{{Short description|American investment banker (1936–2022)}} {{Infobox person | name = Thomas A. Saunders III | image = Thomas Saunders by Gage Skidmore.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1936|6|01}} | birth_place = Ivor, Virginia, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2022|9|09|1936|6|01}} | death_place = Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | known_for = Former chairman of the Heritage Foundation, co-founder of Saunders Karp & Megrue, winner of the National Humanities Medal. | education = {{nowrap|Virginia Military Institute <small>(BS)</small>}}<br />University of Virginia <small>(MBA)</small> | occupation = | political_party = Republican | boards = | spouse = Jordan Saunders |module= {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes | allegiance = United States | branch = United States Army Reserve | service_years = 1958–1964 | rank = Captain | unit = }} }}
'''Thomas A. Saunders III''' (June 1, 1936 – September 9, 2022) was an American investment banker and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the private equity firm Saunders Karp & Megrue, a winner of the National Humanities Medal and served as the chairman of The Heritage Foundation.
==Early life and military service== Saunders graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1958, with a B.S. in electrical engineering, and from the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business with an MBA in 1967.<ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite web|title=Thomas A. Saunders III: Executive Profile & Biography|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=663424&privcapId=257260965|publisher=Bloomberg|accessdate=December 6, 2016}}</ref>
From 1958 to 1964, Saunders served in the United States Army Reserve, attaining the rank of Captain before retiring from the military.<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Memory: Thomas A. Saunders III '58 |url=https://www.vmialumni.org/in-memory-thomas-a-saunders-iii-58/ |work=Virginia Military Institute |access-date=June 1, 2026}}</ref>
==Career== Saunders was a Managing Director of Morgan Stanley from 1974 to August 1989. For ten years he headed the financial services corporation's equity syndications group, developing relations with corporate clients, including DuPont, Eastman Kodak, Exxon, General Motors, and USX.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/07/business/business-people-morgan-stanley-losing-head-of-buyout-fund.html?scp=5&sq=Thomas%20A.%20Saunders&st=Search |title=BUSINESS PEOPLE; Morgan Stanley Losing Head of Buyout Fund |author=Bartlett, Sarah |date=August 7, 1989 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/21/business/2-more-leave-morgan-posts.html?pagewanted=1 |title=2 More Leave Morgan Posts |date=September 21, 1989 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> In the early 1980s, Saunders raised $3.8 billion in equity for AT&T in just 18 months. Following the breakup of the Bell System, he headed the advisory team that determined how AT&T would sell its regional subsidiaries. When British Telecommunications was undergoing privatization in 1983, Saunders was appointed as the company's senior U.S. adviser.<ref name="NYT"/> He was then hired by Conrail president Stanley Crane to determine a privatization plan for the rail company.<ref>Smith, Lee; Marmon, Lucretia (May 25, 1987). [http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1987/05/25/69055/index.htm "IS THIS ANY WAY TO SELL A RAILROAD?"], ''Fortune''.</ref> At Morgan Stanley, Saunders raised $2.2 billion to create a leveraged buyout fund, which he chaired.<ref name="NYT"/>
Saunders co-founded the private equity firm Saunders Karp & Megrue in 1990. He was a Dollar Tree director since 1993. He has been the President and CEO of Ivor & Co., LLC, a private investment company, since 2000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Meet Our Team: ThomasSaunders III; Board Member|url=http://www.vitalconnect.com/our-team/details/saunders-iii/22|publisher=Vital Connect|accessdate=8 April 2016}}</ref> Saunders also worked briefly for Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company.<ref name="NYT"/> From 1995 to 2016, Saunders was an Independent Director of Hibbett Sports. He was on the Board of Directors of Teavana Holdings until it was bought out by Starbucks on December 31, 2012.<ref name="Bloomberg"/>
==Political activity== Saunders was a major donor to the Republican Party. He donated $500,000 to the Republican National Committee and contributed to the campaigns of John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Michele Bachmann.<ref name="Ioffe"/>
In April 2009, Saunders was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. During his tenure, the sister organization Heritage Action for America was founded and Jim DeMint was hired as President.<ref name="Ioffe">{{cite news|last1=Ioffe|first1=Julia|title=A 31-Year-Old Is Tearing Apart the Heritage Foundation|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/115688/heritage-foundations-michael-needham-tears-apart-right-wing|magazine=New Republic|date=November 24, 2013}}</ref>
==Philanthropy== Saunders gave the University of Virginia some $17 million during his lifetime. He was chairman of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation's Board of Trustees, and a bridge on the Thomas Jefferson Parkway was named in recognition of a gift from him and his wife.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saunders Bridge |url=http://www.monticello.org/site/visit/saunders-bridge |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117200815/http://www.monticello.org/site/visit/saunders-bridge |archive-date=2015-11-17 |website=Thomas Jefferson's Monticello}}</ref> He and his wife endowed the Matthew C. Horner chair in military theory at Marine Corps University. They chaired the 1995 Dinner on the Lawn at UVA, to kick off a billion-dollar capital campaign. In 2007 the Saunders hosted the annual gala for the New-York Historical Society at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/2008_Medalists.html#Saunders|title=News Archive|work=neh.gov|accessdate=14 November 2015|archive-date=14 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121214093544/http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/2008_Medalists.html#Saunders|url-status=dead}}</ref> He and his wife were awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=President Bush Awards 2008 National Humanities Medals|url=https://www.neh.gov/news/press-release/2008-11-17|publisher=National Endowment for the Humanities|accessdate=20 April 2017|language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Saunders was married to Mary Jordan Saunders (née Horner). They lived in New York City for many years and later moved to Palm Beach, Florida.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hofheinz|first1=Darrell|title=Glazers sell landmarked home for $12.6M|url=http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/glazers-sell-landmarked-home-on-middle-road-for-12/ngZQG/|work=Palm Beach Daily News|date=July 6, 2014}}</ref> Together they had one daughter, Calvert Saunders Moore,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lizza|first1=Ryan|title=The ATM for Bush's America|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/politics/national/features/12265/index3.html|work=New York|date=July 25, 2005}}</ref> a son, Thomas A. Saunders IV, and four grandchildren.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/25/style/weddings-calvert-saunders-c-a-f-griffin.html?scp=6&sq=Thomas%20A.%20Saunders&st=Search |title=WEDDINGS; Calvert Saunders, C. A. F. Griffin |date=September 25, 1994 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/09/style/calvert-saunders-george-moore.html?scp=8&sq=Thomas%20A.%20Saunders&st=Search |title=Calvert Saunders, George Moore |date=May 9, 1999 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Saunders was a member of the Wall Street chapter of the Kappa Beta Phi secret society since 1979.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Roose|first1=Kevin|title=Revealed: The Full Membership List of Wall Street's Secret Society|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/revealed-members-of-kappa-beta-phi.html|work=Daily Intelligencer|date=February 18, 2014}}</ref>
Saunders died on September 9, 2022, at the age of 86.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-24 |title=In Memoriam: Thomas A. Saunders III, Alumnus With 'Generous Spirit' |url=https://news.virginia.edu/content/memoriam-thomas-saunders-iii-alumnus-generous-spirit |access-date=2026-03-05 |website=news.virginia.edu |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|33em}}
==External links== * {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xXwPW8np0oEC&dq=thomas+saunders&pg=PA627 |title=The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance |author=Chernow, Ron |publisher=Grove Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-8021-3829-3}} * {{C-SPAN|1008426}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Thomas A. 03}} Category:American financiers Category:American philanthropists Category:Virginia Military Institute alumni Category:University of Virginia Darden School of Business alumni Category:The Heritage Foundation Category:National Humanities Medal recipients Category:New York (state) Republicans Category:Florida Republicans Category:1936 births Category:2022 deaths