Bradford M. Freeman

Bradford M. Freeman
Born
Fargo, North Dakota
NationalityAmerican
Alma materStanford University
Harvard Business School
OccupationInvestment banker
EmployerFreeman Spogli & Co.

Bradford M. "Brad" Freeman is an American businessman and conservative political fundraiser.

Career

Freeman was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota, and attended Stanford University on a football scholarship.[1] He received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1966.[1] Upon graduation, Freeman served six years in the National Guard and began a career as an investment banker for the firm Dean Witter Reynolds.[2][1] In 1983, Freeman co-founded an investment banking firm called Riordan, Freeman & Spogli with later Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and Ronald P. Spogli.[1] The firm was renamed Freeman Spogli & Co. after Riordan's exit. By 2001, the fund controlled over $900 million in assets.[1]

Freeman has also served as a director of Morgan Stanley DW, RDO Equipment, Koll Management Services, CBRE Group, Southern California Edison, and Edison International.[3]

Other activities

Freeman was introduced to George W. Bush in 1979, and the two quickly became good friends.[1] Freeman served on the "Team of 100," George H. W. Bush's group of top fundraisers, and helped raise funds for George W. Bush's campaigns for Governor of Texas.[2] Freeman served as a "Pioneer" in Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and helped raise millions of dollars for Bush and the Republican National Committee.[1] Freeman also served as chairman of the 2000 Presidential Inaugural Committee.[1] Though Freeman himself did not earn a major presidential appointment,[2] Freeman's business partner, Ron Spogli, was appointed Ambassador to Italy in 2005.[4]

In the 2016 film Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk, Freeman said that after raising and contributing millions of dollars to George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign, he was expecting a government appointment such as "a chance to run the CIA," but Bush instead offered him his cat.[5] According to friends, Bush did arrange for Freeman a membership of Augusta National Golf Club.

Freeman has served on the board of trustees of Stanford University.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Roberts, Roxanne (January 15, 2001). "Off the Bench And in the Game". Washington Post. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c O'Connor, Anne-Marie (June 30, 2004). "Party Animal". LA Times. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Bradford M. Freeman". Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  4. ^ Barbaro, Michael (July 2, 2015). "Business Ties Made by Jeb Bush as Florida Governor Turned Lucrative When He Left Office". New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  5. ^ "Pelosi tracks the mega-donors to political campaigns". Retrieved August 21, 2016.