Charles Wyly Jr. was an American entrepreneur and
businessman, philanthropist, civic leader, and a major contributor to
Republican causes and
Dallas art projects died from an automobile accident he was , 77. This included $20 million to build a performing arts center in
Dallas. In 2006,
Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $1 billion. His younger brother,
Samuel Wyly,
is nearly equal in wealth; the two brothers were close with their
business affairs, and were often referred to as the "Wyly brothers".
Together the brothers had donated almost $2.5 million to more than 200
Republican candidates and committees at the federal level over the past
two decades.
(October 13, 1933 – August 7, 2011)
Formative Years, Education, and Rise to the Top
Born during the
Great Depression, Charles Wyly was a child when the collapsed economy forced the surrender of his family's cotton farm in
Lake Providence, Louisiana. He and his younger brother went on to attend
Louisiana Tech University in the 1950s, then went to work for
IBM.
Charles Wyly helped his brother, Samuel, run their startup computer
software company, University Computing, and later founded and led
several other companies including arts and crafts retail chain
Michaels Stores Inc., which was sold in 2006. He also was a former member of the
White House
Advisory Council for Management Improvement. During their lifetime, the
Wyly brothers together gave more than ninety million dollars to a wide
range of charities.
[1]
Scandal and Controversy
In the summer of 2010, the
Internal Revenue Service and
Securities and Exchange Commission
accused Wyly and his brother of using offshore havens to hide more than
a half a billion dollars in profits over 13 years of insider stock
trading and fraud. The brothers denied the claims and were fighting the
allegations.
Death
On Sunday, August 7, 2011, Wyly, who maintained a home in the rural town of
Woody Creek [2] in
Roaring Fork Valley near
Aspen, Colorado, was turning onto a highway near the local airport when his Porsche was hit by a sport utility vehicle according to the
Colorado State Highway Patrol. Wyly died later at
Aspen Valley Hospital.
[3] Charles Wyly was survived by his wife Caroline “Dee” Wyly, brother Sam, four children and seven grandchildren.
[4]
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