William E. Conway Jr.

For other people named William Conway, see William Conway (disambiguation).

William E. Conway Jr.
Born
William Elias Conway Jr.

(1949-08-27) August 27, 1949 (age 75)[1]
Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationDartmouth College (AB)
University of Chicago (MBA)
Occupation(s)businessman, investor, philanthropist
TitleCo-Executive Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of The Carlyle Group
Board member ofJohns Hopkins School of Medicine
Catholic University of America
ChildrenWilliam Elias Conway III

William E. "Bill" Conway Jr. (born August 27, 1949) is an American billionaire businessman, investor and philanthropist.[2] Conway serves as Co-Executive Chairman of the Board, Founder of the Carlyle Group.[3] He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Johns Hopkins Medicine and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Catholic University of America. According to Forbes, Conway had a net worth of US$3.6 billion as of April 2022.[4]

Early life and education

Conway attended Dartmouth College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1971.[4][5] Continuing his studies at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, he received his MBA degree in 1974 with his main focus being on Finance. Conway went to night school for his MBA while working at the First National Bank of Chicago.[4][6]

Career

He started his career by serving in a variety of positions in corporate finance, commercial lending, workout loans and general management for almost ten years with First National Bank of Chicago.[7][8] From 1981 to 1986, Conway had worked in various financial positions at MCI Communications being named senior vice president and chief financial officer in 1984.[7][8] In 1987, Conway founded The Carlyle Group with David Rubenstein and Daniel A. D'Aniello. The firm has grown into a global investment firm with $293 billion of assets under management, with more than 1,800 employees in 31 offices on six continents.[7][8][4][9]

He has served as the chairman of the boards of Nextel Communications and United Defense Industries.[9] He has made charitable donations to the Catholic Church.[7] As of April 2022, he is the 809th richest person in the world and is worth of $3.6 billion.[4]

Conway was scheduled to speak at the November 2022 Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, with the Hong Kong Democracy Council claiming that his presence, along with other financial executives, would legitimize the Hong Kong government's whitewashing of the erosion of freedoms in the city.[10] Several members of Congress also warned that US financial executives should not attend the Summit, saying "Their presence only serves to legitimise the swift dismantling of Hong Kong's autonomy, free press and the rule of law by Hong Kong authorities acting along with the Chinese Communist Party."[11]

Political activities

Conway's son, also named Bill Conway, ran in the 2020 Democratic primary election for Cook County State's Attorney against incumbent Kim Foxx. Conway donated $10.5 million of his personal fortune to his son's ultimately unsuccessful campaign.[12][13][14]

Personal life

In 1999, Conway bought Merrywood, the childhood home of Jackie Kennedy, from Alan I. Kay for $15.5 million. Less than a year later, he sold it to Steve Case, the former CEO of AOL and his wife, Jean Villanueva, for $24.5 million.[15][16] Conway was previously married and divorced. He has one child from his prior marriage, Bill Conway.[17] He is currently married.[18][19] He and his wife Joanne live in McLean, Virginia.[4]

The nursing school of the Catholic University of America, the Conway School of Nursing, is named after him and his wife.[20]

Joanne Barkett Conway passed away on January 8, 2024, following a short illness. She was 75.[21] [22]

Philanthropy

Conway and his wife Joanne support a number of charities and institutions.[2][23] In June 2019 they donated $20 million to the Catholic University of America to create the Conway School of Nursing. Since 2012, Conway pledged over $55 million for the Latin American Youth Center to finance the organization's educational programs.[23] Other significant donations of Conway and his wife Joanne include Villanova University’s M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing,[24] the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing[25] Trinity Washington University, Georgetown University's School of Nursing, and more.[26]

Publications

  • Why We're Investing in America, The Wall Street Journal (November 19, 2012)[27]

References

  1. ^ Date of birth of Bill Conway, Journal Officiel du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, May 2004; accessed May 1, 2015.
  2. ^ a b McCartney, Robert (September 26, 2012). "Bill Conway decides how to donate $1 billion". The Washington Post.
  3. ^ Heath, Thomas (October 25, 2017). "The Carlyle Group changes leadership after three decades". The Washington Post.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "William Conway Jr. Profile". Forbes Magazine. June 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "William E Conway Jr". MoneyInc. May 8, 2019.
  6. ^ "William E. Conway Jr., '74, Co-Founder And Co-Executive Chairman at Carlyle Group". the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
  7. ^ a b c d "William E. Conway Jr". carlyle.com.
  8. ^ a b c "Directors". Carlyle Capital Corp.
  9. ^ a b Patrick McGeehan, 'Look Who Hit Pay Dirt in the Nextel Deal', in The New York Times, December 19, 2004 [1]
  10. ^ "Business Not As Usual | HKDC". HKDC. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  11. ^ "Hong Kong's finance chief, hit by Covid, aims to attend banking summit in person". South China Morning Post. October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  12. ^ Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. "Friends of Bill Conway". Illinois Sunshine. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Hinton, Rachel (March 18, 2020). "For Kim Foxx, Jussie Smollett proved 'a blip' for primary voters". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  14. ^ Hinton, Rachel (January 10, 2020). "State's attorney challenger Conway gets another $2.3 million from billionaire dad, fueling spat with incumbent Foxx". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  15. ^ Washingtonian Staff (April 23, 2019). "Who Are the Richest People in Washington?". Washingtonian. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  16. ^ Gilgore, Sara (May 30, 2018). "Steve Case's McLean estate sells for $43M — a new record". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  17. ^ "Bill Conway, candidate for State's Attorney". The Conway files. January 15, 2020.
  18. ^ "BEDFORD FALLS FOUNDATION C/O JOANNE BARKETT CONWAY". ProPublica. May 9, 2013.
  19. ^ "Bedford Falls Foundation C/O Joanne Barkett Conway". Charity Navigator.
  20. ^ University, Catholic. "Bill and Joanne Conway Give CatholicU Nursing $20 Million". The Catholic University of America. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  21. ^ "Joanne Conway Obituary (2024) - Vienna, VA - the Washington Post". Legacy.com.
  22. ^ "In Memoriam: Joanne Barkett Conway | GW Today | the George Washington University".
  23. ^ a b "William Conway Jr., Co-Founder of the Carlyle Group, and his wife Joanne, give $20 million to Catholic University". Billionaire Chronicle. June 8, 2019.
  24. ^ "Bedford Falls Fund Doubles Giving to Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing with an Additional $2.5 Million Commitment to the Joanne and William Conway Scholarship Program". Villanova University.
  25. ^ Lake, Sydney (January 9, 2020). "U.Va. School of Nursing receives $20M donation". Virginia Business.
  26. ^ Andrson, Nick (January 5, 2021). "Some D.C.-area colleges received record donations recently. Here are other top education gifts". The Washington Post.
  27. ^ Conway Jr., William (November 19, 2012). "Why We're Investing in America (Op-ed)". The Wall Street Journal.