Finn M. W. Caspersen

Finn M. W. Caspersen, Sr.
Finn Caspersen, circa 2008
Born	(1941-10-27)October 27, 1941 New York, New York, United States
Died	September 7, 2009(2009-09-07) (aged 67) Westerly, Rhode Island, United States
Cause of death	Suicide by firearm
Education	Peddie School Brown University (B.A.) Harvard Law School (LL.B.)
Occupation	attorney, corporate chief executive, philanthropist
Employer	Beneficial Corporation (1972–1998), Knickerbocker Management (1998–2009)
Spouse(s)	Barbara Warden Morris (m. 1967–2009, his death)
Children	4 sons

Finn Michael Westby Caspersen, Sr. (October 27, 1941 – September 7, 2009) was an American financier and philanthropist. A graduate of Brown University and Harvard Law School, he followed his father, Olaus Caspersen, a Norwegian immigrant to the United States, as chairman and chief executive of Beneficial Corporation, one of the largest consumer finance companies in the United States. After an $8.6 billion acquisition of Beneficial by Household International in 1998, Caspersen ran Knickerbocker Management, a private financial firm overseeing the assets of trusts and foundations.

As a philanthropist, Caspersen donated tens of millions of dollars to the Peddie School, Brown, Harvard, and Drew University, while overseeing the Hodson Trust, which benefitted four institutions in Maryland. He described education as his "particular love" and regarded it as "an investment in the future—an investment in human capital." Buildings and endowed professorships have been named in his honor. Caspersen's philanthropy extended to rowing and equestrian sports, and service to the United States Equestrian Team Foundation, Princeton National Rowing Association, and the National Rowing Foundation.

Caspersen was an influential donor to Republican candidates at the state and national level. In the 1980s, he was a major supporter of former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean. He served as a town commissioner in Jupiter Island, Florida, an exclusive upper-class enclave, for four years, resigning a few weeks before his suicide in September 2009.

News reports linked Caspersen with financial problems and accusations of alleged large-scale tax evasion that were discovered in the course of federal investigations into offshore tax shelters managed by financial firms UBS and LGT Bank, and used by wealthy American clients. Near the end of his life, Caspersen was subjected to an IRS audit with a possible focus on alleged offshore accounts. An attorney for Caspersen’s estate claimed that in 2013 the IRS effectively exonerated Caspersen posthumously—with no penalties or fines for offshore accounts or anything else.