Richard Kinder

Richard Kinder (born October 19, 1944)[1] is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and executive chairman of Kinder Morgan Inc., an energy and pipeline corporation.[2][3][4][5][6]

Richard Kinder
Born (1944-10-19) October 19, 1944
Cape Girardeau, Missouri, US
EducationUniversity of Missouri (BA, JD)
OccupationBusinessman
TitleExecutive chairman, Kinder Morgan
SpouseNancy Kinder
Children1
Kinder Morgan Building, Houston - 1001 Louisiana St, Houston, TX

Early life

Richard Kinder was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 1944.[6] He received a BA in 1966 and a JD in 1968, both from the University of Missouri.[2][3][6][7] In college, he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.[6]

Career

He began his career in the energy business as an attorney with Florida Gas Transmission,[4] which eventually became Enron Corporation, after a series of mergers[8] He had been friends with its founder, Kenneth Lay, in college.[4] From 1990 to December 1996, he served as its president and COO.[3] He resigned from Enron in 1996 to start a new pipeline company with college friend William V. Morgan.[4][5] They purchased Enron Liquids Pipeline for $40 million.[4] They also merged with KN Energy.[4] After a number of acquisitions, the most prominent being El Paso Corporation, Kinder Morgan became the largest midstream energy company in North America.[9]

He is the chairman of the board of trustees of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and serves as chairman of the Kinder Foundation. He previously served as a member of the board of Baker Hughes, Transocean and Waste Management, as a national board member of the Smithsonian Institution and is a past chairman of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. A Republican, he campaigned for Bush-Quayle in 1992, for Bush-Cheney in 2004, for John McCain in 2008, and for Kay Bailey Hutchison and Tom DeLay.

In 2014, Kinder was listed on Forbes Richest People in the US.[10] Kinder is one of seven self-made billionaires from Houston on the list, with a net worth of $11 billion.[11] In 2020, he was ranked No. 103 on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America.[4][12][13][14]

Personal life

He is twice married, with one child from his first marriage.[7] His divorce was in 1996, the same year he left Enron, and he immediately married Nancy McNeil who was Ken Lay's assistant until Lay's death in 2006 and was a member of Rudy Giuliani's presidential committee from 2007 to 2008.[6][15][16] He lives in Houston, Texas.[7]

Kinder Foundation

The Kinders founded the Kinder Foundation in an effort to support Greater Houston as a model city for economic and quality of life by providing transformation grants in the areas of urban green space, education and quality of life.[17] As of December 2022, Kinder Foundation has given more than $506.9[18] million in gifts.[19]

Quality of Life

Through the foundation, the Kinders donated $15 million to Rice University in 2010 to support and rename the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, formerly Rice's Institute for Urban Research. In 2022, Kinder Foundation granted Rice University another $50 million to expand Kinder Institute’s work to solve challenges facing Houston.[20]

In October 2013, it was announced that the foundation would give $50 million to the Houston Parks Board for the Bayou Greenways 2020 Project, which connects greenspaces along Houston's bayous and creates parkland.[21]

In 2014, the Kinder Foundation made possible the Kinder Forum on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri, a program "to support excellence in the teaching and study of American constitutional and democratic traditions". In 2015, the foundation made an endowed gift of $25 million to MU to provide permanent support for the renamed Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy.[22] Also, the Kinder Foundation committed a principal gift of $50 million to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for the redevelopment of its 14-acre campus which was unveiled in January 2015.

In January 2015, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston announced a $50 million gift from the Kinder Foundation for the redevelopment of the museum’s 14-acre campus.[23] In 2018, Kinder Foundation gave an additional $25 million challenge grant to complete the capital campaign goal of $450 million.[24] In November 2020, the museum’s new Nancy and Rich Kinder Building for modern and contemporary art opened to the public.[25]

Kinder Foundation actively supports the community development and preservation of Houston’s historic Third Ward. It provided $750,000 for the Emancipation Park Conservancy’s rededication of Emancipation Park in 2016[26], $2 million in 2018 to PRH Preservation, Inc. to maintain and enhance existing buildings in Third Ward to ensure safe, affordable housing for residents[27], and $1.5 million to the Law Harrington Senior Living Center in July 2019 to establish an affordable independent living center for LGBTQ-affirming seniors in Third Ward[28], among other gifts to Third Ward organizations.

The foundation has funded projects that include the Bush Center at Southern Methodist University, the Texas Heart Institute and the Houston Food Bank.[29]

In October 2016, the Kinder Foundation obtained perpetual naming rights to Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts for $7.5 million.[30][31] The contract was approved by the school board after the Kinder Foundation said it would withdraw the funds if the board did not vote,[32] six days after the public announcement of the deal.[33] In April 2017, in response to a petition asking the Kinders to give the name back, Kinder wrote to the Superintendent of Houston Independent School District. Citing the negative controversy, he offered to release the naming rights but did not request or suggest that the original name be restored.[34] The issue is unresolved. The name change will be effective when the new downtown school building is occupied,[31] expected in January 2019

Kinder Foundation contributed more than $3.5 million to Houston’s COVID-19 relief efforts, including $1 million to Houston Food Bank in April 2020[35] and $1 million to City of Houston’s second rental assistance package[36].

Political activities

In 2015, Kinder and his wife Nancy donated $2 million to a Super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush.[37]

References
  1. "Free Birthday Database". Birthdatabase.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  2. "Kinder Morgan Management". Kindermorgan.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  3. "Executive Compensation & Stock Trading - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  4. Gilbert, Daniel (October 18, 2011). "Richard Kinder: New Energy Patch King - WSJ". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  5. "Richard Kinder: The Luckiest Ex-Enron Employee - Deal Journal - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. October 17, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  6. "Richard D. Kinder". Nndb.com. March 6, 2003. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  7. "Richard Kinder". Forbes. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  8. "Enron Corporation - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Enron Corporation". Referenceforbusiness.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  9. "The Business Journal interview with Rich Kinder, founder, chairman and CEO of Kinder Morgan". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  10. Pulsinelli, Olivia. "13 Houstonians make Forbes' list of richest Americans — and half are self-made billionaires". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  11. Kroll, Luisa; Dolan, Kerry A. "Inside The 2014 Forbes 400: Facts And Figures About America's Wealthiest". Forbes. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  12. E (January 1, 1970). "The Richest People in America". Forbes. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  13. "Rich Kinder is Houston's richest person, Forbes says". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  14. "The Forbes 400 2020: The Richest People in America". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-12-02.
  15. "Nancy G. Kinder". Nndb.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  16. "Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee Organization". New York City: Nndb.com. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  17. "The Kinder Foundation Mission is to Promote green space education quality of life in Houston". kinderfoundation.org. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  18. Cowen, Diane (2022-09-23). "Meet the couple behind Houston's $281M transformation through new park amenities and green spaces". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  19. "Rice announces the Kinder Institute for Urban Research". kinderfoundation.org. Kinder Foundation. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  20. Nietzel, Michael T. "Rice University Receives $50 Million Gift For Its Kinder Institute". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
  21. Pugh, Clifford. "Green for greenspace: Rich and Nancy Kinder donate $50 million to ambitious bayou parks plan". Culture Map Houston. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  22. "University of Missouri campaign seeks $1.3 billion | The Kansas City Star". Kansascity.com. October 8, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  23. "Museum of Fine Arts to undergo $450M redevelopment, chaired by Rich Kinder". www.bizjournals.com. January 13, 2015. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  24. "Houston to Celebrate the Opening on Saturday, November 21, of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building". The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  25. "MFAH previews new campus; Kinders issue $25M challenge grant to finish fundraising (Video)". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  26. George, Cindy (2017-01-11). "Emancipation Park project gets additional $2 million". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  27. www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2018/06/07/houston-nonprofit-launches-sister-organization.html. Retrieved 2023-05-11. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. "THE MONTROSE CENTER RECEIVES $1.5 MILLION FROM KINDER FOUNDATION TO ESTABLISH SENIOR HOUSING COMPLEX IN THIRD WARD" (PDF).
  29. "Major Gifts". Kinder Foundation. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  30. Downing, Margaret (2016-10-14). "Trustees Vote to Rename HSPVA and Jones Says HISD "Is Like a Pimp"". Houston Press. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  31. "Kinder-HSPVA-HISD Executed Agreement 10-13-16". Scribd. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  32. Mellon, Ericka (2016-10-13). "Fate of arts high school renaming proposal uncertain". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  33. Pulsinelli, Olivia (2016-10-14). "HISD approves Kinder gift, name change". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  34. Downing, Margaret (2017-04-27). "The HSPVA Fight Continues Even After Rich Kinder Offers to Take Back His Name". Houston Press. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  35. Chron, Emma Balter (2020-05-05). "Houston Food Bank receives $1 million gift from Kinder Foundation". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  36. McGuinness, Dylan (2020-08-05). "Houston adds $20 million to its rent relief program". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  37. "Million-Dollar Donors in the 2016 Presidential Race". New York Times. August 25, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
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