Robert Haas (investor)

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Robert Haas
Born
Robert Bradley Haas

(1947-06-12)June 12, 1947
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedSeptember 28, 2021(2021-09-28) (aged 74)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University
Harvard Law School
Occupations
  • Investor
  • photographer

Robert Bradley Haas (June 12, 1947 – September 28, 2021) was an American investor, photographer, and motorcycle collector.

Early life and education[edit]

Haas was born in Cleveland.[1] He grew up there, but left home when he was a high school junior, moving to a rooming house.[2] He received a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University in 1969 and a degree in law from Harvard Law School in 1972.[3]

Financial career[edit]

In 1984 he and Thomas Hicks formed the investment company Hicks & Haas in Dallas, Texas.[1] Together, they purchased 49 percent of the soft drink companies 7-Up and Dr Pepper and then resold the combined companies in 1988 to Prudential-Bache Securities for $600 million.[1]

After Hicks & Haas dissolved in 1989,[4] Haas co-founded Haas Wheat & Harrison in 1992 to focus on middle-market transactions. Among his co-founders were Thomas Harrison, who had previously worked with Haas at Hicks & Haas and Douglas Wheat, a former investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.[5]

At the time of his death Haas was a senior adviser for New MainStream Capital, an investment firm.[2]

Photography career[edit]

Haas took up photography in 1994 with no prior experience.[6] After buying $2000 USD in camera gear, and learning how to use it, he did his first aerial photography from a helicopter on a Kenyan safari.[6][1] He went on to work for National Geographic as a photographer for ten years, and to publish four coffee-table books on his aerial photography over Africa and Latin America.[2][1]

Motorcycle collection[edit]

In 2012 Haas began collecting motorcycles.[3] In 2018, he opened the Haas Moto Museum & Sculpture Gallery in Dallas to display the collection, which includes several custom-made motorcycles.[2] He was the executive producer of the film Leaving Tracks, which documented his motorcycle collecting and profiled several custom motorcycle builders who contributed to his collection.[7][8]

Books[edit]

  • Through the Eyes of the Gods, 2005
  • Through the Eyes of the Condor, 2007[9][10]
  • Through The Eyes Of The Vikings, 2010[11]
  • I dreamed of Flying like a Bird, 2010[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Sandomir, Richard (18 October 2021). "Robert Haas, Financier and Aerial Photographer, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c d "Dallas financier has a rare motorcycle collection to rival Billy Joel and Jay Leno". Dallas News. 9 March 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Bobby Haas, financial mastermind, aerial photographer and museum owner, dies at 74". Dallas News. 30 September 2021.
  4. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; Hicks & Haas Founders Split". The New York Times. 11 May 1989.
  5. ^ Former President and Co-Founder of Haas Wheat & Partners Starts New Investment Firm. October, 2006
  6. ^ a b Hagerty, James R. (8 October 2021). "Investor Reinvented Himself as a Daredevil". Wall Street Journal.
  7. ^ "A New Documentary Chronicles How One Motorcycle Museum Turns Custom Bikes Into Works of Art". www.msn.com.
  8. ^ "Dallas' Bobby Haas' unlikely journey from financier to filmmaker". Dallas News. 4 April 2021.
  9. ^ Fraser, Benjamin (2010). "The Ills of Aerial Photography: Latin America from Above". Chasqui. 39 (2): 70–84. ISSN 0145-8973. JSTOR 41340870.
  10. ^ "On the Bookshelf". D Magazine. 23 August 2007.
  11. ^ O'Neill, Claire (21 September 2010). "What Vikings Would See, If They Could Fly". NPR.
  12. ^ "Yes, it's real: flamingos gather in the formation of a flamingo". The Toronto Star. 26 November 2010.
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