NET WORTH: Unknown
SOURCE OF WEALTH: DUNN Capital Management
FUNDING AREAS: Policy (Libertarian), Florida Community
OVERVIEW: William Dunn and his wife Rebecca move their philanthropy through the Dunn Foundation, whose mission is to advance the understanding and practice of classical liberalism, market capitalism, free enterprise, individual political liberty and economic liberty principally through education and persuasion. According to available tax filings, the foundation awarded $4.5 million in grants in 2018.
BACKGROUND: William A. Dunn earned a B.S. in engineering physics from the University of Kansas in 1960 and a doctor of philosophy in theoretical physics from Northwestern University in 1966. After receiving his Ph.D., he held post-doctoral research and faculty positions with the University of California and Pomona College, as well as conducted operations research and systems analysis studies for the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and the Department of Defense. In 1974, Dunn founded DUNN Capital Management, a firm that was among the first to apply computer technology to investment.
ISSUES:
LIBERTARIAN POLICY: Dunn calls himself a "classical liberal" and has been a longtime supporter and board member of free market policy organizations such as Reason Foundation, Cato Institute, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Institute for Justice, and the Property and Environment Research Center. The Dunn Foundation's mission is to "advance the understanding and practice of classical liberalism, market capitalism, free enterprise, individual political liberty and economic liberty principally through education and persuasion."
Other grantees have included the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the Bluegrass Institute, Americans for Limited Government, the Heartland Institute, and the Institute for Humane Studies.
Chapman University is also an important site of philanthropy. The couple gave millions to endow a chair honoring the continuing work of Nobel laureate Vernon L. Smith, a Chapman professor of economics and law. Longtime friends Dunn and Smith are both UKansas graduates and it's worth noting that Dunn worked in academia in Southern California for a time.
FLORIDA COMMUNITY: While much of the Dunn couple's work is decidedly partisan, Dunn's Foundation grantees have also included outfits like the Society of the Four Arts, a cultural institution in Palm Beach. The family has also supported organizations like KidSafe Foundation. Rebecca has been active on such boards as The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and Palm Beach Symphony.
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