Early Life
Lee Marshall Bass was born in 1956. His father, Perry Richardson Bass, was an investor and philanthropist, and his mother, Nancy Lee Bass, was also a philanthropist. His great-uncle was the oil baron Sid Richardson. Bass graduated from Yale University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies. He then received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1982.
Rise to Success
Lee Bass inherited a portion of the family fortune from his great-uncle, Sid W. Richardson, in 1959. Bass built on this wealth through strategic investments, primarily in the energy sector. The Bass family sold their Permian companies to ExxonMobil in 2017 for $5.6 billion in stock.
Key Business Strategies
Bass built his wealth by investing in oil and energy, real estate, and private equity. He is known for a disciplined approach to investments and a focus on long-term capital management.
Philanthropy
Lee Bass is a significant philanthropist, involved in various initiatives. He serves on the boards of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, The Peregrine Fund, and Vanderbilt University. He is a founding director of the International Rhino Foundation and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Bass and his wife, Ramona, founded the Lee and Ramona Bass Foundation. In 1991, he donated $20 million to Yale University.