Ken Langone
Kenneth Langone | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenneth Gerard Langone Sr. September 16, 1935 Roslyn Heights, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of The Home Depot, philanthropist |
Kenneth Gerard Langone Sr. (born September 16, 1935) is an American billionaire entrepreneur widely recognized for facilitating the initial funding for the founders of The Home Depot. He is also a prominent contributor to the Republican Party.
Early life
Langone was born in Roslyn Heights, New York to a family of Italian-American heritage; his father worked as a plumber while his mother was employed in a cafeteria. He pursued higher education at Bucknell University and later attended the New York University Stern School of Business.
Business career
Langone launched his professional journey in the early 1960s at the Wall Street financial services company R.W. Pressprich, where he played a key role in expanding business operations. In 1968, he convinced Ross Perot to allow Pressprich to manage the initial public offering (IPO) of Electronic Data Systems. The following year, Langone was appointed president of Pressprich.
In 1974, Langone established the venture capital firm Invemed and arranged financing for Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank to start Home Depot, which evolved into a global retail giant employing over 450,000 people—marking his most significant business accomplishment.
Langone held a position on the board of directors at General Electric from 1999 until 2005, where he defended CEO Jack Welch’s leadership and attributed subsequent declines to Welch’s successors. His board memberships also included companies such as Geeknet, Database Technologies, ChoicePoint, Unifi, and Yum! Brands, Inc..
Between 1999 and 2003, Langone chaired the Compensation Committee of the New York Stock Exchange. During this tenure, he approved former Chairman Richard Grasso’s disputed $139.5 million compensation package, which was later legally contested but dismissed in 2008 following changes in the NYSE’s corporate structure.
As reported by Forbes, Langone’s estimated net worth in 2024 stands at around $8 billion.
Political involvement and campaign donations
Langone is recognized as a significant donor to the Republican Party, describing himself as a "dedicated and enthusiastic Republican." He opposes policies such as single-payer healthcare, free college tuition, and guaranteed minimum income, considering them forms of "socialism."
A close associate of Ross Perot, Langone participated in the "Business Brigade" supporting Perot’s 1992 presidential run and acted as an advisor during that campaign. He has contributed substantial funds to the Republican National Committee and Republican-affiliated organizations including Karl Rove’s American Crossroads super PAC and Norm Coleman’s American Action Network. In 2008, Langone acted as a bundler for Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign.
In the 2012 election cycle, Langone played a major role in financing efforts opposing Barack Obama, initially leading affluent donors to recruit Chris Christie before ultimately backing Mitt Romney. He voiced criticism of the Affordable Care Act but opposed the government shutdown in 2013 that aimed to block its implementation. In 2014, Langone sparked controversy by comparing increased U.S. taxes on wealthy individuals to Nazi propaganda. In July 2022, he co-founded an alliance of U.S. business leaders focused on fostering constructive dialogue to enhance U.S.-China relations.
Langone initially supported Christie’s 2016 presidential campaign with a $250,000 donation to a pro-Christie super PAC but later commended Donald Trump as "a highly influential positive force." After Christie withdrew from the race, Langone shifted support to both John Kasich and Trump, contributing financially to both campaigns. In 2019, he expressed approval of Trump’s tariffs targeting China. Following the 2017 Charlottesville rally, Langone criticized Trump’s response yet continued endorsing his economic policies. After the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, Langone stated feeling "betrayed" by Trump’s conduct but maintained financial backing for initiatives opposing Democratic senators and donated $500,000 to Americans for Prosperity, supported by the Koch network.
In December 2023, Langone publicly endorsed Nikki Haley for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 and became a leading donor to a super PAC supporting her candidacy. However, after Haley’s performance in the January 2024 Iowa caucuses fell short of expectations, he announced he would withhold further substantial contributions unless she showed strong results in New Hampshire. He also expressed his belief that Trump would probably secure the nomination and indicated he would "likely" cast his vote for Trump if he became the nominee.
Personal life
Together with his wife Elaine Langone, he is the father of three sons: Kenneth G. Jr., Stephen, and Bruce Langone. His primary residence is in Sands Point, New York, and he has previously lived on Elderfields Road in the nearby community of Flower Hill. Additionally, he owns a seasonal home located in North Palm Beach, Florida.
A committed member of the Catholic faith, Langone has contributed financially to the church and held a position on the board of St. Patrick's Cathedral. He was honored with knighthood by Pope Benedict XVI as part of the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Langone has openly expressed criticism of Pope Benedict’s successor, Pope Francis, particularly in response to Francis’s remarks concerning wealth and poverty found in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium.
Philanthropy
Langone and his spouse were among the initial endorsers of The Giving Pledge.
He has contributed $300 million to the NYU School of Medicine and NYU Medical Center, which was renamed NYU Langone Health to honor his support. This includes a $100 million commitment made in 2018 toward a $450 million campaign aimed at providing tuition-free education for all medical students. Langone holds trustee roles at NYU Langone Health, the Harlem Children's Zone, the Robin Hood Foundation, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. From 1981 until 1996, he served on the board of Bucknell University; he and his wife gave $11 million in 1999 for an athletics center and donated roughly $42 million between 2013 and 2017.
In 2019, Langone made a donation exceeding $5 million to the Animal Medical Center in New York City.
Awards and Honors
In 2024, Langone was honored with the Golden Plate Award by the American Academy of Achievement, acknowledging his outstanding achievements in business.
In popular media
In the 2017 HBO film The Wizard of Lies, Langone is depicted by Ray Iannicelli, portraying his refusal to invest in Bernie Madoff’s fraudulent schemes. He also appears in the documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, where he discusses his rivalry with former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
External links
- Firm Mines Wealth Of Personal Data, Washington Post, March 14, 2006
- ChoicePoint-FBI Deal Raises New Privacy Questions, consumeraffairs.com, May 16, 2006
- N.Y.U. Medical Center gets Another $100 Million Gift, New York Times, April 16, 2008
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1935 births
- Living people
- American businesspeople in retailing
- American financiers
- American corporate directors
- American billionaires
- American investment bankers
- Businesspeople from New York (state)
- Bucknell University alumni
- General Electric people
- 21st-century American philanthropists
- New York Stock Exchange people
- People from Roslyn Heights, New York
- People from Flower Hill, New York
- People from Sands Point, New York
- Roslyn High School alumni
- New York (state) Republicans
- New York University Stern School of Business alumni
- The Home Depot people
- Yum! Brands people
- Knights of St. Gregory the Great
- Catholics from New York (state)
- American people of Italian descent
- Businesspeople awarded knighthoods