Alfred Ford

Alfred Brush Ford (born 1950), also known as Ambarish Das,[4] is an American heir to the Ford fortune. He is a great-grandson of Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company.[3]

Alfred Ford (Ambarish Das)
Ford in 2007
Born1950 (age 69–70)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Other namesAmbarish Das
OccupationBusinessman
TitleChairman of ISKCON project
Chairman of Temple of the Vedic Planetarium[1][2]
Board member ofFord Motor Company
Spouse(s)Sharmila Ford[3]
Children2

Background

Alfred Ford's father was Walter B. Ford II (1920–1991), whose family were prominent in chemical manufacturing in the Downriver area south of Detroit. His mother, Josephine Clay Ford (1923–2005) was the daughter of Edsel Ford (1893–1943), who was the son of Henry Ford (1863–1947).[4] The two Ford families were unrelated to each other; both his father and mother were born with the last name Ford.

Alfred and William Clay Ford, Jr. (b. 1957), the current executive chairman of the Ford Motor Co., are first cousins. Alfred's mother was the sister of William Clay Ford, Sr. (1925–2014), William Clay Ford, Jr.'s father.

Alfred Ford currently serves on the board of directors of privately held digital marketing firm ChannelNet, where he is also an investor. Ford Motor Company was one of ChannelNet's early clients.

Association with the Hare Krishna Movement
Part of a series on
Vaishnavism
Hinduism portal

He is an initiated disciple of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (Srila Prabhupada) since 1974. He first met Bhaktivedanta Swami in Dallas, USA.[5] Alfred Ford joined the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (the Hare Krishnas) in 1975 and that same year he made his first trip to India with Prabhupada. He assisted in the establishment of the first Hindu temple in Hawaii and also donated $500,000 to help establish the Bhaktivedanta Cultural Center in Detroit[6] which was completed in 1983.[3] Alfred Ford has made many significant donations to ISKCON over the years which have assisted ongoing projects to build the Pushpa Samadhi Mandir of Prabhupada. He is the chairman of the Sri Mayapur Temple of the Vedic Planetarium (also called TOVP).[7]

Ford is said to have supported the construction of a Vedic cultural centre in Moscow at an estimated cost of $10 million.[8] He also bought a $600,000 mansion to house a Hare Krishna temple and learning centre in Honolulu.[3]

References
  1. "Alfred B Ford On Gujarat Tour To Raise Funds For ISKCON Temple". Vishwa Gujarat. India. January 29, 2017. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  2. "Ford scion in Gujarat to raise funds for ISKCON temple". The Times of India. India. January 29, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  3. Sangghvi, Malavika (March 6, 2005). "The Billionaire Bhakta". The Times of India. Retrieved August 25, 2006.
  4. "Alfred Ford is Building a Multi-Million Dollar Monument in India". Town & Country. November 23, 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  5. Video on YouTube
  6. Krebs, Albin (November 9, 1981). "Article in The New York Times". Retrieved August 25, 2006.
  7. "Temple of Vedic Planeterium – meet-the-team". Temple of Vedic Planeterium. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  8. "Article in vnn.org". Archived from the original on August 5, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2006.
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