Philip Berber

Last updated

Philip Berber
Born1958 (age 6667)
Dublin, Ireland
NationalityIrish American
Alma mater University College Dublin (B.Comm)
Occupation Entrepreneur
SpouseDonna Berber

Philip Berber is an Irish-born American technology entrepreneur, now engaged in philanthropy, international aid, social entrepreneurship and impact investing. He sold CyBerCorp, his online brokerage for day traders, to Charles Schwab for $488m in 2000. [1] He and his wife Donna [2] then formed and funded A Glimmer of Hope, pledging $100 million of Schwab stock to endow the foundation. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

He is currently engaged with philanthropy in Austin - by way of Glimmer|Austin- supporting local innovate early-stage non profits and social ventures. Philip is also engaged with Berber Family Investments and BerberFam, their Family Office, and serves on the Glimmer Board.

Early life

Berber was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1958. He attended Wesley College, Dublin and went to University College Dublin and studied Commerce (B Comm). He moved to London in 1979 and met his wife Donna a few years later. They moved to Houston, Texas in 1991, and to Austin in 1995 where they live with their three sons.

Business recognition

Berber won the Entrepreneur of the Year award for Central Texas in 2000 and was a national finalist the same year. [7] University College Dublin awarded him with the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2009, [8] and that year Wall Street Journal described Berber as the "real star at the Clinton Global Initiative". [9]

Giving

Berber is Chairman and co founder of A Glimmer of Hope, [10] a family foundation and international NGO, formed and funded by Berber and his wife Donna [11] in 2000.

BusinessWeek listed the Berbers at #40 amongst "the 50 most generous philanthropists" in 2002. [12]

Barron's ranked the Berbers as sixth in the world on the list of "The 25 Best Givers" in 2009 [13] [14] and 7th in 2010. [15]

The Berbers and Glimmer were featured in the book Richistan. [16]

Ventures

In 2011, Berber was involved at the early stages of Circuit of the Americas (COTA), which brought Formula One back to the US. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philanthropy Roundtable</span> Non-profit organization in the U.S.

The Philanthropy Roundtable is a nonprofit organization that advises conservative philanthropists and advocates for donor privacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troublemaker Studios</span> American film production company

Troublemaker Studios is an American independent production company founded and owned by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and producer Elizabeth Avellán.

The McCombs School of Business is a business school at The University of Texas at Austin, a public research university in Austin, Texas. In addition to the main campus in Downtown Austin, McCombs offers classes outside Central Texas in Dallas, and Houston. The McCombs School of Business offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs for their average 13,000 students each year, adding to its 98,648 member alumni base from a variety of business fields. In addition to traditional classroom degree programs, McCombs is home to 14 collaborative research centers, the international business plan competition: Venture Labs Investment Competition, and executive education programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley College, Dublin</span> Private school in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Republic of Ireland

Wesley College is an independent co-educational secondary school for day and boarding students in Ballinteer, Dublin, Ireland. Wesley College is under the control of a Board of Governors, appointed each year by the Methodist Church in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Case</span> American businesswoman (born 1959)

Jean Case is an American businesswoman, author, and philanthropist who is chair of the board of National Geographic, CEO of Case Impact Network, and CEO of the Case Foundation. She is married to AOL co-founder Steve Case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Bohnett</span> American philanthropist and technology entrepreneur

David C. Bohnett is an American philanthropist and technology entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, a non-profit, grant-making organization devoted to improving society through social activism.

MinnPost is a nonprofit online newspaper in Minneapolis, founded in 2007, with a focus on Minnesota news.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Pigott</span> American businessman

Mark Charles Pigott is an American businessman and philanthropist. He has been Executive Chairman of Paccar since April 2014. He was previously Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paccar from January 1997 to April 2014. Pigott has been listed in Forbes magazine, in their annual listing of the top ten CEOs in the country.

The A Glimmer of Hope Foundation was founded by Texas-based philanthropists Philip Berber and Donna Berber to reduce extreme poverty in rural Ethiopia. In 2010, Philip and Donna were ranked #7 by Barron's in its list of '25 Best Givers' in the world, and dubbed as "capitalist crusaders", by the New York Times Magazine. From 2001 to 2010, the foundation had funded more than 4,000 projects throughout the country. A Glimmer of Hope also runs a local program within Austin for at-risk youth and senior citizens. Currently, their Board of Directors consist of the two co-founders, Philip and Donna Berber, Ryan Berber, Shane Berber, Santiago Montoya, and Jake Berber.

FalconStor Software, Inc. is a data management software company based in Austin, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Breyer</span> American venture capitalist (born 1961)

James W. Breyer is an American venture capitalist, founder and chief executive officer of Breyer Capital, an investment and venture philanthropy firm, and a former managing partner at Accel Partners, a venture capital firm. Breyer has invested in over 40 companies that have gone public or completed a merger, with some of these investments, including Facebook, earning over 100 times cost and many others over 25 times cost. On the Forbes 2021 list of the 400 richest Americans, he was ranked #389, with a net worth of US$2.9 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Berylson</span> American businessman (1953–2023)

John Gregory Berylson was an American businessman and founder of Chestnut Hill Ventures LLC. He was also the chairman of London football team Millwall from 2007 until his death in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holden Karnofsky</span> American nonprofit executive

Holden Karnofsky is an American nonprofit executive. He is a co-founder and Director of AI Strategy of the research and grantmaking organization Open Philanthropy. Karnofsky co-founded the charity evaluator GiveWell with Elie Hassenfeld in 2007 and is vice chair of its board of directors.

Lynn Schusterman is an American billionaire philanthropist. She is the co-founder and chair emerita of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, and founder of several other philanthropic initiatives.

The Seaway Crude Pipeline System (SCPS), commonly known as the Seaway Pipeline, is an oil pipeline system which transports crude oil between Cushing, Oklahoma and Freeport, Texas, and through the Texas City, Texas Terminal and Distribution System on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The Seaway is an important crude oil transfer link between two petroleum regions within the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen</span> American philanthropist, educator and author

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen is an American educator and author.

Arnold Ventures LLC is a limited liability company focused on evidence-based philanthropy in a wide range of areas including criminal justice, education, health care, and public finance. The organization was founded by billionaires John D. Arnold and Laura Arnold in 2008.

Open Philanthropy is a research and grantmaking foundation that makes grants based on the principles of effective altruism. It was founded as a partnership between GiveWell and Good Ventures. Its current chief executive officer is Alexander Berger, and its main funders are Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz. Moskovitz says that their wealth, worth $16 billion, "belongs to the world. We intend not to have much when we die."

Valerie Velazquez is an American National Top 5 Finalist in the Miss Latina US Pageant, singer, philanthropist and creative entrepreneur. Velazquez represented Texas as a two time Miss Texas in 2008 & 2009 and finished 3rd Runner-up in the National beauty competition representing her Mexican, Spanish, and Italian heritage. Velazquez is on the Board Of Directors of 501 (c) (3) non-profit Beauty for Freedom in New York City where she campaigns to end human trafficking. She's worked with Grammy Nominated Producer Mack Damon on a track for action film Machete directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis, however the song was not chosen for final film release. In July 2016 Velazquez was asked to ring the Nasdaq Opening Bell at the Opening Bell Ceremony to raise awareness for her ongoing efforts in philanthropy and causes. Velazquez now resides in Manhattan.

Laura Arnold is an American philanthropist and co-founder of Arnold Ventures LLC. In addition to serving as co-chair of Arnold Ventures, Arnold became a founding partner of the REFORM Alliance, a national criminal justice advocacy organization in 2019. Prior to her work in philanthropy, she was a mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer and an executive at Cobalt International Energy.

References

  1. "Schwab buys firm, cuts fee". CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  2. Stith, Carissa (December 2011). "Donna Berber". Austin Woman Magazine: 68. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  3. Dunn, Julie (27 August 2000). "PRIVATE SECTOR; Venture Philanthropy For Africa, Out of Austin". New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  4. "Feature: A Glimmer of Hope Foundation; How Venture Philanthropists Make a Difference in Ethiopia" . Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  5. "$100M for e-charity - Emphasis on Africa". Philanthropy Journal. 28 August 2000. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  6. Hempel, Jessi (28 November 2004). "Online Extra: Investing in the Greater Good". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  7. "Berber is finalist for EOY award". Austin Business Journal. 15 November 2000. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  8. "UCD School of Business 100 Years" . Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  9. Frank, Robert (23 September 2009). "The Real Star at the Clinton Global Initiative". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  10. "About Us | A Glimmer of Hope". A Glimmer of Hope. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  11. Stith, Carissa (December 2011). "Donna Berber". Austin Woman Magazine: 68. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  12. "Graphic: The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists". Bloomberg Businessweek. 1 December 2002. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  13. McGee, Suzanne (30 November 2009). "The 25 Best Givers". Barron's. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  14. "Barron's Magazine has ranked Donna and Philip Berber of Austin, Texas sixth on its list of The World's Top 25 Philanthropists". Texas Non Profits. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  15. McGee, Suzanne (6 December 2010). "The 25 Best Givers". Barron's. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  16. Gunderson, Ryan. "Richistan" . Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  17. "CoTA'S Featured Fan: Philip Berber". Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.