Pete Musser

Pete Musser
Born Warren V. Musser
1928 (age 8990)
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Education Lehigh University
Occupation Chairman of the Musser Group
Known for Billionaire on paper during the dot-com bubble

Warren V. "Pete" Musser (born 1928) is chairman of the Musser Group. He is formerly the founder of Safeguard Scientifics, a venture capital firm that invested in technology companies. At the peak of the dot-com bubble, Musser was a billionaire on paper; however, when the bubble burst, he lost almost his entire fortune.[1][2]

Musser is a philanthropist and The Musser Foundation has donated over $50 million to organizations including the Boy Scouts of America.[3] Musser has served on the board of directors of the Cradle of Liberty Council. The Musser Award for Excellence in Leadership from Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University and the Musser Scout Reservation in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania are named after Musser.

Early life and education

Musser was born in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering at Lehigh University in 1949.[4]

Career

In 1952, at the age of 25, Musser went to work as a stockbroker trainee for Hornblower & Weeks. The next year, he left the company with others to form their own company.[3]

In 1955, his company acquired Safe-Guard Corporation and in 1966, Musser's firm changed its name to Safeguard Industries. Musser invested in technology companies in Philicon Valley such as QVC, Comcast, and Novell, which resulted in a $200 million profit.[3][5][6]

In March 1996, when Ken Fox and Walter Buckley left Safeguard Scientifics to form Internet Capital Group (later Actua Corporation), they asked Musser for $5 million in funding, but he insisted on investing $15 million. At the height of the dot-com bubble, the company had a market capitalization of almost $60 billion, making Musser a paper billionaire.[7]

Musser was a director of TyCom, a subsidiary of Tyco International, and in December 2000, he borrowed $14.1 million from Dennis Kozlowski and Mark H. Swartz, Tyco executives.[8][9]

On November 29, 2000, after the burst of the dot-com bubble, to repay a loan, Musser was forced to sell 6.5 million of his shares in Safeguard Scientifics for $8.25 per share, or $53.7 million. The stock price was down over 90% from the peak of $99 per share 9 months earlier. This left him with 560,000 shares in the company.[10]

Musser was a member of the board of directors of Brandywine Realty Trust from 1996, when the company acquired properties from a joint venture of Safeguard Scientifics, until 2002.[11]

In 2003, Musser defaulted on a $26.5 million loan from Safeguard Scientifics.[12]

Personal life

Musser is divorced from Betty K. Musser (née Umstad)[13] and Hilary Grinker Musser, who is 39 years younger than him.[14]

Musser spent lavishly on his residences, building his-and-hers tennis courts on his Nantucket residence and spending $100,000 on special garage doors.[8]

Musser has contributed to Republican causes.[15]

References

  1. Key, Peter (August 5, 2002). "2001: Pete Musser's last stand". American City Business Journals.
  2. Gasparino, Charlie (March 5, 2016). "Life After Lehman Brothers: Dick Fuld's Murky Investment Secrets". Fox Business.
  3. 1 2 3 Torres, Roberto (July 20, 2017). "Famed Philly investor Pete Musser has a word of warning for Elon Musk". Technically Media.
  4. "Lehigh U. Receives $10 Million Alumnus Warren Musser Donates The Largest Sum Ever From An Individual". The Morning Call. February 16, 1996.
  5. Dubow, Charles (October 3, 2000). "Silicon Valley Forge". Forbes.
  6. "Pete Musser built his company over 40 years. Then he was Seduced by the Internet. And his billion-dollar fortune melted away". Fortune. March 5, 2001.
  7. Serwer, Andy (September 17, 2001). "Following The Money Some 680 men, women, techies, and, yes, schools got pre-IPO shares of Internet highflier ICG. Here's how they became insiders and what they did as the stock crashed". Fortune.
  8. 1 2 Berenson, Alex (March 29, 2002). "Board Member Of Tyco Unit Owed Millions To 2 Executives". The New York Times.
  9. Cohen, Laurie P.; Maremont, Mark (September 24, 2002). "Tyco's Dealings With Musser Are Examined by Prosecutors". The Wall Street Journal. (subscription required)
  10. Key, Peter (January 15, 2001). "Safeguard CEO, wife borrow $14M on vacation house". American City Business Journals.
  11. Kostelni, Natalie (April 15, 2002). "Musser to step down as trustee of Brandywine". American City Business Journals.
  12. "SAFEGUARD SCIENTIFICS, INC. September 2003 Form 10-Q Quarterly Report". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  13. "Betty K. Musser, 91, philanthropist". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 14, 2015.
  14. Kostelni, Natalie (March 3, 2008). "$3M opening auction bid sought for Musser mansion". American City Business Journals.
  15. "Republican Federal Cmte of Pennsylvania Contributors". Center for Responsive Politics.
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