- Richard C. Blum made his early fortune by buying Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for about $8 million in 1967 and selling it to Mattel for about $40 million in 1971.
- He later founded Blum Capital, served on major corporate and UC governance boards, and built a reputation as a hard-nosed dealmaker.
- After confronting poverty firsthand, he shifted significant energy to global development philanthropy, including founding the Blum Center at UC Berkeley and related efforts across the UC system.
- His legacy highlights a hybrid model that marries contrarian investing discipline with scalable, results-focused anti-poverty giving, raising questions about how well it translates today.
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The story of Richard C. Blum exemplifies a rare combination of opportunistic investing, social consciousness, and strategic philanthropy. His acquisition of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967 for ~$8 million and its sale in 1971 for ~$40 million established him early on as a dealmaker who could identify undervalued assets and realize outsized returns. This early success provided both capital and credibility for Blum’s later ventures.
Beyond investment, Blum cultivated a reputation for boldness in governance and philanthropy. Holding leadership roles such as chairman of CB Richard Ellis and as a UC Regent, he pushed institutional reform and efficiency, demonstrating that the methods of dealmaking can cross over into non-profit and public sector leadership.
Crucially, Blum’s philanthropy was shaped by experience—namely exposure to poverty during mountain treks—and underlying philosophies: action at scale, interdisciplinary solutions, effectiveness, and avoiding over-reliance on government. He founded the Blum Center at UC Berkeley, then expanded similar centers across the University of California system.
Strategic implications for investors and philanthropists include: (1) resilience in contrarian or turnaround deals can yield outsized returns, as in his circus deal; (2) combining financial discipline with mission-orientation enhances credibility and impact in philanthropic work; (3) embedding innovation and results measurement helps in scaling solutions effectively.
Open questions include: How replicable is Blum’s hybrid model of investing + philanthropy today, especially given increasing scrutiny around impact metrics and ESG expectations? What lessons does his experience offer for emerging investors and donors in adapting to digital and globalized challenges? How did his successors sustain his legacy and whether institutional inertia or market dynamics altered the execution of his vision?
Supporting Notes
- In 1967 Blum and partners acquired Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for ~$8 million. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blum_Capital?utm_source=openai))
- Four years later, in 1971, Blum sold the circus to Mattel for ~$40 million. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blum_Capital?utm_source=openai))
- Blum founded Blum Capital in 1975, based in San Francisco, focusing on leveraged buyouts, PIPE, and growth capital in small- and midsized companies. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blum_Capital?utm_source=openai))
- He served on the boards of CB Richard Ellis, URS Corporation, Northwest Airlines, Myer Pty Ltd., Fairmont Raffles Holdings, among others. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_C._Blum?utm_source=openai))
- Moved to poverty work after experiencing hardship firsthand (treks in the Himalayas), then founded the Blum Center at UC Berkeley; later established a campus-wide center at UC Irvine. ([blumcenter.uci.edu](https://blumcenter.uci.edu/2022/03/03/in-memoriam/?utm_source=openai))
- At Brookings’ Blum Roundtable, he promoted locally-led, innovation-based development interventions, with scaling when successful, avoiding excessive dependency on governmental structures. ([brookings.edu](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/an-accident-of-geography-richard-blum-and-the-new-breed-of-development-philanthropists/?utm_source=openai))
- Born July 31, 1935; educated at UC Berkeley (BS, MBA); died February 27, 2022. ([en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_C._Blum?utm_source=openai))