Warren Van Dyke "Pete" Musser (December 15, 1926 – November 25, 2019) was the chairman of the Musser Group. He was the founder of Safeguard Scientifics, a venture capital firm that invested in technology companies. At the peak of the dot-com bubble, Musser was a billionaire on paper; however, when the bubble burst, he lost almost his entire fortune.[2][3]
In 1952, at the age of 25, Musser went to work as a stockbroker trainee for Hornblower & Weeks. The next year, he left the company with others to form their own company.[4] In 1955, his company acquired Safe-Guard Corporation and in 1966, Musser's firm changed its name to Safeguard Industries. Musser invested in technology companies in Philicon Valley such as QVC, Comcast, and Novell, which resulted in a $200 million profit.[4][7][8]
In March 1996, when Ken Fox and Walter Buckley left Safeguard Scientifics to form Internet Capital Group (later Actua Corporation), they asked Musser for $5 million in funding, but he insisted on investing $15 million. At the height of the dot-com bubble, the company had a market capitalization of almost $60 billion, making Musser a paper billionaire.[9] Musser was a director of TyCom, a subsidiary of Tyco International, and in December 2000, he borrowed $14.1 million from Tyco executives Dennis Kozlowski and Mark H. Swartz[10][11]
On November 29, 2000, after the burst of the dot-com bubble, to repay a loan, Musser was forced to sell 6.5 million of his shares in Safeguard Scientifics for $8.25 per share, or $53.7 million. The stock price was down over 90% from the peak of $99 per share 9 months earlier. This left him with 560,000 shares in the company.[12] In 2003, Musser defaulted on a $26.5 million loan from Safeguard Scientifics.[13]
Musser was a member of the board of directors of Brandywine Realty Trust from 1996, when the company acquired properties from a joint venture of Safeguard Scientifics, until 2002.[14]
Personal life
Musser married and divorced Betty K. Musser (née Umstad)[15] and then Hilary Grinker Musser, who was 39 years younger than him.[16]
Musser's son, Craig, a renowned kaleidoscope artist under the name Van Dyke, was partnered with Bruce Darda, a New York based tech executive, at the time of his death from AIDS in 1986.[17]
Musser spent lavishly on his residences, building his-and-hers tennis courts on his Nantucket residence and spending $100,000 on special garage doors.[10]
Musser also was a contributor to Republican causes.[18] He died on November 25, 2019.[19][20]