T. Denny Sanford

T. Denny Sanford
Statue of Sanford in front of the Sanford USD Medical Center.
Born	Thomas Denny Sanford December 23, 1935 (1935-12-23) (age 75) Saint Paul, Minnesota
Occupation	Owner and Founder of First Premier Bank CEO of United National Corp
Salary	In excess of $1.0 Million USD
Net worth	Less than US$ 1.0 Billion (2010)[1]

Thomas Denny Sanford (born 23 December 1935 in Saint Paul)^[2] is a South Dakota businessman and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of United National Corp.

Business ventures

Sanford made his fortune as the owner of First Premier Bank and Premier Bankcard, both among the nation's leading credit card providers.^[3] Sanford's net worth is roughly $1.0 billion, and he is ranked as #701 in Forbes list of richest people in the world.^[3] Until prevented by federal law, the credit cards from banks controlled by Sanford charged $256 in fees per year for a card with a $250 credit limit. In response to the law banning such fees, the bank now issues cards carrying an interest rate of 79.9%, the nation's highest, on a card with a $300 limit. ^[4] Sanford and his business entities have a history of violations of Federal rules of banking practice.^[5]

Philanthropy

Sanford has been as generous in his philanthropy as he has been successful in his business ventures. BusinessWeek magazine listed him as one of the top 50 most generous philanthropists in November, 2006.^[6]

On Saturday, February 3, 2007, Sanford announced a $400 million gift to Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System, which renamed itself Sanford Health.^[7] Sanford's total philanthropic gifts have exceeded $500 million, and are generally geared toward improving the quality of life for children. Others receiving significant gifts include:

• Children's Home Society of South Dakota, which cares for abused and neglected children,
• The State of South Dakota's Science and Technology Authority, to help secure a deep underground science and engineering laboratory at the former site of the Homestake Gold Mine, and
• The University of South Dakota School of Medicine, which was renamed the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota.
• The William Sanford Welcome Center at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota.
• The T. Denny Sanford Pediatric Center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
• Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, CA and Orlando, FL received $50 million dollars in January 2010, which was followed by a name change to Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. This gift comes only 2 years after Sanford donated $20 million to a Sanford Center for Childhood Disease research at Burnham in La Jolla.
• Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando, Florida, which received $10 million.

University of Minnesota

T. Denny graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1958 with a degree in psychology. In 2003 Sanford and the University of Minnesota announced that Sanford would donate $35 million towards a proposed new football stadium for the Minnesota Gophers football team; a deal which would have given him full naming rights.^[8] However, that deal fell through in late 2003 when the two parties were unable to reach an agreement on terms of the funding. Later in 2005, TCF Bank won the bid to receive naming rights for the new stadium.^[9][10]

On May 21, 2009, the University of Minnesota accepted a $6 million donation to name the athletic hall of fame within TCF Bank Stadium in his honor. This donation was the final amount to close out the $86 million in private fundraising for the stadium.

References

1. ^ "Sanford Not On Billionaires List". 11 March 2010. http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail6162.cfm?Id=97680. Retrieved 5 April 2010. 
2. ^ Lawrence, Tom (28 June 2006). "Sanford no stranger to giving in South Dakota". The Black Hills Pioneer (West River, South Dakota: Seaton Publishing). http://www.zwire.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?newsid=16857963. Retrieved 17 January 2009. "Thomas Denny Sanford was born Dec. 23, 1935, in St. Paul, Minn. He has never gone by the name Thomas and prefers his middle name." 
3. ^ ^{a b} "The World's Billionaires". Forbes. 2008-03-05. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_T-Denny-Sanford_Z7JF.html. Retrieved 2008-06-05. 
4. ^ "Credit card's newest trick: 79.9 percent interest". Associated Press. 2009-12-17. http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2009-12-17-subprime-credit-card-apr_N.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-24. 
5. ^ http://www.federalreserve.gov/Boarddocs/Press/enforcement/2003/20030925/default.htm
6. ^ "The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists". Business Week Magazine. http://bwnt.businessweek.com/philanthropy/06/index.asp. Retrieved 2007-03-07. 
7. ^ Hamilton, Lindsay (2007-02-03). "Man Gives Away $400 Million to Hospitals". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2847653. Retrieved 2007-03-07. 
8. ^ "T. Denny Sanford Press Conference Statement" (Press release). University of Minnesota. 2003-09-05. http://www.ur.umn.edu/FMPro?-db=releases&-lay=web&-format=unsreleases/releasesdetail.html&ID=658&-Find. Retrieved 2007-03-07. 
9. ^ Tibbetts, Than (2005-03-23). "U may reveal stadium plan". Minnesota Daily. http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2005/03/23/63759. Retrieved 2007-03-07. ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ "TCF Financial Corporation gives $35 million". University of Minnesota. 2005-03-24. http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/Gophers_new_TCF_Bank_Stadium.html. Retrieved 2006-01-10. 

External links

• Sanford Health
• Children's Home Society of South Dakota
• Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota
• South Dakota Science and Technology Authority

Persondata
Name	Sanford, T. Denny
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1935-12-23
Place of birth	Saint Paul, Minnesota
Date of death
Place of death