Sam Wyly
| Samuel E. "Sam" Wyly | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 4, 1934 Lake Providence East Carroll Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Residence | Dallas, Texas, USA |
| Alma mater |
Louisiana Tech University |
| Occupation | Businessman; Philanthropist |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Parent(s) | Charles, Sr., and Flora Wyly |
| Relatives | Charles Wyly (brother) |
Louisiana Tech University
University of Michigan
Samuel E. Wyly, known as Sam Wyly (born October 4, 1934), is an American entrepreneur and businessman, author, philanthropist, and major contributor to conservative campaigns and candidates. In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $1.1 billion. His older brother, Charles Wyly, Jr., had about half his wealth; the two brothers were close with their business affairs, and were often referred to as the "Wyly brothers". Wyly's memoir, 1,000 Dollars & an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire, was published in September 2008. He is of Scots, Irish, Welsh and English descent. His forebears came to America convergently in the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s. His new book is titled The Immigrant Spirit: How Newcomers Enrich America.
Wyly was born in Lake Providence, which Mark Twain described in Life on the Mississippi as, "the first truly southern" town as you go downriver. It is the parish seat of East Carroll Parish in northeastern Louisiana and one of the poorest communities in the United States. He began working at an early age, helping his father, Charles Wyly, Sr., and mother, Flora Wyly, to publish a weekly newspaper, The Delhi Dispatch in Richland Parish. He sold advertising, wrote stories, folded and addressed the finished papers, and cleaned the printing presses. In the summer, he rough necked in the Delhi Oil Field.
In high School he played nose guard on a football team that became state champions. His Cherokee teammate, Monroe Fowler, said, "We were 'oil field trash' who moved to Delhi with the big oil discovery. But, when Bubba took me to his home, I could feel the gentility of the old South."
Following high school, Wyly went to Louisiana Tech University partly working his way through college by selling class rings. His brother, Charles, had a football scholarship that paid tuition, room, and board, and laundry, plus $15 a month. Sam was elected class president and student senate president and participated on the college debate team arguing whether America should "recognize Red China." In 1952, known at the time as "Bubba" Wyly, he was the head page in the Louisiana House of Representatives, recalled one of the young men who worked under his supervision, Jasper "Jake" Smith, III, son of State Representative Jasper K. Smith of Caddo Parish. The Wyly brothers later honored one of their Tech professor, Robert C. Snyder, of the English department, with an endowed chair. And in 1983, they endowed the University with the sixteen story Wyly Tower of Learning using profits from their University Computing stock.
...
Wikipedia