T. Denny Sanford | |
---|---|
Born | Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States | December 23, 1935
Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
Occupation(s) | Owner and founder of First Premier Bank Chief executive officer of United National Corp. |
Spouses | Anne (m. 1960;div. 1982)Colleen Anderson (m. 1995;div. 2005) |
Children | 2 |
Website | www |
Thomas Denny Sanford (born December 23, 1935, in Saint Paul) [1] is a South Dakota businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of First Premier Bank and the chairman and chief executive officer of its holding company, United National.
Sanford's mother was an immigrant from Sweden whose family settled in Chicago. His father grew up on a farm in Illinois. [2] His first job was at age 8 working in his father's garment shop. He later became a student at the University of Minnesota, intending to become a doctor, but struggled with chemistry and switched majors, eventually graduating with a degree in psychology in 1958. [3] Sanford made his fortune as the owner of subprime credit card providers First PREMIER Bank and PREMIER Bankcard. [4] The bank is known for specializing in a wide range of high-interest, subprime credit cards marketed to people with low credit scores. In 2007, Sanford paid $4.5 million as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General that alleged deceptive practices in marketing. Premier Bank offered a credit card with a 79.9% interest rate and a $300 limit, an amount cited by Senator Bernie Sanders as an example of "extortion and loan sharking". [5]
In 2018, Sanford ranked #1103 on the Forbes World's Billionaires list, with wealth listed at $2.2 billion. [6]
Sanford was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1935, during the Great Depression. His mother died of breast cancer when he was four years old, his father when he was 20. Soon after graduating from high school, he was arrested for drinking and fighting and sentenced to juvenile detention; he was released early on condition he go to the University of Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1958. He has two sons from his first marriage. [7] In 1987, Sanford met his second wife, Colleen Anderson. They married in 1995 and divorced in 2005. [8]
In 2020, it was reported that Sanford was being investigated for possession of child pornography. Investigators obtained a search warrant before referring the case to the United States Department of Justice. [9] The investigation has led several institutions to reconsider his philanthropy. [10] [11] The investigation was ongoing as of January 2022 at both the state and federal levels; [12] that May, the office of the South Dakota Attorney General announced it had ended the investigation without filing charges. [13] Records unsealed in April 2023 at the request of ProPublica revealed that an AOL email account that investigators linked to Sanford contained photos of nude girls estimated to be between 8 and 15 years old, but that it was established that others had access to the account, including indications that it had been hacked. [14] [15]
In 2010 Sanford committed to The Giving Pledge to give away much of his fortune. In May 2023 following the court document unsealing his name was removed from their list which essentially means he can no longer participate in their events. [16]
Sanford has pledged to give away his entire fortune during his lifetime, giving financial contributions to various higher education and healthcare institutions without a formal foundation or permanent staff. [17] In 2006, BusinessWeek magazine listed him as one of the 50 most generous philanthropists. [18] As of October 2018, he has donated over $1 billion. [19]
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Sanford Health is a nonprofit, integrated health care delivery system headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with additional offices in Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota, and Bemidji, Minnesota.
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Thomas Denny Sanford was born Dec. 23, 1935, in St. Paul, Minn. He has never gone by the name Thomas and prefers his middle name.
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