Richard Driehaus
Richard H. Driehaus: A Multi-Faceted Individual
Richard H. Driehaus was born and raised in Chicago and is truly a multi-faceted individual. He has enjoyed enormous business success, earning a reputation within the investment management industry as an investor extraordinaire. In addition to his business career, he has also focused his attention and energy on a wide variety of philanthropic and community-service oriented projects, individually and through the efforts of The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation and the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Trusts.
A Stellar Career in the Investment Management Industry
Mr. Driehaus founded Driehaus Capital Management LLC in 1982, and is the architect of the Firm’s overall investment philosophy. Additionally, he is President and a Member of the Board of Trustees of Driehaus Mutual Funds.
Mr. Driehaus' success began in 1968, when he started his employment at A.G. Becker, where he worked in the Institutional Trading Department. Two years later he became the youngest portfolio manager and was ranked among the top 1% of the portfolio managers measured by the A.G. Becker Fund Evaluation Service. From 1973 to 1979, he worked at various brokerage firms including Mullaney, Wells & Co., where he was the Director of Research, and Jesup & Lamont, where he was Director of Research and a money manager.
In 1979, Mr. Driehaus formed the stock brokerage firm Driehaus Securities Corporation LLC. His second company, Driehaus Capital Management LLC was formed in 1982. Driehaus Capital Management is an investment advisory firm widely known for expertise in the aggressive growth style of equity investment management. In 2000, Mr. Driehaus was named to Barron’s “All-Century” team of the 25 individuals who were identified as the most influential within the mutual fund industry over the past 100 years.
Support of Educational Institutions: A Mutually Beneficial Partnership
Mr. Driehaus’ first exposure to DePaul University was as an undergraduate business student. He earned his B.S.C. degree in 1965 and later graduated from the University’s business school with an M.B.A. degree in 1970.
However, the interaction between DePaul University and Mr. Driehaus did not cease after he completed his formal education. In fact, upon his graduation, the groundwork was laid for a mutually beneficial partnership as Mr. Driehaus built a successful career in the investment management business. Because Mr. Driehaus values education, and because his DePaul University education gave him a solid foundation of business knowledge, it has been important to him to give back to his alma mater.
Several of his charitable endeavors have been devoted to the University through his focus on the College of Commerce and the Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. He has endowed The Richard H. Driehaus Center for Behavioral Finance and established a Professorship in Behavioral Finance. He also endowed the Driehaus Center for International Business Studies, a program designed to foster a global business perspective.
In addition, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has provided scholarships to full time M.B.A. candidates. He served on the Advisory Board for the Department of Finance, and has spoken at various college events as well as hosted career development events for business undergraduate and graduate students.
In recognition of his contributions to DePaul University’s business curriculum, Mr. Driehaus was named “Financial Executive of the Year” in 2000. In June, 2002, he was granted an honorary doctoral degree.
Mr. Driehaus has conveyed his gratitude to other Chicago-based educational institutions and religious orders focused on education, such as St. Ignatius College Preparatory School (his high school), St. Margaret of Scotland (his grammar school) and the School Sisters of Notre Dame in recognition of their contributions to his success. He has arranged grants or made gifts to educational institutions where he does not have a personal connection, such as Holy Trinity High School, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, St. Bede’s Grammar School, as well as Loyola’s St. Joseph Seminary and Christ the King College Preparatory School.
Mr. Driehaus has established scholarships for education, including a scholarship at the University of the Virgin Islands. In 2004 he made a most unusual gift to St. Xavier University on Chicago’s southwest side – donating Gilhooley’s Grande Saloon to the school, along with the entire shopping center in which it is located. He requested, and St. Xavier gladly agreed, that a hospitality curriculum be established for students to learn how to run a food/drink establishment, to provide service and to learn bottom line financial responsibility.
A Commitment to Historic Preservation and Design Excellence
Mr. Driehaus has a personal interest and commitment to design excellence and historic preservation as indicated by his involvement in a wide variety of projects, through his personal gifts, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, and the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust. His commitment to this area stems from a focus on the “built environment” and his belief in the need to bring progressive design principles to people and projects that otherwise could not afford them.
Mr. Driehaus’ historic preservation efforts have included the restoration of the Ransom Cable House in Chicago, Illinois (the current headquarters for Driehaus Capital Management LLC) and the award winning restoration of a 1905 Georgian Revival style country house in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
In 2008, he completed a five year restoration of the historic Nickerson Mansion, originally built between 1879 and 1883. Considered the grandest residence ever built in Chicago, it is now home to The Richard H. Driehaus Museum showcasing period decorative arts. Additionally, The Richard H. Driehaus Gallery of Stained Glass adjacent to the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows at Navy Pier in Chicago, features important stained glass pieces from the Driehaus collection.
The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has made major contributions for the restoration of Old St. Patrick’s Church and St. Ignatius High School in Chicago. Mr. Driehaus also is involved in the activities of several preservation organizations in the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Landmarks Illinois, and the Wisconsin Trust for Historic Preservation. He has been involved in the preservation and restoration of historic homes in the Bronzeville and Prairie Avenue districts of Chicago, and with a variety of religious-oriented restoration projects.
The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has promoted excellence in design by sponsoring an award for excellence in community design through a design competition for a campus center building at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), and by funding Herman Driehaus scholarships at IIT for five years. Other Foundation activities have included a design competition to produce universally accessible designs for the Chicago Public Schools, the development of design alternatives for mixed income housing in Chicago, award sponsorship for non-profit housing design and support of design programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Architecture and the Arts.
Mr. Driehaus’ interest in this area extends beyond bricks and mortar projects. The Foundation has funded several landscape and greening oriented efforts, including a design competition for the garden at Chicago’s Millennium Park, the restoration of the Caldwell Lily Pool in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, and the restoration and programs of the Garfield Park Conservatory.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mr. Driehaus is an enthusiastic supporter of programs preserving history, cultural heritage and historic structures as well as economic and educational initiatives.
His support of the St. Thomas Historical Trust was instrumental in its creation of a preservation plan for Hassel Island in the St. Thomas harbor that is being carried out in partnership with the National Park of the Virgin Islands. His support also enabled the Trust to create and expand educational programs in the schools to teach children about the history and cultural heritage of the island.
He was involved in the reconstruction of Roosevelt Park in St. Thomas, helping to secure grants for the project. He also contributes to the St. Croix Foundation, which focuses on restoration as a tool for economic revitalization, and lent his support to the St. Croix Landmark Society, that instituted a summer camp for economically disadvantaged children on Whim, the historic sugar plantation it operates.
Through the University of Notre Dame and his trusts, Mr. Driehaus has helped establish the Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture which grants a yearly $200,000 prize to an individual who has made an extraordinary contribution or achieved great success in the field of classical architecture.
Helping Opportunity Knock
Mr. Driehaus strongly believes in giving individuals the chance to create their own success, a reflection of his gratitude towards those who gave him opportunities to prove himself throughout his career. Funding of economic opportunity initiatives is focused primarily on programs to benefit people living in poverty. One such beneficiary has been Opportunity International, which makes small business micro loans to people in small villages in other countries.
His Foundation has also supported the development of a financial literacy program designed to help low-income families learn how to create and preserve wealth and an initiative sponsored by the South Shore Bank to develop Individual Development Accounts which dollar-match low-income family’s saving plans.
Mr. Driehaus provides support to the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands through monetary donations. The Community Foundation goal is to enhance the educational, physical, social, cultural and environmental well-being of the islands' people.
Artistic Endeavors
Mr. Driehaus’ support of the arts is based on his belief that the arts provide much-needed balance to people’s busy lives. The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation has a primary focus on smaller theatre and dance companies in Chicago, in the neighborhoods, as well as downtown. A sampling of the groups and projects supported by Mr. Driehaus and The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation include Pegasus Players, Trinity Irish Dance Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Poetry Society of America, Hubbard Street Dance Company and Redmoon Puppet Theater. In addition, the Foundation sponsors an annual juried award to support three individual Chicago artists who have shown promise.
In the field of fashion, Mr. Driehaus has also made his mark. For a decade, the annual Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Fashion Excellence, sponsored by Driehaus Design Initiative, a tax-exempt charitable organization, has given students from Chicago area design schools an opportunity to showcase their latest creations and receive monetary awards for creative excellence.
Mr. Driehaus has helped underwrite the Red Hot Chicago Fashion Gala, an annual display of designs from Chicago’s best and brightest young professional designers. He personally set up a loan program, through the Apparel Board, to allow fledging designers an opportunity to borrow money to purchase materials for orders they receive.
From Boys and Girls Hope, to the Boys and Girls Clubs. From Old Town School of Folk Music to the Sherwood Conservatory of Music. From Beverly Area Planning Association to the St. Petersburg International Center for Preservation. All of these, and many, many other organizations, have been a beneficiary of the generosity of Richard H. Driehaus.
Awards and Honors
Emerald Ball Honoree, Old St. Patrick’s Church Norman H. Stone Award, Emergency Fund 2010 Corporate Honoree, Youth Advocacy Awards, UCAN Distinguished Service Honoree, Lawyers for the Creative Arts Honorary Doctorate of Public Service, Saint Xavier University Distinguished Philanthropist Award, Association of Fundraising Professionals 2009 Trustee Award, Chicago Architecture Foundation Legendary Landmark Award, Landmarks Illinois Restore America Hero Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation Benjamin H. Marshall Prize, Benjamin H. Marshall Society Soane Foundation Honor, The Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation Honorary Doctorate, DePaul University AIA Presidential Citation, The American Institute of Architects Shield of St. Xavier Award, Saint Xavier University Jens Jensen Award, Chicago Park District Illinois Arts Legend Award, Illinois Arts Alliance Foundation Leadership Award, Lakefront Supportive Housing Theodore Herzl Award, Jerusalem Fund Man of Vision Award, Give the Gift of Sight Foundation Landmark Preservation Award, Landmarks Illinois Corporate Award for Excellence in the Arts, DePaul Theatre School Mary Potter Humanitarian Award, Little Company of Mary Hospital Unity Award, Frank Lloyd Wright Unity Temple Restoration Foundation
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[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Schwager, Jack D. (1995). The New Market Wizards. 12 pages: Wiley; New Ed edition. ISBN 0-471-13236-5.
