One of the names turning up on the Barack Obama presidential library's donor list is Ian Simmons, a Cambridge, Mass., businessman with a significant but easy-to-miss tie to Chicago.Imagine that.
Simmons, an entrepreneur who has drawn the attention of Bill Gates for his work in cleaning up water, has donated between $250,001 and $500,000 to help fund the selection and, eventually, construction of the library—wherever it eventually lands.
Simmons' donation to the Barack Obama Foundation comes by way of the ImpactAssets Donor Advised Fund, where his wife, Liesel Pritzker Simmons, sits on the board.
Liesel is, of course, one of those Pritzkers. Her dad was the late Robert Pritzker and her brother is entrepreneur Matthew Pritzker.
The Simmonses have a net worth of $600 million, according to Forbes.
Ian Simmons' name was listed on the library foundation's website this week among a few dozen donors. And while his support comes indirectly from a Chicagoan, there are even stronger Windy City connections supporting the foundation.
Chicago businessmen Fred Eychaner and Michael Sacks each have donated between $500,001 and $1 million.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Look whose names are popping up on the Obama library donor list
Crain's Chicago Business reports:
