{{Short description|American businessman (1927–2022)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox person |name = Lorry I. Lokey |image = |caption = |birth_date = {{birth date|1927|3|27}} |birth_place = [[Portland, Oregon]], U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|2022|10|1|1927|3|27}} |death_place = [[Atherton, California]], U.S. | education = [[Stanford University]] | title = Chairman & CEO, [[Business Wire]] | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = |occupation = Businessman |spouse = }}

'''Lorry I. Lokey''' (March 27, 1927 – October 1, 2022) was an American businessperson and philanthropist. A native of [[Portland, Oregon]], he founded the company [[Business Wire]] in 1961 and donated in excess of $700 million to charities, with the majority of the money given to schools. He resided in San Francisco during his later years.<ref name=sc/>

==Early life== Lorry Lokey was born on March 27, 1927, in [[Portland, Oregon]], and raised in the [[Northeast Portland, Oregon|Northeast Portland]] neighborhood of [[Alameda, Portland, Oregon|Alameda]] during the Depression.<ref name=stanfordmag/> His [[American Jews|Jewish]] family<ref>[http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/58931/local-wealthy-jews-pledge-to-give-away-half-their-fortunes/ jweekly.com: "Local wealthy Jews pledge to give away half their fortunes" by Jacob Berkman] August 12, 2010</ref><ref>[http://blogs.jta.org/philanthropy/article/2010/08/09/2740380/newsletter-lokey JTA: "Lorry Lokey on giving it all away", Jacob Berkman] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619043431/http://blogs.jta.org/philanthropy/article/2010/08/09/2740380/newsletter-lokey |date=June 19, 2012 }} August 9, 2010</ref> practiced charity, setting the example for Lokey.<ref name=stanfordmag/> He attended Alameda Elementary School in Portland,<ref name=sc>[http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/05/28/daily5.html "Portland native pledges $5M for library".] ''[[Portland Business Journal]]'', May 29, 2007.</ref><ref> [http://pmr.uoregon.edu/current-uo-news/archive/2007/October/lorry-i-lokey-biographical-information/] {{dead link|date=January 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name=pbj>[http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/10/15/daily13.html?jst=b_ln_hl "Lokey gives UO largest gift: $74.5M".] ''[[Portland Business Journal]]'', October 15, 2007.</ref> then graduated from [[Grant High School (Portland, Oregon)|Grant High School]] before being drafted<ref name=PADP>[https://padailypost.com/2022/10/03/larry-lokey-atherton-philanthropist-and-business-wire-founder-dies/ Lorry Lokey, Atherton philanthropist and Business Wire founder, dies] (Emily Mibach) Palo Alto Daily Post, October 3, 2022</ref> into the [[United States Army]], then deployed to Japan during the final months of [[World War II]].<ref name=PADP/><ref name=uo>McBride, Tess. [http://www.dailyemerald.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=b0ef5f6c-edcd-4a03-b1ea-80d7e8105a6f "The man behind the money".] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926224311/http://www.dailyemerald.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=b0ef5f6c-edcd-4a03-b1ea-80d7e8105a6f |date=September 26, 2007 }} ''[[Oregon Daily Emerald]]'', February 9, 2007.</ref> While in the service he worked on the ''[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Pacific Stars & Stripes]]'' as an editor after the war ended.<ref name=uo/>

Lokey resumed college in 1947, having been drafted into the army in 1944, following his freshman year,<ref name=PADP/> graduating from [[Stanford University]] in [[Palo Alto, California]], with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism.<ref name=stanford>[http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2007/02/26/daily31.html "Lorry Lokey gives Stanford stem cell institute $33M".] ''[[San Jose Business Journal]]'', February 27, 2007.</ref> At Stanford, he worked on ''[[The Stanford Daily]]'', becoming editor of the school newspaper in 1949.<ref name=PADP/> Upon graduation Lokey began working for United Press, now [[United Press International]] (UPI), and then at newspapers and in the public relations field.<ref name=stanford/> One newspaper he worked for was ''[[The Daily News (Longview, Washington)|The Daily News]]'' in [[Longview, Washington]].<ref name=uo/>

==Business career== Inspired by the sight of a teletype machine transferring financial news during a conference in Los Angeles,<ref name=UO2022/> Lokey started [[Business Wire]], a news release service, in 1961.<ref name=pbj/> Founded in [[San Francisco]], California, the company started with seven clients on the first day of business.<ref name=profile>Caldwell, Douglas E. [http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2003/07/07/smallb1.html "Profile: Spreading the word".] ''[[San Jose Business Journal]]'', July 4, 2003.</ref> The company expanded and became an international wire service with 30 offices around the world.<ref name=pbj/> By 2003, the company had grown to 450 employees with annual revenue of $110 million.<ref name=profile/> In 2006, Lokey sold Business Wire for approximately $600 million to [[Berkshire Hathaway]], [[Warren Buffett]]'s corporation.<ref name=pbj/>

==Philanthropy== Lokey began donating large sums of money to charities in 1990. By 2007, he had donated more than $400 million, of which 98 percent was given to secondary and post-secondary education.<ref name=pbj/> Some schools include the [[University of Oregon]], [[Mills College]], Stanford University, the [[Technion]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forward.com/culture/8379/businessman-donates-his-millions-to-educational-pr/|title=Businessman Donates His Millions To Educational Projects|website=The Forward|date=November 11, 2006 |access-date=December 28, 2021}}</ref> [[Santa Clara University]], [[Bellarmine College Preparatory]], and [[Portland State University]].<ref name=sc/><ref name=stanford/><ref>[http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2007/10/15/daily13.html?jst=b_ln_hl "Lorry Lokey donates $1.5M to Judaic Studies at PSU".] ''[[Portland Business Journal]]'', August 28, 2007.</ref><ref>Duxbury, Sarah. [http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/04/07/story1.html "Mills College goes to B-school".] ''[[San Francisco Business Times]]'', April 4, 2008.</ref> These efforts led to his listing as one of the ten highest donors in the United States by the ''Chronicle of Philanthropy'' in 2006.<ref name=pbj/> He was also an early signer of [[The Giving Pledge]].<ref>[https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2015/01/entrepreneur_lorrey_lokey_a_ge.html Portland-born entrepreneur Lorry Lokey, benefactor to many colleges, gives Lewis & Clark $2 million to honor top profs] Oregon Live</ref> During his lifetime, Lokey donated over 90% of his fortune,<ref name=stanfordmag>[https://stanfordmag.org/contents/a-philanthropist-at-heart A Philanthropist at Heart] Christine Foster; Stanford Magazine; December 2022.</ref> exceeding {{USD|700 million}}.<ref>[https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/archives/lorry-lokey-on-giving-it-all-away/article_8b6db56a-0669-593b-a9fa-7726671c6fa6.html Lorry Lokey on giving it all away] (Jacob Berkman) Cleveland Jewish News; August 12, 2010.</ref> He was the University of Oregon's 2017-2018 honorary degree recipient.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lorry I. Lokey {{!}} Office of the President |url=https://president.uoregon.edu/honorary-degrees/lorry-i-lokey |access-date=2024-05-07 |website=president.uoregon.edu}}</ref>

In 2018, he donated $10 million to the [[University of Haifa]] for the construction of a new building in downtown [[Haifa]], Israel.<ref name="jtaunivhaifa">{{cite news |title=How a US philanthropist aims to revitalize Haifa |url=https://www.jta.org/2018/05/31/news-opinion/10-million-donation-university-haifa-will-build-downtown-campus |access-date=May 31, 2018 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=May 31, 2018}}</ref>

As of June 2014, Lokey had also donated a total of $139.9 million to the University of Oregon in [[Eugene, Oregon|Eugene]].<ref>{{cite news|title=UO sciences benefit from latest gift from Lorry Lokey|url=http://around.uoregon.edu/content/uo-sciences-benefit-latest-gift-lorry-lokey|access-date=June 18, 2014|publisher=University of Oregon|date=June 6, 2014}}</ref> This includes a $74.5 million donation in 2007 that was the second most ever given to the school, and the largest donation designated for academics.<ref name=pbj/> The 2007 donation went towards the creation of the Lorry I. Lokey Science Advancement and Graduate Education Initiative.<ref name=pbj/>

In October 2008, the [[Stanford School of Medicine]] announced that Lokey would donate $75 million for a research facility.<ref name="med">[http://www.stanforddaily.com/cgi-bin/?p=414] {{Dead link|date=September 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The facility is named the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building.<ref name="med"/> He also donated money to establish a new chemistry building at the [[Ben-Gurion University of the Negev]] in Israel.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cornerstone-Laying Ceremony held for the Lorry I. Lokey Chemistry Building|url=https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/associates/Pages/news/cornerstone_lokey.aspx|date=May 20, 2014|access-date=October 7, 2022|publisher=[[Ben-Gurion University of the Negev]]}}</ref>

==Personal life== Lokey had three daughters. He died in [[Atherton, California]], on October 1, 2022, at age 95.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lorry I. Lokey, alum and philanthropist who transformed Stanford, dies at 95|url=https://news.stanford.edu/report/2022/10/07/lorry-lokey-alum-philanthropist-transformed-stanford-dies-95/|date=October 7, 2022|access-date=October 7, 2022|publisher=[[Stanford University]]}}</ref><ref name=UO2022>{{cite news|title=Remembering Lorry Lokey|url=https://giving.uoregon.edu/s/1540/17/interior.aspx?sid=1540&gid=2&pgid=11927&cid=30508&ecid=30508&crid=0&calpgid=2113&calcid=4773|first=Melody|last=Ward Leslie|access-date=October 7, 2022|publisher=[[University of Oregon]]}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokey, Lorry}} [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:2022 deaths]] [[Category:American chief executives]] [[Category:Jewish American military personnel]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Philanthropists from Oregon]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon]] [[Category:Military personnel from Portland, Oregon]] [[Category:21st-century American philanthropists]] [[Category:Grant High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni]] [[Category:Businesspeople from San Francisco]] [[Category:Stanford University alumni]] [[Category:United States Army soldiers]] [[Category:University of Oregon people]] [[Category:21st-century American Jews]] [[Category:20th-century American Jews]]