others with disposable income who might be well-inclined to support a conservative cause or institution may decline to do so for the same reason.

Actor Mel Gibson, whose films have raked in an estimated $1 billion in box office receipts over the past two decades, is an obvious candidate for conservative philanthropy in California. A Catholic father of six, he spends most of his time and has two homes in California. In 1996, the same year he won the Academy Award for Braveheart, Gibson publicly voiced his admiration for Republican presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. That same year he described to Playboy his libertarian political philosophy.

But nowhere is a major donation from Gibson to a conservative or libertarian organization to be found.

"I can’t get through to him," says the head of one conservative group in Southern California.

"I would bet that the Left out here in California would pay handsomely for profiles of those who are the most generous toward promoting the ideas they hate," observed the Claremont Institute’s Larry Arnn. "Why subject them to harassment? A more worthy project might be a study of those who should be donating to worthy causes but don’t."

Like Gibson, the state’s business community has not supported efforts to defend the free market. According to Arnn, recent successful statewide initiatives to ban racial preferences and bilingual education in public schools received the cold shoulder from California’s business leaders.

Fortunately, there are at least a few prominent Southern California philanthropists who make no bones about their conservative philosophy. Their generosity in advancing conservative efforts is a matter of public record, at least with regard to political activities.

Among those listed by Fortune as America’s "most generous" are: Edward G. Atsinger III of Ventura County, who is co-owner of the largest group of Christian radio stations in the nation; Roland Heinz of Pasadena, a relative of the famed catsup-manufacturing family from Pennsylvania; and Rob Hurtt, Garden Grove entrepreneur and now a Republican state senator. All received considerable publicity for their involvement in the influential Allied Business PAC, which doled out $5 million to influence 1993-94 political races and helped increase the conservative presence in the California legislature. The philanthropists also donate generously to conservative think tanks and other nonprofits, refusing however to comment to the media on their charitable activities.

There are four other California philanthropists whose generosity has helped promote conservative and free-market causes and institutions:

Howard F. Ahmanson

Howard Fieldstead Ahmanson’s father (also named Howard) bought Home Savings in 1947 for $162,000. At the time of his death in 1968, the bank was the largest thrift in the U.S. with assets of $2.5 billion.

This gives rise to the younger Ahmanson’s memorable self-characterization: "I’m a trust fund baby, a second-generation rich kid, not a self-made businessman."

It is not difficult for visitors to Southern California to find monuments to the senior Ahmanson, including the Ahmanson Center for the Performing Arts, the Ahmanson Gallery of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Ahmanson Center for Biological Research at the University of Southern California. His estate was divided evenly between his son and the Ahmanson Foundation, which had assets of $664 million at the end of 1996.

The younger Ahmanson does not disclose his assets. These include wealth set aside for him before his father’s death and from the estates of both parents.

"Paymaster to the political right" is the description the Orange County Register has given to the 46-year-old Ahmanson. Ahmanson and his wife Roberta share a passion for conservative issues, candidates, foundations and think tanks in California. The 18 employees of his Fieldstead and Company work exclusively to help him spend nearly $10 million of his own exchequer every year. The staff insists that fund-seekers first pass a written inquiry before meeting him.

Ahmanson’s most passionate commitments are to God and "moral law." By his own estimate, Ahmanson’s donations support cultural, social and educational programs over all others by a ratio of 10-to-1. His chief inspirations are the writings of John Calvin, C.S. Lewis and the Rev. R.J. Rushdoony, a leader among Christian Reconstructionists who would base society on biblical laws. During the past decade, Ahmanson has given more than $700,000 to Rushdoony’s California-based Chalcedon Foundation and served on the board until 1995.

Today Ahmanson serves on the board of the Claremont Institute and is its largest individual donor. He has written "a check for $500,000 to erect a building at the Harambee Preparatory School in Pasadena, underwrote $250,000 in scholarships, and sank $50,000 into an inner-city family magazine," according to the Orange County Register. He also "sends inner-city kids to Bible school on his dime."   "Mr. Sam," as he is known in the California conservative political circles he has long frequented, is an unabashed free marketeer and one who not only supports the free enterprise system but also has lived it.

Born in Jerusalem, a 17-year-old Bamieh came to the United States with $70 in his pocket, according to Gentleman’s Quarterly. He attended Sacramento State University, where he earned a master’s degree in business administration, and worked in the finance departments of Varian Associates and Spreckels Sugar. In 1971 he launched American Intertrade Group, specializing in international real estate and financial consulting.

Like Ahmanson, Bamieh refuses to reveal the extent of his wealth. In media interviews, he usually discusses his involvement in Republican politics rather than the nonprofits he supports.

Bamieh was the largest individual donor (more than $200,000) to California Gov. Pete Wilson’s 1994 reelection campaign and was a principal fundraiser for former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander’s 1996 bid for the GOP presidential nomination. In 1989 he donated an estimated $175,000 to help Alexander set up the Republican Exchange Satellite Network, a nonprofit that hosts electronic "town meetings" and interviews local politicians throughout the country.

Although Bamieh does not discuss his charitable activities, it is known that he is partial to nonprofits that teach and advocate the free enterprise system. He has given generously to his alma mater Sacramento State University and supports the Claremont Institute and the Heritage Foundation.

"I know the economic freedoms we have in America and what made our country great," Bamieh told the Los Angeles Times in 1994. "I want to show my appreciation for my country and put my money where my mouth is."

Jacquelin Hume

Food and the name Hume have gone hand-in-hand for decades in San Francisco. The late Jaquelin "Jack" Hume turned the Basic American Foods company into an international giant of the dehydrated foods market and, like Salvatori and the late drugstore magnate Justin Dart, was among that inner circle of California business leaders who were President Reagan’s "kitchen cabinet."

Until his death, the elder Hume — both personally and through his Jaquelin Hume Foundation — was a major benefactor of a number of conservative causes. Both Hume and his foundation were regular contributors to the Heritage Foundation. He also supported the Hoover Institution, American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute and National Tax Limitation Committee. Hume founded the Foundation for Teaching Economics, which promotes free enterprise education.

Jack Hume’s son Jerry continues the family business and his father’s brand of philanthropy. He is a member of the Heritage Foundation’s board of directors.

John Walton

Sam Walton of Arkansas, former owner of Wal-Mart stores, was listed among the top ten of the "Fortune 500" for the last ten years of his life. His son John Walton, who lives in the San Diego area, is heir to the Wal-Mart fortune and an investor in several privately-held high technology companies.

The younger Walton has made his own headlines. Last year he matched a $3 million gift from New York philanthropist Ted Forstmann to fund scholarships for 1,000 children in the District of Columbia. Because of his contributions to the nonprofit Washington Scholarship Fund, the charity is now the second-largest privately funded scholarship program in the nation.

Walton has made school vouchers his personal crusade. This year he and Forstmann each contributed $100 million to establish the Children’s Scholarship Fund in New York, which will raise additional funds and support scholarships for low-income children nationwide.

"I am happy to help parents make a very important choice for their children," he says. "We know that this effort will not help everybody, and we are not pretending that this program is a solution to the challenges that we all face in improving education. What we are trying to do is help some child right away, because it is the right thing to do."

At a time when the cause of publicly-funded vouchers is moving forward slowly, and President Bill Clinton has vowed to veto any voucher bill that Congress may pass, efforts to make scholarships available with private funds are gaining support. John Walton is a leader in this endeavor, also serving on the board of the Minneapolis-based Education Alternatives Inc. (EAI), which manages public and private schools.

Changing Environment

For all the Humes, Ahmansons and anonymous conservative donors in California, the hard reality is that their ranks and donations are dwarfed by those on the Left. Few of these liberal donors could care whether they are identified as major contributors or not.

Hollywood is the goldest of the Gold Coast for left-of-center causes, with producer David Geffen among the most well-known funders of liberal groups. Entertainers like Ted Danson and Barbra Streisand also can be counted on for substantial donations to liberal politicians and organizations. There are lesser known philanthropists like A. Jerrold Perenchio, the billionaire owner of Univision Communications, the largest Spanish-language media company in the U.S. which is managed by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros. During the recent California initiative to ban bilingual education in public schools, Perenchio donated a whopping $1.5 million to the "no" forces.

From San Francisco industrialist Richard Blum, husband of Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA), to longtime Universal Studios boss Lew Wasserman, to lesser-know lights such as Eli Broad of SunAmerica and Sandy Robertson of BankAmerica, the Left can confidently look to the West for the foreseeable future.

But conservatives should not despair. Given the success of conservative institutions like Claremont and Pepperdine, there seems to be good reasons for conservative fundraisers to jet West. New faces and new sources of donations are sure to emerge. But because of California’s battle-scarred political landscape and the purposeful anonymity of conservative donors, it may take more effort to find them.

"Sure, there is money for conservative causes here in Southern California," says John Campbell, who fundraises for the Center for the Study of Popular Culture in Los Angeles and has worked with term limits advocates and the National Tax Limitation Committee. "But you have to remember that a lot of the older and reliable sources are growing older and passing away. Now there is a newer groups of younger entrepreneurs out here, primarily in Northern California but quite a number in Southern California."

One well-known name and potential supporter of conservative causes in California is Michael Huffington, former Republican congressman and Senate nominee. Huffington, son of Texas oil billionaire Roy Huffington, is primarily engaged in film production in Los Angeles. His views are mostly libertarian, and he is sought out by libertarian groups.

Campbell and others agree that the libertarian, "less government is best government" ideology appears to be catching on among rising entrepreneurs in the Golden State. In fact, California can be considered a financial bedrock for libertarians. Oil heir and arts patron Gordon Getty and the California International Company’s Doug Wolf are two Los Angeles-area supporters of the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. San Jose resident T.J. Rodgers, president of Cypress Semiconductor, and Silicon Valley resident Scott McNealy, president of Sun Microsystems, also are generous supporters of Cato.

Another budding philanthropist is 38-year-old Ron Unz. He heads the high-tech firm Wall Street Analytic Group and supports Cato and California libertarian groups. Unz ran a strong but unsuccessful race against incumbent Pete Wilson for the Republican nomination for governor in 1994. This year he received considerable press attention as the father of a statewide initiative to end bilingual education in California’s public schools.

"No, there will be no lack of young funders for conservative causes in California," says Los Angeles-based fundraiser Sally Impastato, who has orchestrated development programs for several institutions. "But I would say that these ‘young turks,’ so to speak, these up-and-coming entrepreneurs are only now just sticking their toes in the water when it comes to being donors."

Robert Poole, president of the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation, strongly agrees.

"We have a small but growing fan club in Silicon Valley," he says. "I can particularly see budding support from the biotech industry. Within four or five years, some of the up-and-coming entrepreneurs will no longer have to work 23 hours a day and will start to realize that they want to help advance public policy."

John Gizzi is political editor of the national weekly Human Events.