This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Howard F. Ahmanson Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | February 3, 1950
Alma mater | Occidental College (BA) University of Texas at Arlington (MA) |
Occupation(s) | Heir, financier |
Spouse | Roberta Green Ahmanson (m. 1986) |
Children | David Ahmanson |
Parent(s) | Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. Dorothy Johnston Grannis |
Relatives | Caroline Leonetti Ahmanson (stepmother) Robert H. Ahmanson (cousin) William H. Ahmanson (cousin) |
Howard Fieldstad Ahmanson Jr. (born February 3, 1950) is an American Christian activist. He is the son of Howard F. Ahmanson Sr., the founder of Home Savings Bank.
Ahmanson was born on February 3, 1950. He is the son of Dorothy Johnston Grannis and the American financier Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. (1906–1968). [1] He has Tourette syndrome. [2] [3] His father was a prominent businessman in the savings and loan industry; Howard Sr. founded H.F. Ahmanson & Co., which thrived in the Great Depression [4] and ultimately expanded throughout California [5] and into New York state, [6] Arizona [7] and Florida. [8] His father was well known for his support of the arts, an area in which Ahmanson Jr. has continued to be active. [9]
His parents divorced when he was ten years old. [1] Despite the trappings of wealth, Howard Jr. was a lonely child. He has said, "I resented my family background, [my father] could never be a role model, whether by habits or his lifestyle, it was never anything I wanted." [10] His father died when he was eighteen, and Ahmanson Jr. inherited his father's fortune. [11]
He attended Occidental College, where he obtained a degree in economics. [2] He then toured Europe, but returned because of complications with arthritis. [2] He earned a master's degree in linguistics at the University of Texas at Arlington. [2]
In 1986, Howard married journalist Roberta Green. [12]
Fieldstead and Company, Howard and Roberta Ahmanson's personal office, has a steady history of contributing parts of his father's inherited fortune to a plethora of organizations and initiatives. [11] It is stated that the mission of Fieldstead and Company is to "make the world more like ... a place where there is no darkness, no sickness, no hunger or thirst, no slavery, no prisoners, no tears, no death". [13] The following is a list of organizations to which the Ahmansons have contributed significant amounts in the past:
Howard has previously served as a board member for both the John & Vera Mae Perkins Foundation and the Claremont Institute. Ahmanson is a major supporter of the Discovery Institute, whose Center for Science and Culture supports ideas centered around intelligent design. [31] [32] Through Fieldstead, Ahmanson's wife Roberta, a former religion reporter and editor for the Orange County Register , [33] has funded and been directly involved with some programs of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, including the Washington Journalism Center that encompasses both the Summer Institute of Journalism, and the Fieldstead Journalism Lectures. [34] Fieldstead has funded other Christian journalistic projects such as Gegrapha [35] and GetReligion. A common thread in all of these organizations is Terry Mattingly, a personal friend of Roberta Ahmanson, who directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, teaches journalism, and writes a weekly column for the Scripps-Howard News Service. Roberta Ahmanson recently co-edited a book called Blind Spot. [36] [37] Howard and Roberta are also supporters of The Media Project, an organization that "educates journalists on the importance of religion" and its digital magazine, Religion Unplugged. [38] The Ahmansons have also supported the creation of the 29-volume Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, published by InterVarsity Press. [39]
This article is part of a series on |
Conservatism in the United States |
---|
Ahmanson was a major advocate for the abolition of California redevelopment agencies, especially concerned about what he viewed as the widespread abuse of eminent domain and public subsidies. He financed the publication "Redevelopment: The Unknown Government" and the formation of Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform (MORR), alongside Chris Norby, California legislator and former mayor of Fullerton, California, in 1995. [40] Norby later served in the California State Assembly when redevelopment agencies were abolished in 2011 and MORR was disbanded, having succeeded in its sole purpose. [41]
Ahmanson was a registered Republican until 2008; Ahmanson, worried about the narrowing focus of the California Republican Party on lowering taxes, announced that he switched parties and was a registered Democrat from 2008 to 2018. [42] Finding fault with both parties, he is now officially registered as a "No Party Preference" (NPP) voter (formerly referred to as a decline-to-state voter by the state of California). [43] [44] In the 2020 presidential election Ahmanson voted for and endorsed Brian Carroll of the American Solidarity Party. [45]
Time magazine included the Ahmansons in their 2005 profiles of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America, classifying them as "the financiers." [46] In the 1970s, Howard became a board member of the Chalcedon Foundation and served until 1996. In 1996, he said he had left the Chalcedon board due to the fact that he "did not embrace" all of the teachings held by its leadership. [47] [48]
In 2004, the Orange County Register wrote a five-part profile of the Ahmansons. [14]
Holding a strong interest and passion in the activity of standup paddleboarding, Ahmanson Jr. has assumed a role of activism alongside FreeSUP SoCal in opposition to a particular determination made by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) that has been used to require operators of standup paddleboards to wear a personal flotation device (PFD). FreeSUP SoCal maintains that a leash is the more common and frequently most effective safety equipment, as evidenced by its widespread usage and the sport's significantly diminished mortality rate compared to other water sports. In 2014, the organization that would come to be known as FreeSup SoCal and which receives funding by Ahmanson, offered a formal, public comment to the USCG that explained how the PFD determination which was intended to promote safety for standup paddleboarders sorely lacked data justifying the determination, and that making determinations without the necessary data could have the opposite effect of putting paddleboarders in peril. [49] [50] [51] [52]
Howard has made numerous contributions and offered support for art initiatives across Los Angeles and Orange County. The following is a collection of organizations and projects in the arts & humanities that have benefited from the support of Howard Ahmanson, Jr.
Bridge Projects is an LA-based art gallery that consists of a community of artists, scholars, and collectors who are inspired by art history, spirituality, living religious traditions, and contemporary art practices. Roberta, wife of Ahmanson and current chair of Bridge Projects, founded the gallery and community with LA-based artist, Linnea Spransy, back in 2017. [53] While Howard played a supportive role in bringing this project to fruition, Roberta spearheaded the vision for Bridge Projects, which has featured a number of progressive art installations, such as:
Ahmanson lives with Tourette syndrome. [64] His primary residence is in Newport Beach, CA. [65]
Orange County is a county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, and more populous than 19 American states and Washington, D.C. Although largely suburban, it is the second-most-densely-populated county in the state behind San Francisco County. The county's three most-populous cities are Anaheim, Santa Ana, and Irvine, each of which has a population exceeding 300,000. Santa Ana is also the county seat. Six cities in Orange County are on the Pacific coast: Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Dana Point, and San Clemente.
Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617.
Pepperdine University is a private Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California. Founded by entrepreneur George Pepperdine in South Los Angeles in 1937, the school expanded to Malibu in 1972. Courses are now taught at a main Malibu campus, three graduate campuses in Southern California, a center in Washington, D.C., and international campuses in Buenos Aires, Argentina; London, United Kingdom; Heidelberg, Germany; Florence, Italy; and Blonay – Saint-Légier, Switzerland.
The Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) is an American Christian conservative think tank that promotes its views among mainline Protestant churches, as well as advocating for its values in the public square. Its critics claim that it has been instrumental in criticizing mainline Protestant denominations in the United States including the progressive United Methodist Church.
The Center for Science and Culture (CSC), formerly known as the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (CRSC), is part of the Discovery Institute (DI), a conservative Christian think tank in the United States. The CSC lobbies for the inclusion of creationism in the form of intelligent design (ID) in public-school science curricula as an explanation for the origins of life and the universe while trying to cast doubt on the theory of evolution. These positions have been rejected by many in the scientific community, which identifies intelligent design as pseudoscientific neo-creationism, whereas the theory of evolution is the accepted scientific consensus.
George Leon Argyros is an American former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain. He is also a real estate investor and philanthropist. Argyros was the owner of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners from 1981 to 1989. He is the founder and CEO of property firm Arnel & Affiliates.
Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its founding affiliations with the Christian Church and the United Church of Christ, but is a secular university.
Howard Fieldstad Ahmanson Sr. was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder of an insurance and savings and loan association, H.F. Ahmanson & Co. He made his fortune during the Great Depression selling fire insurance for property under foreclosure. He also bought real estate and invested in oil.
The W. M. Keck Foundation is an American charitable foundation supporting scientific, engineering, and medical research in the United States. It was founded in 1954 by William Myron Keck, founder and president of Superior Oil Company. The Foundation's net assets exceeded $1.3 billion at the end of 2019.
The Chalcedon Foundation is an American Christian Reconstructionist organization founded by Rousas John Rushdoony in 1965. Named for the Council of Chalcedon, it has also included theologians such as Gary North, who later founded his own organization, the Institute for Christian Economics.
Muzammil H. Siddiqi is an Indian-American Muslim writer who has been on the faculty of Chapman University.
H.F. Ahmanson & Co. was a California holding company named after Howard F. Ahmanson Sr. It was best known as the parent of Home Savings of America, once one of the largest savings and loan associations in the United States.
The Platinum Triangle is a district of Anaheim, California, United States, that is undergoing transformation from a low-density commercial and industrial zone into a more urban environment with high-density housing, commercial office towers, and retail space. The 820 acres (330 ha) area undergoing this large-scale redevelopment includes the city's two major sports venues, the Honda Center and Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
Michelle Eunjoo Steel is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 45th congressional district since 2023, previously representing the 48th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she concurrently served as a member of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise's Whip Team for the 117th Congress.
Terry L. Mattingly is a journalist, author, and professor. As columnist for the Scripps Howard News Service, Mattingly has written "On Religion", a nationally syndicated column, since the summer of 1988. Mattingly also runs a well-known religious journalism blog, GetReligion.
OC Channel was an over-the-air, digital broadcast, television news network. The channel is broadcast on a digital sub channel of PBS member station KOCE in Huntington Beach, California. This service is no longer in operation as a secondary lineup of PBS programming is currently carried on channel 50.2, as of May 2017.
Chris Norby is an American politician and educator. He served on the Fullerton City Council (1984–2002) including three years as mayor, on the Orange County Board of Supervisors (2003–2010), on the California State Assembly (2010–2012).
The American Solidarity Party (ASP) is a Christian democratic political party in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and officially incorporated in 2016. The party has a Solidarity National Committee (SNC) and has numerous active state and local chapters. Peter Sonski was the party's nominee in the 2024 United States presidential election.
Robert H. Ahmanson was an American businessman and philanthropist from Los Angeles, California. He was a corporate director of H.F. Ahmanson & Co. and served as the President of The Ahmanson Foundation from 1974 to 2007.
The OC Streetcar is a modern streetcar line currently under construction in Orange County, California, running through the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove. The electric-powered streetcar will be operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), and will serve ten stops in each direction along its 4.15-mile (6.68 km) route.