Jon Huntsman, Sr.

Jon Meade Huntsman, Sr. (born 1937 in Blackfoot, Idaho) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Huntsman Corporation. Huntsman is a member of the Forbes 400, where he is currently ranked the 47th richest man alive. He is the father of current United States Ambassador to China and former Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman Jr.

Biography

Early life and education

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Jon Huntsman grew up in poverty, but went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania. There he majored in business at the Wharton School. His alma mater would later name one of the school's signature buildings, Huntsman Hall, in his honor. An interdisciplinary dual-degree program melding international relations and business, taught through the College of Arts & Sciences and Wharton School, also bears Huntsman's name.

Professional career

Huntsman worked for Dow Chemical Company then as a staff member in the Nixon administration and before starting his own business in 1971 Huntsman Container. Huntsman served as Mission President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Washington DC from 1981 to 1983. He then founded Huntsman Chemical, which grew into a multi-billion dollar company. In 2001, Huntsman announced that his companies could not make their interests on junk bonds.^[1] In 2007, Huntsman co-founded a new private equity firm, Huntsman Gay Global Capital, joining former Bain Capital executive Robert C. Gay to focus on investments in middle market companies. Among Huntsman's partners is Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young.

Philanthropic efforts

Jon M. Huntsman Hall at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Huntsman has been an important donor to several causes, both locally in Utah and nationally. One of his most notable causes is his co-founding of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. His namesake HCI building holds this quote "Selfless giving unto others represents one's true wealth." Time Magazine identified Huntsman as the sixth largest philanthropist in the United States in 2000.^[2] In 2007, Huntsman gave $750 million in contributions and donations, placing him second on The Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of the nation's top 50 givers.

Other notable causes include: his co-operative fundraising initiatives for his fraternity, Sigma Chi; the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, which named its main building after him; the University of Utah, which named its main arena after him; a new law library at Brigham Young University, which at his request was named after Howard W. Hunter; notable family philanthropy in earthquake ravaged Armenia and a new library at Southern Utah University, which he also requested be named after someone else (retiring SUU President Gerald R. Sherratt); and recently the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. In December 2007, Utah State University announced that its College of Business would be re-named "The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business," in recognition of a gift from Jon and Karen Huntsman of $25 million—the largest in the university's history.

Political contributions

Huntsman supported 2008 US presidential candidate Mitt Romney.^[3]

Personal life and church service

Huntsman has been married to his wife Karen for nearly 50 years, and they are the parents of 9 children and have over 70 grandchildren, two of which are adopted from China and India (the children of Gov. Huntsman). Their oldest son, Jon Huntsman, Jr., was elected governor of Utah in 2004, and later became ambassador to China, and their second oldest son, Peter R. Huntsman, Sr., took over as CEO of the Huntsman Corporation from Huntsman.

He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and serves as an Area Seventy and as a member of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy. He has also served as a stake president and as President of the Washington, D.C. Mission.

Legacy

Huntsman authored and published the book "Winners Never Cheat: Everyday Values We Learned as Children (But May Have Forgotten)" in 2005, published by Wharton School Publishing. In the book, Huntsman conveys moral lessons drawn from his life's experience.

The Deseret News ran a long article on Huntsman in May 2001. In this article, the Democratic mayor of Salt Lake City, Rocky Anderson, said the following about Huntsman, who is typically perceived to be conservative:

"I was impressed with Jon from the first, when he told me he lost respect for Richard Nixon (Huntsman served as a special assistant to then-President Nixon in the early 1970s) when he learned that Nixon had not given anything to charity one year he was president ... It was clear to me that Jon's real motivation in his work and accumulation of wealth was to give much of what he has to make people's lives better."

References

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External links

• Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
• Jon M. Huntsman from Utah History Encyclopedia.
• Huntsman Corporation
• Philanthropy videos of Jon Huntsman from Salt Lake City to Armenia GoodTube.org
• Glenn Beck Show - Audio/Transcript of Interview - January 31, 2008