Ken Behring

Infobox Person
name = Kenneth E. Behring


image_size =
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1928|06|13
birth_place = Freeport, Illinois
occupation = Real estate developer
Football team owner
Philanthropist
spouse = Patricia Behring
children = 5

Kenneth Eugene Behring (born June 13, 1928cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_/ai_n16524979 last=Semmes | first=Ben | title=Ken Behring a self-made millionaire |accessdate=2008-10-07 |language=English ] in Freeport, Illinois) is a real-estate developer, former owner of the Seattle Seahawks football team, and philanthropist.

Early years

Behring was born in Freeport, Illinois. His family moved to Monroe, Wisconsin, when he was four. He grew up in poverty; his father worked in a lumber yard, and his mother cleaned houses. Ken started working a variety of jobs around town starting at age seven: mowing lawns, caddying, transporting milk, selling newspapers, working at a grocery store and at a lumberyard. He became a salesperson at Montgomery Ward at age 16, and started a side business selling sporting goods in town. Behring attended Monroe High School in Monroe, Wisconsin. A high school football player, he received a partial football scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but dropped out of college due to an injury that left him unable to play football, and therefore ineligible for his scholarship.cite web|url= http://www.horatioalger.org/members/member_info.cfm?memberid=BEH06 | title=Kenneth E. Behring |accessdate=2006-08-09 |publisher=The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans |language=English] cite web|url= http://www.museumnetwork.com/features/09_25_smithsonian_donation.asp | last=O'Brien | first=Allie J. | title=Largest Donation Ever to a U.S. Museum | date=2000-09-25 | accessdate=2006-08-14 | publisher=MuseumNetwork.com |language=English]

Career

Out of college, Behring, a car buff, worked as a salesperson at a Chevrolet and Chrysler auto dealership. At age 21, he started a used car business called Behring Motors in Monroe, Wisconsin. He went on to own Car-a-Mat, a chain of car washes.cite news | first =Robert | last = Kyle | url = http://maineantiquedigest.com/articles_archive/articles/whee0900.htm| title =Butterfield's to Sell Guns to Buy Wheelchairs | work = Maine Antique Digest | date = 2000-09 | accessdate =2006-08-10 | language =English ] A savvy businessman, he was earning $50,000 a year and had $1 million in assets by age 27.cite news | url = http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/ci_4032318 | title = Ken Behring a local legend | first= Ben | last=Semmes | work = Tri-Valley Herald | date = 2006-07-10 | accessdate = 2006-08-15 | archiveurl= http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:2ojvXuSS75sJ:www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/ci_4032318 | archivedate=2006-08-08 | language =English ]

Ken Behring moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1956 and started the Behring Construction Company. He became a land developer, founding Tamarac Lakes, a new active adult community in 1962. It was built on an area that was formerly wetlands, pastures, and fields.cite web|url=http://www.tamarac.org/dept/fin/files/budget/cover.pdf |title=Adopted Budget, Fiscal Year 2006 | accessdate=2006-08-28 | date=2006 |publisher=City Commission, Tamarac, Florida | format=PDF | page=5 | language=English] The new development was incorporated as Tamarac, Florida ("Car-a-Mat" spelled backwards) on July 25, 1963.cite court |litigants=United States Department of Housing and Urban Development vs. TEMS Association|court=US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development Office of Administrative law Judges |date=1992 |url=http://www.hud.gov/offices/oalj/cases/fha/pdf/tems.pdf]

Behring's company eventually became the largest builder of single-family homes in Florida,cite web|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/news/pressrelease.cfm?key=29&newskey=93 |title=Smithsonian Institution Announces Biggest Single Donation in its 154-year History |accessdate=2006-08-09 | date=2000-09-19 |publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of American History |language=English] and the tenth largest in the United States.

In 1972, Behring moved to the San Francisco Bay Area,cite web|url=http://www.blackhawkservices.com/kebehring.htm |title= Museum Hawk: The Blackhawk|accessdate=2006-08-09 |author=Mike Davis |date=2000-11-27 |work=The Car Connection.com |publisher= DA Acquisitions Inc.|language= English|] where he was involved in developing the country club at Blackhawk, California, and later, the Canyon Lakes Development in San Ramon, California.cite web|url=http://www.blackhawkservices.com/kebehring.htm |title=Kenneth E. Behring |accessdate=2006-02-11 |author=Blackhawk Services | date= |language= English |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050213224436/http://www.blackhawkservices.com/kebehring.htm |archivedate=2005-02-13]

In 1988, Behring and partner Ken Hofmann purchased the NFL's Seattle Seahawks football team for $79 or $99 million (both numbers have been reported).cite web|url= http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/moneyinsports/seattleowners.pdf | title=Seattle's Own | work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer | year=2002 | accessdate=2006-08-13 |format=PDF |language=English] They transferred the team's operations to Anaheim, California in 1996, a widely criticized move, although the team continued to play in Seattle. They sold the team to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 1997, for $200 million.

Behring has been listed several times on the annual Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, including 1991,cite web|url=http://www.namebase.org/xbeb/Kenneth-Eugene-Behring.html |title=Kenneth Eugene Behring |accessdate=2006-02-13 |work=NameBase |publisher=Public Information Research, Inc. | language= English] 1995, and 1997. In 1997, his last year on the list,cite news | url = http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Forbes/1998/10/12/1012736?ba=a&bi=0&bp=7 | title =Near Misses | work = Forbes | date = 1998-10-12 | accessdate =2006-08-14 | language =English ] he ranked #395, with an estimated net worth of $495 million. He's since been described in the press as a billionaire.cite news | first = Christopher | last = Marquis | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EFDF143BF93AA2575AC0A9669C8B63 | title = Smithsonian Receives Gift Of $80 Million | work = New York Times | date = 2000-09-19 | accessdate = 2007-12-24 | language = English ] cite news | first = Carrie Peyton | last = Dahlberg | url = http://www.sacbee.com/education/story/393959.html | title = Museum ethics evolve | work = Sacramento Bee | date = 2007-09-23 | accessdate = 2007-12-24 | language = English ]

In 2004, Behring published a memoir called "Road to Purpose: One Man's Journey Bringing Hope to Millions and Finding Purpose Along the Way" (ISBN 0-9761912-0-2).cite web|url=http://www.wheelchairfoundation.org/book/ |title=Road To Purpose By Kenneth E. Behring |accessdate=2006-08-14 |work=www.wheelchairfoundation.org |publisher=Wheelchair Foundation |language=English ]

Behring was made a member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans in 2006.cite web|url= http://www.horatioalger.org/geninf/pressrel/html/06behring.htm | title=Kenneth E. Behring Recognized with the Horatio Alger Award For Overcoming Adversity to Achieve Success |accessdate=2006-08-13 |publisher=The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans |language=English]

Family

Behring married his wife Patricia (Pat) at age 21. They have five sons, and as of 2005, ten grandchildren.cite web |url=http://waterleaders.org/keb_biography.php |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070704050522/http://waterleaders.org/keb_biography.php |archivedate=2007-07-04 |title=Kenneth E. Behring Biography |accessdate=2006-08-15 |work=www.waterleaders.org |publisher=WaterLeaders Foundation |language=English ]

Philanthrophy

Behring was involved in founding the Blackhawk Museum (originally the Blackhawk Automotive Museum) in 1988, created, in part, to house his personal collection of vintage cars; he was criticized for the tax exemption he sought and received for donating his cars to his museum.cite news | first = Jeanine | last = Benca | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20031116/ai_n14566085 | title = Blackhawk Museum cuts exhibits | work = Oakland Tribune | date = 2003-11-16 | accessdate = 2007-05-17 | language = English ]

Behring pledged $20 million to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in 1997, with the intention that it be used for educational purposes. At the time, the money was allocated for refurbishing the museum's rotunda, supporting a traveling exhibition, and endowing the museum's new Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals, which opened in 2003.cite news | first = Jerry | last = Gray | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE1D91F30F935A35752C1A961958260 | title = The Smithsonian Receives a Gift of $20 Million | work = New York Times | date = 1997-11-06 | accessdate = 2007-12-20 | language = English ] There was some controversy around the terms of the donation, linked to Behring's endangered species hunting controversy.cite news | first = Linda | last = Gottwald | url = http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/courses/geog100/USA-EndSp.htm | title = How to Bag Your Own Endangered Species | work = USA Today | date = 2000-02-03 | accessdate = 2006-08-08 | language = English ]

He pledged another $80 million to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2000. Of the $80 million, $20 million was allocated for a hall honoring "American legends and legacies," paying "tribute to deceased individuals who made great contributions to our country and who truly epitomize the 'American spirit"cite news | first = Elaine | last = Sciolino | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E00EFD6103CF935A3575BC0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title = Smithsonian Must Exhibit Ingenuity in the Face of Overlapping Gifts | work = New York Times | date = 2001-08-06 | accessdate = 2007-12-20 | language = English ] , $4 million paid for an exhibition on the American presidency, and another $16 million funded an exhibit called "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War," opened in 2004.cite news | first = Johnathan | last = O'Connell | url = http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=274106 | title = Price of 'Freedom'? $16 million | work = Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | date = 2004-11-10 | accessdate = 2007-11-18 | language = English ] In return, Behring's contract required that the museum rename its main facility the "Behring Center."cite news | first = Adam | last = Goodheart | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E5DB143CF937A15757C0A9649C8B63 | title = Smithsonian's Veteran Man-in-the-Middle Stands His Ground | work = New York Times | date = 2002-04-24 | accessdate = 2007-12-20 | language = English ] "MuseumNews" called Behring's donation "purportedly the largest cash donation ever to be given to a U.S. museum by a living person," and Behring was given the Smithsonian's James Smithson Award for his contributions.cite web|url=http://www.wheelchairfoundation.org/about_us/ken_bio.php |title=Kenneth E. Behring - Biography |accessdate=2006-08-09 |work=www.wheelchairfoundation.org |publisher=Wheelchair Foundation |language=English ] In 2001, a memorandum by a group of curators and scholars at the Museum of American History expressed concerns about Behring's gift, and criticized the museum for hiring Behring's personal architect to do a study on modernizing the museum's exhibition space; a Smithsonian official denied accusations of impropriety.cite news | first = Elaine | last = Sciolino | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E0DD163CF935A15756C0A9679C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title = Smithsonian Group Criticizes Official on Donor Contract | work = New York Times | date = 2001-05-26 | accessdate = 2007-12-24 | language = English ] According to "The New York Times", Behring's gift was also then criticized in the museum world, as some museum professionals charged that he had been given too much power to "dictate the nature and content of the museum's exhibitions."

In 2000, Behring also donated $7.5 million to expand the University of California, Berkeley's Principal Leadership Institute; the newly established Kenneth E. Behring Center for Educational Improvement focused on training programs for public school principals, providing scholarships for 50 aspiring principals every year.cite news | url = http://www.slate.com/id/2058561/entry/97228/| title = The 2000 Slate 60: The 60 largest American charitable contributions of 2000 | work = Slate | date = 2001-01-22 | accessdate = 2006-08-13 | language = English ] cite news | url = http://www.berkeley.edu/news/berkeleyan/2000/08/16/gift.html | title = New program to prepare principals for California's urban schools gets $7.5 million gift from Bay Area philanthropist | work = Berkeleyan | publisher = UC Berkeley | date = 2000-08-16 | accessdate =2006-08-13 | language = English ] cite web|url = http://gse.berkeley.edu/admin/ExtRel/extrelations.html | title = Graduate School of Education: Development and External Relations, Giving Overview | accessdate=2007-09-17 |work=gse.berkeley.edu | publisher=University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Education |language=English ] UC Berkeley awarded him a Chancellor's Citation in 2001.cite web|url=http://awards.berkeley.edu/pdf/Chancellor_Citation.pdf |title=University of California, Berkeley The Chancellor's Citation List of Recipients As of 11/14/2005 | accessdate=2006-08-13 |publisher=University of California, BerkeleyAwards Program |language=English ]

Behring founded the Wheelchair Foundation in Blackhawk, California in 2000, to provide free wheelchairs for people with physical disabilities in developing nations unable to afford one.

In 2005, Behring founded the WaterLeaders Foundation, a nonprofit working to support safe drinking water around the world.cite web |url=http://waterleaders.org/founders_message.php |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070206130105/http://waterleaders.org/founders_message.php |archivedate=2007-02-06 |title=Founder's Message |accessdate=2006-08-15 |work=www.waterleaders.org |publisher=WaterLeaders Foundation |language=English ]

Controversies

exual harassment

A 1999 story in "Seattle Weekly" reported that "Behring...settled several sex harassment claims in recent years."cite news | first =Rick | last = Anderson | url = http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/9924/features-anderson.php | title = Paul Allen's Tinsel Town Nightmare | work = Seattle Weekly | date = 1999-06-16 | accessdate = 2006-08-14 | language =English ] The most prominent of these cases was the 1996 allegation by former employee Patricia Parker that she had been sexually harassed over the course of two years, and assaulted at a New Year's Day event.cite news | url = http://www.usatoday.com/money/company/work/work014.htm | title = Workplace sexual harassment knows no rank | work = USA Today | date = 1999-03-01 | accessdate = 2006-08-14 | language =English ] "The New York Times" reported that Parker "accused Behring of making advances, asking her to pick up his prescription sex-enhancing drugs and requiring she keep waivers on hand for his potential sex partners to sign away their rights to demand money of him."cite news | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E3D81231F937A2575BC0A960958260 | title = Harassment Case Settled | work = New York Times | date = 1996-08-14 | accessdate = 2006-08-14 | language =English ] Behring denied the charges, and the case was settled out of court in 1996.

Hunting

Behring started hunting as a young boy, to help provide food for his family. He became an avid big-game hunter as an adult, and a president of hunting organization Safari Club International.cite web | url=http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/persecution_illegalities.php | title=Persecution and Hunting: Illegalities | accessdate=2006-08-08 | author=Animal Welfare Institute | year=2005 | work=Endangered Species Handbook | language=English] He has made multiple safari trips to East Africa,cite news | first =Tom | last = Murphy | url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_4_47/ai_71323938| title =GUNS at Auction: The 0.700 NE H&H DOUBLE | work = Guns Magazine | date = 2001-04 | accessdate =2006-08-09 | language =English ] and has shot lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, an elephant, and an endangered bighorn sheep.cite news | url =http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/smithsonian/behring.html | title =Kenneth Behring | work =Archealogy | publisher =Archaeological Institute of America | date =2002-09-19 | accessdate =2006-08-09 | language =English ] Behring has been criticized for his trophy hunting practices and animal conversation ethics.

In 1997, Behring shot an endangered Kara Tau argali sheep in Kazakhstan (only 100 remained in the world at the time). Behring claimed he had permits to shoot the sheep and had Russian scientists in his hunting party; he was issued export permits two days before the enactment of a prior international decision to move Kara Tau argali to the most-endangered status.cite news | first = Tim | last = Golden | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EEDE1F3EF934A25750C0A96F958260 | title = Big-Game Hunter's Gift Roils the Smithsonian | work = New York Times | page=A14 | date=1999-03-17 | language = English ] Per American law, the remains of the endangered animal could not be legally imported into the United States. Behring donated $20 million to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History six weeks later, offering his private collection of stuffed hunting trophies to the museum, including four rare bighorn sheep, one of which was the Kara Tau argali sheep.cite news | first = Brian | last = Ross | url = http://www.totalobscurity.com/mind/news/2001/killing-animals.html | title = PrimeTime: Killing Rare Animals | work = ABCNEWS.com | date = 2001-04-20 | accessdate = 2006-08-09 | language = English] The Smithsonian attempted to import the remains by petitioning the Department of the Interior for an Endangered Species Act waiver, but withdrew its request after questioning and negative publicity from Representative George Miller and groups like the Humane Society of the United States.cite web|url=http://www.hsus.org/about_us/about_hsus_programs_and_services/eye_on_the_opposition/a_view_to_a_kill_how_safari_club_intl_works_to_weaken_esa_protections.html |title=A View to a Kill: How Safari Club Int'l Works to Weaken ESA Protections |accessdate=2006-08-09 | last=Satchell |first=Michael |publisher=The Humane Society of the United States |language=English] Behring maintained that he had broken no laws, and had shot the animal legally while assisting Kazakh scientists. The National Museum of Natural History subsequently reevaluated their acquisitions policies in light of the charges.cite news | first = Brian | last = Maffly | url = http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_7512824 | title = LDS leaders' words used to rip rhino kill | work = Salt Lake Tribune | date=2007-11-20 | accessdate=2007-12-18 | language = English ]

In 1998, Behring shot and killed an elephant in Mozambique, where the sport killing of elephants was banned in 1990. His hunting companions, the then past and current presidents of Safari Club International, killed two more elephants. Mozambican wildlife officials believed that the group had come "to survey investment opportunities" in Cabo Delgado province. The group was given a permit by the governor to shoot a lion, a leopard and a buffalo; a local wildlife official also added a note referring to "problem elephants," the only exception to the national ban on the killing of elephants. According to Arlito Cuco, head of Mozambique's wildlife service, a federal investigation showed that the hunt was illegal because it did not target problem elephants, and that two of the elephant tusks had gone missing. Local investigators also reported that the group used a helicopter during the hunt, which "drove the elephants onto their guns" -- a charge they denied. According to the "New York Times", Behring's spokesperson "sent a reporter a copy of a $5,000 check, dated six weeks after the hunt and made out to the provincial government with the notation 'elephant permit.'" The then-director of the game reserve near where the elephants had been killed was skeptical, telling ABC News "PrimeTime" "They came in there and bankrolled an operation to take out some big elephant, and it is wrong. And nobody, nobody can condone what happened."

ee also

* Seattle Seahawks: includes discussion of Behring's ownership of team
* Blackhawk, California: discusses Behring's development plans, and community opposition

References

External links

* [http://www.horatioalger.org/members/member_info.cfm?memberid=BEH06 Biography from the Horatio Alger Association]
* [http://www.wheelchairfoundation.org/about_us/ken_bio.php Biography from the Wheelchair Foundation]

Persondata
NAME=Behring, Kenneth E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Behring, Ken; Behring, Kenneth
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American real estate developer, former owner of the Seattle Seahawks football team, and philanthropist
DATE OF BIRTH=June 13 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH=Freeport, Illinois
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=