Ty Warner
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts; Ty Inc.
FUNDING AREAS: Arts & Culture, Education & Youth, Health & Human Services
OVERVIEW: Ty Warner does not appear to have a formal charitable vehicle but has given several big individual gifts to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, which was the home of the Ty Warner Sea Center. Other interests are youth causes and health.
BACKGROUND: Born in 1944 in Illinois, H. Ty Warner attended Kalamazoo College in Michigan. In the 1980s, he started a toy company making small stuffed animals which he named Beanie Babies. He is the CEO, sole owner and founder of Ty Inc. and has significant investments in hotels, property and golf courses. Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts include the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City.
ISSUES:
ARTS & CULTURE: Ty Warner maintains a home in Santa Barbara, California, and has supported causes in this geographic area. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History was once home to the $8.1 million Ty Warner Sea Center, whose name returned to the Sea Center a few years ago. In the late 1990s, Warner donated $7 million toward the development of Ty Warner Park in Westmont, Illinois.
EDUCATION & YOUTH: Last decade, Warner gave a $6.3 million matching donation to the Andre Agassi Foundation for underprivileged children in Las Vegas. Warner has also supported the International Toy Bank.
HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Through his company, Ty Inc., Warner has created and marketed several toys with philanthropic tie-ins. The profits from a Beanie Baby named Max the Dog were donated to NEXT for Autism, and the profits from a bear toy named Hope were given to the United Way’s Worldwide COVID-19 fund. Warner has been associated with Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Children’s Hunger Fund and the American Red Cross.
LOOKING FORWARD: Warner keeps a low profile, has never married and has no children. The billionaire is in his 70s now and may yet be primed for greater giving.
