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The Philanthropy 50: Americans Who Gave the Most in 2008
Harold Alfond
Rank: 4
Total amount committed in 2008: $360-million
Location: Palm Beach, Florida
Source of wealth: Manufacturing, Retail
Donor's background: Founded Dexter Shoe Company, in Dexter, Me.
Mr. Alfond, who was 93 when he died, in 2007, left his life savings, about $360-million, to the Harold Alfond Foundation, in Portland, Me. The bequest comprises stock in Berkshire Hathaway, cash, and other securities.
He established the foundation in 1950 with $15,000. This new infusion has increased its assets to about $500-million.
Foundation officials described Mr. Alfond as actively involved in his philanthropy. He decided which charities it would support, and he paid regular visits to those organizations, talking with staff members and clients. While he did not designate specific programs or nonprofit groups in his bequest, he stipulated that the foundation continue to follow his focus of giving primarily to charities in Maine that concentrate on health care and on education for young people.
One major beneficiary is the Harold Alfond College Challenge, which begins this month. It provides college-scholarship grants of $500 to every child born in Maine. Other recipients in Maine are the Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA at the Alfond Youth Center, in Waterville, which will share $5-million; Colby College, which will receive $3-million for a sports stadium; the Kents Hill School, in Readfield, which will get $2.7-million for new artificial turf and to renovate locker rooms; and the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, in Boothbay, which will receive $1.5-million for a children's garden.
Mr. Alfond grew up in Swampscott, Mass., but earned his fortune throughout Maine. He did not attend college but followed his father into the shoe-manufacturing business. He started out making 25 cents an hour at Kesslen Shoe, in Kennebunk, Me., and later used money he made from selling his car to join with his father in starting the Norrwock Shoe Company. He made his first million in 1944, when he sold the company for $1.1-million. He started the Dexter Shoe Company in 1958 and sold it to Berkshire Hathaway, in 1993, for $433-million worth of Berkshire stock. As a result, Mr. Alfond and his family became the second-largest shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway stock at that time.
About These Data
The giving figures listed for each individual are based on donations announced to date by the donors or their beneficiaries. In cases of bequests, most of the figures are estimates because the wills have not been settled. For news of gift announcements in 2009, visit the America's Top Donors database.
If you know about a recent gift of $1-million or more that should be added to this directory, please send a message to gifts@philanthropy.com.