Nippert gives $85M to Cincinnati Arts

[Chip R]

Very generous gift.

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story...wPq2dl6ng.cspx

[SunDeck]

Picking up where Patricia Corbett left off. That's wonderful news.

[reds1869]

Excellent news. When I travel overseas, people know the Cincinnati Symphony. I'm not sure most in this area know 1)how much bigger classical music is worldwide than in America or 2)how highly respected our hometown orchestra is. The CSO is a real treasure for our city.

[Joseph]

Couldn't she have given it to the Reds?

Ok, I know, its a very very good thing she did. I'm just making conversation.

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Joseph

Couldn't she have given it to the Reds?

Ok, I know, its a very very good thing she did. I'm just making conversation.

Nah...the ownership group would have just pocketed the money and whined that the Yankees have an unfair advantage.

[Highlifeman21]

Originally Posted by reds1869

Excellent news. When I travel overseas, people know the Cincinnati Symphony. I'm not sure most in this area know 1)how much bigger classical music is worldwide than in America or 2)how highly respected our hometown orchestra is. The CSO is a real treasure for our city.

I know a couple of the Symphony members (really great people for the most part, although some of the leads/primaries can be pretty full of themselves but to a degree they've earned it with their musical abilities), and it seems at least once a year they'll go on a multi-week "tour" in the globe.

The one cello player I know buys his cello a plane ticket so it flies next to him. Thing is worth at least $1Million, and insured for at least double.

[JaxRed]

If I had 85 million to give away for a charitable cause, I think I could find a more worthy cause than a Symphony. But.... it's his money.

[klw]

Can she donate another $85 million to sign Holliday?

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by klw

Can she donate another $85 million to sign Holliday?

Doesn't she still own part of the club?

[Hoosier Red]

My wife and I were discussing one of the differences between Indianapolis and Cincinnati is that Cincinnati has a lot more "old money" who are used to donating to things like Symphonies and Theatres. It's why Cincinnati has the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival and Indianapolis has a reader's digest version of "Midsummer Night's Dream."

[SunDeck]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

My wife and I were discussing one of the differences between Indianapolis and Cincinnati is that Cincinnati has a lot more "old money" who are used to donating to things like Symphonies and Theatres. It's why Cincinnati has the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival and Indianapolis has a reader's digest version of "Midsummer Night's Dream."

Good point, it seems that Cincinnati was fortunate enough to have had many extraordinarily wealthy people who had an interest in philanthropy, especially in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Maybe they saw what Carnegie and Rockefeller were doing and wanted to do the same. Fleischmann, Emery, Longworth, Taft- it's a long list.

Luckily, there is new money too. The Rosenthals have amassed and distributed quite a fortune in town over the last twenty odd years.

[vaticanplum]

Originally Posted by Hoosier Red

My wife and I were discussing one of the differences between Indianapolis and Cincinnati is that Cincinnati has a lot more "old money" who are used to donating to things like Symphonies and Theatres. It's why Cincinnati has the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival and Indianapolis has a reader's digest version of "Midsummer Night's Dream."

The founders of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Theatre literally looked at a map, found the biggest city without a classical theater company, and said, that's where we're going to set up shop. Well, it wasn't quite that simple, but that was the gist of it.

The company does decent work and it's getting better all the time, but the success it's had so fast frankly far and away surpasses its quality, especially in the current economic climate when theaters are folding right and left. And it's because they were brilliant enough to look at things from a business perspective instead of an artistic one. Cincinnati, an extremely conservative city, did not have a classical theater company. The founders knew there would be plenty of money to be had. They appeal to a certain crowd, and that crowd happens to have a fair share of rich people who want to fund something they see as worthwhile. The Board ousted CSF's (very talented) artistic director when he got too "edgy". They've kept this company on a very clever path. And they still have basically no competition. The (non-classical) Playhouse is respected and will always be well-funded, but every other theater in Cincinnati is really struggling with their new plays and social exploration and uneven but artistically creative choices. The Shakespeare company did go for the old money, I think, and they were geniuses to do so.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Chip R

Doesn't she still own part of the club?

Lots of folks do.

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/ci.../tidbits1.html

Some of the Reds' newest investors bought stakes on their own. Others formed investment partnerships in which the lead investor speaks for the group and shares ownership perks and capital calls on a pro-rata basis. At least 44 people own a piece of the action, according to our research. The group is larger than that, but we left out names we could not confirm.

Bob Castellini: President of Castellini Co., a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, he became the Reds' CEO Jan. 19. Castellini's ownership group paid about $270 million to acquire the team, financing the purchase with roughly $100 million in debt and the sale of investment units, each costing $6.5 million.

W. Joseph Williams: The chairman of North American Properties also carries the chairman title with the Reds. The company develops retail and apartment properties in six states. Florence and Northgate malls are among its notable

Cincinnati projects, although it no longer owns either property.
Tom Williams: The president of North American Properties is also the brother of W. Joseph Williams. Their father was a controlling owner of the Reds from 1982 to 1984. Tom is now the team's vice chairman and treasurer.

Carl Lindner Jr. and Carl Lindner III: Lindner Jr. became a minority investor in the Reds in 1981, and controlling owner in 1999. Until last year, he owned about 37 percent of the ballclub. Now, he and his son hold 7.88 percent.

Louise Nippert: Nippert's late husband, Louis, bought 90 percent of the Reds in the late 1960s, selling a controlling interest to the Williams family in 1982. In January, Nippert sold her remaining 29 percent stake, then bought back 3.94 percent.
William Reik: Reik is a managing director at William D. Witter Inc., an investment advisory firm in New York. He's a director of Frisch's Restaurants Inc. and has owned a piece of the Reds since 1986. His ownership went from 11 percent to 7.88 percent in the new regime.

George Strike: Strike, a former chairman of American Laundry Machine Co., became a Reds owner in 1988. He's a 3.94 percent owner under Castellini, down from 12 percent under Lindner.

Larry Sheakley: Sheakley founded a workers' comp administration company in 1963, but has since branched into other employee benefits.Local broadcasting executive Bobby Lawrence owns a piece of Sheakley's stake.

Jack Wyant: This former Procter & Gamble executive has raised four venture capital funds totaling $600 million since starting Blue Chip Venture Co. in 1992. He is said to have partners, but could not be reached.

Harry Fath: Fath's downtown-based property management company owns 36 apartment communities in Cincinnati and Dallas, comprising more than 9,000 apartment units.

Jeff Wyler: The local auto dealer and UC trustee now spends much of his time in Naples, Fla. He also invests in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing team.

Steve Cobb: The Henny Penny Corp. CEO made his fortune selling high-end restaurant equipment. Cobb formed EMK Investment Corp. to buy a Reds stake, possibly with family members.

Ronald Sargent: A lifelong Reds fan who grew up in Northern Kentucky, this Staples Inc. CEO sought out Castellini when he heard the new Reds owner was selling minority shares in the team.

Jeffrey Gendell: A Wyoming native and son of a Procter & Gamble executive, Gendell runs a $1 billion hedge fund under the name Tontine Associates. He owns roughly 10 percent stakes in AK Steel and CECO Environmental.

Nick Ragland: Howard "Nick" Ragland is an in-law to Batesville's Hillenbrand family and owner of the Gorilla Glue Co. in Fairfax. Ragland formed a partnership in which his children share the Reds stake.

Ed Rigaud: A former P&G executive, now CEO of Enova Partners, he leads a 17-member group, 13 of whom are black. The group includes Ross Love, Ken Blackwell, Nathaniel Jones, Terry Atwater, Carl Satterwhite and Scott Robertson.

George Vincent: The Hamilton County GOP chairman has seven partners, including P&G elites A.G. Lafley, James Johnson and Mike Ryan; Vincent's law partner, Frank Woodside; Tom Neyer Jr.; and Dr. David Schneider.

David Drees: The CEO of Cincinnati's largest privately held company teamed up with his father, Kenton County Judge Executive Ralph Drees, to buy a 3.94 percent stake.

Art Hauser: This '60s vintage NFL lineman is founder of the Hauser Group, a Blue Ash-based insurance brokerage. Hauser is a Castellini pal, said to have teamed up with other investors to buy a piece of the Reds.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Lots of folks do.

She probably saw what Walt did with $6M last year and thought better of giving the team any more of her money.