Harlan Crow

Harlan Rogers Crow (born 1949) is an American real estate developer from Dallas, Texas.[1][2][3]

Harlan Crow
Born
Harlan Rogers Crow

1949 (age 70–71)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma materRandolph-Macon Academy
Emory University
University of Texas
OccupationReal estate developer
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Kathy
Children3
Parent(s)Trammell Crow
Margaret Doggett Crow

Early life

Harlan Crow was born in Dallas, the third son of Margaret Doggett Crow and real estate developer Trammell Crow. He has four brothers and one sister. Unlike his siblings, he attended high school at the Randolph-Macon Academy in Front Royal, Virginia.[2] He later attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, before he transferred to the University of Texas where he received a BBA.

Career

He worked as a leasing agent for Trammell Crow Houston Industrial from 1974 to 1978 and managed the Dallas Office Building development operations of Trammell Crow Company from 1978 to 1986. He then served as President of the Wyndham Hotel Company from 1986 to 1988. He assumed responsibility for Crow Holdings in 1988 and currently serves as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.[4]

Political activities

He is a member of the founding committee of the 501(c)4 organization Club for Growth, and serves on the board of the American Enterprise Institute.[5][6] He has donated almost $5 million to Republican campaigns and conservative groups. He is a close friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; this relationship has made Thomas the center of a debate about questionable judicial ethics.[1] Crow is a member of the all-male Bohemian Club, and as early as 1997 has hosted Thomas as a guest at the group's annual summer encampment, the Bohemian Grove.[7][8] He is also a friend and former business partner of the publisher Wick Allison.[9]

In 2009, Crow mounted an unsuccessful multimillion-dollar campaign to block the establishment of a publicly owned convention hotel in Dallas.[10] That same year, he provided $500,000 to Liberty Central, which was established by Virginia Thomas, the wife of Justice Thomas. At that time, the sources of Liberty Central's startup funds were not publicly disclosed.[11]

Personal life

His Dallas residence includes a large collection of historical documents from the likes of Ponce de Leon, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, George Washington, Robert E. Lee and all the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Crow is also a noted art collector, owning original paintings by Peale, Renoir and Monet, as well as the likes of Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower. All told, 8,500 books and manuscripts are housed here, including doodles by Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass' Bible, given to him as a gift from Clarence Thomas.[12] Additional items include Napoleon's writing desk and Duke of Wellington's sword from 1815.

His backyard garden is home to sculptures of fallen leaders and Communist icons, including Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin, Fidel Castro, Karl Marx, Hosni Mubarak, Josip Broz Tito, Nicolae Ceausescu, Walter Ulbricht, Gavrilo Princip, Bela Kun and Che Guevara. Crow acquired these former public monuments after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc.[13]

He and his wife, Kathy, have three children.

His mother, Margaret Crow, survived the sinking of the SS Athenia, the first British ship sunk by Nazi Germany during World War II.[13]

References
  1. McIntyre, Mike (June 18, 2011). "Friendship of Justice and Magnate Puts Focus on Ethics". The New York Times.
  2. Myerson, Allen R. (December 1, 1996). "More Than a Chip Off the Building Block". The New York Times.
  3. "Clarence Thomas Fast Facts". CNN. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  4. "Harlan Crow". Crow Holdings. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
  5. "Donation debate continues". Savannah Morning News. October 14, 2001.
  6. "Board of Trustees".
  7. Serrano, Richard A.; Savage, David G. (December 31, 2004). "Justice Thomas Reports Wealth of Gifts: In the last six years he has accepted free items valued at $42,200, the most on the high court". Los Angeles Times. p. 3.
  8. McIntire, Mike (June 18, 2011). "Friendship of Justice and Magnate Puts Focus on Ethics". The New York Times.
  9. Allison, Wick (April 25, 2009). "Who Is Harlan Crow, And Why Are People Saying All Those Mean Things About Him?". Front Burner.
  10. Levinthal, Dave (May 10, 2009). "After Dallas convention hotel battle, Harlan Crow extends olive branch to Mayor Tom Leppert". Denton Record-Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013.
  11. Kenneth P. Vogel; Marin Cogan; John Bresnahan (February 4, 2011). "Justice Thomas' wife Virginia Thomas now a lobbyist". POLITICO. p. 2. Retrieved June 25, 2011.
  12. "History abounds inside Harlan Crow's home - Gardening - Dallas News". March 21, 2014.
  13. "Harlan Crow seeks zoning at Highland Park home for collection - Highland Park - Dallas News". November 30, 2013.
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