As one of the wealthiest and most successful private equity investors, David Bonderman is often asked to share the secrets of his success.
“I was lucky,” he replies without hesitation.
While there are those who strategically pursue MBAs from the most prestigious academic institutions and aggressively compete for jobs in the elite firms within the investment and finance industry, Bonderman arrived with an impressive resume but no experience in this business.
“Bob Bass offered me a job and I took it,” said Bonderman, the 53rd Fort Worth Business Hall of Fame’s 2023 Business Executive of the Year. The Business Hall of Fame, sponsored by Texas Wesleyan University, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Worth Business Press, honored Bonderman at a Nov. 7 event at the Fort Worth Club.
That job opportunity with Bass’s company put Bonderman on a career trajectory he had never imagined for himself. It ultimately led to the founding of TPG Inc. and becoming a billionaire.
Known to friends and colleagues as “Bondo,” a nickname that suits his adventuresome and spirited nature, 80-year-old Bonderman is known for his eagerness to go anywhere and try new things, including taking risks in the business world.
By the time Bass offered him a job in the early 1980s, Bonderman had already accomplished more than most people do in an entire lifetime.
The Los Angeles native graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Russian from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1963 then attended Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Harvard Law Review.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1966, he was awarded a Sheldon Fellowship that allowed him to travel internationally and study the Arabic language and Islamic Law in Egypt. After that, he spent two years as assistant professor at Tulane University Law School in New Orleans.
He then served as special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division during the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson, successfully litigating many cases involving racial discrimination in the South.
“It was a great job and I loved it,” he said in an online video interview. When Richard Nixon was elected, he added, “it was less of a great job.”
So Bonderman left his government position and joined the Washington D.C. law firm Arnold & Porter, where he was a partner specializing in corporate, securities, bankruptcy and antitrust litigation.
“David was a skillful litigator,” said Robert Ginsburg, a Fort Worth attorney and longtime friend of Bonderman.
Bonderman worked on cases involving the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Don’t Tear It Down Inc., and environmental cases.
“He also authored the law in Washington, D.C. 50 years ago that controls renovation and demolition of historic buildings,” Ginsburg said.
During Bonderman’s time with the firm, he argued and won a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that cleared a stock analyst who was censured by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for leaking insider information.
Bonderman’s connection to the Bass family and Fort Worth began in 1982 when he was hired to represent Braniff Airways in bankruptcy litigation in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth. Bass family patriarch Perry Bass sat on the board of the airline.
At the time, Robert Bass and his wife, Anne, were embroiled in a bitter dispute over the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans to rebuild and widen the elevated interchange connecting Interstate 35W and I-30. Bass and other opponents supported the Interstate 30 Advocates for Responsible Expansion (I-CARE) solution of demolishing the elevated structure and placing freeway main lanes below grade level.
“Bob and Anne Bass hired David to sue the Texas Department of Transportation to keep them from expanding the overhead lanes that the Basses didn’t want encroaching on the Fort Worth Water Gardens while effectively separating downtown from the South Main corridor, an area of recent significant growth and revitalization,” Ginsburg said.
The protracted legal battle ended satisfactorily for all.
“Bob got to know David, liked him and thought he was very smart, so he asked David to run his business.”
At the Robert M. Bass Group Inc. (RMBG), now doing business as Oak Hill Partners, Bonderman served as CEO. Without experience in private equity investment, he studied under the tutelage of legendary businessman and philanthropist Richard Rainwater, who was serving as chief investment advisor to the Bass family.
During his tenure with RMBG, Bonderman became extremely skillful at negotiating and brokering deals. He had a knack for identifying struggling or undervalued companies, buying them and turning them around.
His eagerness to pursue lucrative opportunities brought him success but also led to his departure from RMBG.
Bonderman wanted to get involved in a deal to buy out and resuscitate failing Continental Airlines, which was facing a second bankruptcy.
“He’s always been a nut about airlines,” said J. Crandall, another longtime friend and colleague from RMBG.
When Bass balked at the plan, Bonderman and colleague Jim Coulter left Bass’s family firm and struck a deal with Air Canada that led to the buyout of Continental Airlines and improved the fortunes of the Canadian carrier. The lucrative deal yielded a profit of $640 million from a $66 million investment by Bonderman and Coulter.
Bonderman and Coulter, along with William S. Price III, founded TPG in Fort Worth in 1992. The firm is headquartered in Fort Worth and San Francisco.
TPG has had an extensive portfolio with investments in companies across many sectors, including health care, software and technology. The company also has invested in internet, media and communications, business services and consumer products firms, including Airbnb, CAA, Spotify, WellSky and WindRiver.
TPG also operates Newbridge Capital, a joint venture that invests in emerging markets, particularly in Asia and Latin. America.
Bonderman also operates his own family investment firm, Wildcat Management.
In January 2022, TPG went public through an IPO and is now traded on the NASDAQ as “TPG.” Leading up to the IPO, Jon Winkelried was named CEO and Coulter became executive chairman. Bonderman is founding partner and chairman of the board.
TPG reported total assets under management of $139 billion as of June 30 this year.
An avid sports fan, Bonderman is co-founder and co-owner, along with film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer, of the newest NHL expansion hockey team, the Seattle Kraken. His daughter, Samantha Holloway, is co-owner of the franchise.
He is also a minority owner of the NBA’s Boston Celtics.
He serves on many public and private boards, including Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.; Boston Championship Basketball, LLC; Seattle Hockey Partners; The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation; The Rise Fund; the American Himalayan Foundation; The Wilderness Society; the Grand Canyon Trust; and the Wyss Foundation. He also funds the Wildcat Foundation.
With an estimated net worth of about $6 billion, Bonderman is known for his generosity and philanthropy.
Conservation and environmental protection are especially important to him. Through his Wildcat Foundation, he has put millions of dollars into wildlife conservation efforts in Africa.
His vast contributions have gone toward support organizations and law enforcement officials to combat poaching of African elephants and rhinos for their valuable tusks.
He has also been a longtime supporter of The Wilderness Society and the Grand Canyon Trust, nonprofit organizations dedicated to protection of the natural environment and wildlife of the Grand Canyon.
“He’s such a terrific person and incredibly environmentally minded,” Crandall said.
But his philanthropy doesn’t end there. Since 1995, he has supported the Bonderman Fellowship at the University of Washington, which awards graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to spend eight months of travel abroad. The program was inspired by the transformative impact the Sheldon Fellowship from Harvard had on his life.
In 2017, the program was able to expand with a $10 million endowment from Bonderman. More than 280 UW students have been awarded fellowships.
The fellowship program also inspired Holloway and her husband to fund a Bonderman Fellowship at her alma mater, the University of Michigan.
He has been honored for his achievements with several awards, including the Global Leadership Award from the Asia Society and Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. He was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2017.
Besides sports and conservation, Bonderman’s passions include travel and attending concerts of his favorite musicians, with the Rolling Stones topping the list.
For his 60th and 70th birthdays, he chose to celebrate those milestones with family and friends, whom he feted with performances by his favorite rock stars.
For his 60th birthday bash, he hired the Rolling Stones, John Mellencamp and comedian Robin Williams to entertain in Las Vegas. His 70th party was headlined by Paul McCartney, with performances by John Fogerty and Williams.
“There are people who like to show off what they can do but that’s not David,” said Ginsburg, who attended both parties. “For David, it was about the music and celebrating with his friends and family. That’s who David is.”
As a show of appreciation, he donated $1,000 to a charity chosen by each guest who attended his 70th birthday party in Las Vegas.
Bonderman continues to travel and pursue business deals. He also enjoys spending as much time as possible with his five children and three grandchildren. He has multiple residences, including a home in Fort Worth.
“Fort Worth is a very livable place,” he said. “It has a lot of charm and a lot of good people. I’m here as often as I can be.”