Occupation Businessman Political party Republican Party | Relatives Richard Bass (brother) | |
Full Name Harry Wesley Bass, Jr. Born January 6, 1927 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. Resting place Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery Education St. Mark's School of Texas Spouse(s) Mary Mathewson
Doris Wampler Calhoun Died 4 April 1998, Dallas, Texas, United States Alma mater Southern Methodist University Books Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795-1834 Parents Wilma Schuessler, Harry W. Bass, Sr. People also search for Harry W. Bass, Sr., Richard Bass, John W. Dannreuther | ||
Harry W. Bass, Jr. (January 6, 1927 – April 4, 1998) was an American businessman, coin collector and philanthropist. He was a leader of the Texas Republican Party in the 1950s. He inherited the Goliad Oil and Gas Corporation with his brother in 1970. He was an early investor in the ski resorts of Aspen and Vail in Colorado. He was the main developer of the Beaver Creek Resort in Beaver Creek, Colorado. He amassed one of the world's great coin collections and served as the president of the American Numismatic Society.
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Early life
Harry W. Bass, Jr. was born on January 6, 1927 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His father, Harry W. Bass, Sr., was a co-founder of the Goliad Corporation and the Goliad Oil and Gas Corporation. He had a brother, Richard Bass.
Bass was educated at the St. Mark's School of Texas, then known as the Texas Country Day School. He attended Southern Methodist University. During World War II, he served in the South Pacific with the United States Navy.
Career
Bass started his career in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for his father's oil and gas companies.
Bass started a voter data-collection company and served as the finance chairman of the Republican Party of Dallas County in the late 1950s. The company proved to be a financial failure. Meanwhile, he resigned from the Dallas County GOP in 1957. By 1960, alongside Republican Congressman Bruce Alger, he staged a demonstration against Democratic Congressman (later President) Lyndon Johnson when the latter visited Dallas.
Bass inherited his father's oil and gas investments in the Goliad Corporation and the Goliad Oil and Gas Corporation in 1970. He was the co-owner of H. W. Bass and Sons, a private company headquartered in Dallas.
Bass invested in the development of Aspen, Colorado was a ski resort in 1955. Later, he owned 7 percent of the Aspen Ski Corporation with his brother. Meanwhile, he invested in the development of Vail, Colorado. He became majority shareholder of Vail Associates, Inc., owning 57 percent in 1978. Meanwhile, he served as its chairman by 1979. Meanwhile, he invested in the development of the Beaver Creek Resort in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
Numismatics and philanthropy
Bass began collecting coins in the mid-1960s. He regularly attended coin auctions. By 1976, he had invested "millions of dollars" in coins. He added that he had 25 per cent of my portfolio in coins," mostly of which were gold coins from the 19th century to 1933. They were held in a trust.
Bass became a member of the American Numismatic Society in 1966. By 1979, he was its president.
Bass founded the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Research Foundation in 1991. One of its goals was to support numismatics.
Personal life
Bass married Mary Mathewson in 1947. He later married Doris Wampler Calhoun.
Death and legacy
Bass died on April 4, 1998 in Dallas, Texas. He was buried in the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery.
Shortly after his death, the Harry W. Bass Jr. Research Foundation was merged with his late father's philanthropic foundation, the Harry Bass Foundation, to form the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Foundation. The endowment comes from oil investments as well as the proceeds from auctions of his coin collection. For example, thirty coins from his collection were auctioned in 2014 in Dallas.