Lorry I. Lokey

Infobox Person
name = Lorry I. Lokey


caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1927|3|27
birth_place = Portland, Oregon
death_date =
place_of_death=
education = Stanford University
employer = Business Wire
occupation =
title = Chairman & CEO
salary =
term =
predecessor =
successor =
party =
boards =
religion = Judaism
occupation = Business executive
spouse =

Lorry I. Lokey (born March 27 1927) is an American businessperson and philanthropist. A native of Portland, Oregon, he founded the company Business Wire in 1961 and has donated in excess of $400 million to charities, with the majority of the money given to schools. He resides in San Francisco, California.

Early life

Lorry Lokey was born on March 27 1927, and grew up in Portland, Oregon, attending Alameda Elementary School. [ [http://pmr.uoregon.edu/current-uo-news/archive/2007/October/lorry-i-lokey-biographical-information/ Public and Media Relations: Lorry I. Lokey: Biographical Information.] University of Oregon. Retrieved on July 24 2008.] [http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/10/15/daily13.html?jst=b_ln_hl ”Lokey gives UO largest gift: $74.5M”.] "Portland Business Journal", October 15 2007.] [http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/05/28/daily5.html “Portland native pledges $5M for library”.] "Portland Business Journal", May 29 2007.] Growing up in Northeast Portland, he graduated from Grant High School before joining the United States Army and fighting in World War II.McBride, Tess. [http://www.dailyemerald.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=b0ef5f6c-edcd-4a03-b1ea-80d7e8105a6f “The man behind the money”.] "Oregon Daily Emerald", February 9 2007.] While in the service he worked on the "Pacific Stars & Stripes" as an editor after the war ended.

In 1949 he graduated from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. [http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2007/02/26/daily31.html “Lorry Lokey gives Stanford stem cell institute $33M”.] "San Jose Business Journal", February 27 2007.] While at Stanford he served as editor of the school newspaper, the "Stanford Daily". Upon graduation Lokey began working for United Press, now United Press International, and then at newspapers and in the public relations field. One newspaper he worked for was the "Longview Daily News" in Longview, Washington.

Business career

In 1961, Lokey started Business Wire, a news release service. Founded in San Francisco, California, the company started with seven clients on the first day of business.Caldwell, Douglas E. [http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2003/07/07/smallb1.html “Profile: Spreading the word”.] "San Jose Business Journal", July 4 2003.] The company expanded and became an international wire service with 30 offices around the world. By 2003, the company had grown to 450 employees with annual revenue of $110 million. In 2006, Lokey sold Business Wire for approximately $500 million to Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's corporation.

Philanthropy

Lokey began donating large sums of money to charities in 1990. By 2007 he had donated more than $400 million, of which 98 percent was given to secondary and post-secondary education. Some schools include the University of Oregon, Mills College, Stanford University, Santa Clara University, and Portland State University. [ [http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/10/15/daily13.html?jst=b_ln_hl “Lorry Lokey donates $1.5M to Judaic Studies at PSU”.] "Portland Business Journal", August 28 2007.] [Duxbury, Sarah. [http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/04/07/story1.html “Mills College goes to B-school”.] "San Francisco Business Times", April 4 2008.] These efforts led to his listing as one of the ten highest donors in the United States by the "Chronicle of Philanthropy" in 2006.

As of 2007, he has donated $132 million to the University of Oregon in Eugene. This includes a $74.5 million donation in 2007 that was the second most ever given to the school, and the largest donation designated for academics. The 2007 donation went towards the creation of the Lorry I. Lokey Science Advancement and Graduate Education Initiative.

In October 2008, the Stanford School of Medicine announced that Lokey will donate $75 million for a research facility.cite news|url=http://www.stanforddaily.com/cgi-bin/?p=414|title=Stanford alum donates to medical school|last=Toews|first=Robert|date=October 9, 2008 |work=The Stanford Daily|accessdate=2008-10-09] The facility will be named the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building.

References

External links

* [http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml;jsessionid=VZY44U43I0MLVTQRSI4CGXD5AAAACI2F?id=111600027 Philanthropy News Digest]