Richard Rainwater

Richard Edward Rainwater (1944–2015) was an American investor and philanthropist who gained prominence as the chief investment advisor to the Bass family, transforming their $50 million fortune into $5 billion before establishing himself as an independent investor in 1986. He founded or co-founded numerous successful companies including ENSCO International, Columbia Hospital Corporation, and Crescent Real Estate Equities, and was widely regarded as a mentor to a generation of prominent investors including Eddie Lampert and David Bonderman. After being diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy in 2009, he directed significant resources through the Rainwater Charitable Foundation toward neurodegenerative disease research, and by the time of his death had donated more than $380 million to charitable causes while leaving nearly all of his estate to his foundation.