Gerald J. Ford
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Gerald J. Ford (born 1945) is a successful Texas banker known for buying and selling thrift banks. Ford bought his first bank in 1975 for $1.2 million and later sold it for a profit of $80 million.
One of Ford's most successful transactions occurred in 2002 when he sold California-based Golden State Bancorp to Citigroup for $6 billion; his personal stake is now worth more than $1.1 billion.
Ford has been a member of the SMU Board of Trustees since 1992. He is chair of the board's Finance Committee and a member of its Executive Committee, Trusteeship Committee, Committee on Athletics and Executive Committee of the Campaign for SMU. He also currently serves as co-chair of the Dedman College Campaign Committee and on the Executive Board of Dedman School of Law. He is a former member of the Executive Boards of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Edwin L. Cox School of Business, John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies and Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture Series.
Ford is former chair of the board and chief executive officer of Golden State Bancorp Inc., headquartered in San Francisco. It was a holding company for the nation's second largest thrift institution and California's fourth largest bank. He also is board chair and CEO of Liberté Investors Inc., an investment firm. Described as a quintessential entrepreneurial banker, the West Texas native began his banking career by purchasing a number of small banks in rural areas of the state.
Ford's other investments include the auto-finance company AmeriCredit and 120,000 acres (486 km²) of rangeland in New Mexico.
Gerald J. Ford was raised in Pampa, TX and graduated from Pampa Senior High School before attending Southern Methodist University. He would later donate the money to build the new football stadium at SMU, and it was subsequently named after him; the Gerald J. Ford Stadium. During his school days in Pampa, TX, he spent many hours helping his father, Coyle, at Ford's Paint and Body Shop.
Ford earned two degrees from SMU -- a Bachelor of Arts in economics in 1966 and a Juris Doctor from the School of Law in 1969. In 1995 he received the SMU Distinguished Alumni Award, and in 1997 he received SMU's Mustang Award honoring those whose longtime service and philanthropy have had a lasting impact on the university. The Gerald J. Ford Stadium, completed in September 2000, is named in his honor.
Ford provided the lead gift of $20 million for the new campus football stadium. He also has supported the SMU Annual Fund, Law Alumni Fund, President's Scholars program and Dedman College programs.
Ford's civic activities include service as a trustee of the Children's Medical Foundation and Southwestern Medical Foundation, member of the Dallas Citizens Council and director of the Dallas Boys and Girls Clubs, Inc.
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