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John Kluge Jr.

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American venture capitalist

John Kluge Jr.
Born1984 (age 39–40)
NationalityAmerican
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Babson College (MBA)
Alma materPhillips Academy
Occupation(s)Investor, philanthropist, activist
Parent(s)John Kluge
Patricia Kluge

John W. Kluge Jr. (born 1984) is an American venture capitalist, philanthropist, and activist.

Early life

Kluge is the son of the late billionaire John Kluge, founder of the media conglomerate Metromedia, and his wife, Patricia Kluge (nÊe Patricia Maureen Rose), who adopted him in 1984 and raised him on their Charlottesville, Virginia estate, Albemarle House. He graduated from Phillips Academy in 2001 and Columbia University in 2005. He also has an MBA from the F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business of Babson College.

Biography

After college, Kluge worked for several think tanks, including the anti-poverty think tank Rock and Wrap it Up, and the EastWest Institute, where he was made program coordinator for the institute's cybersecurity initiative.

Kluge founded Eirene, an angel investment firm that supports social causes and provides consulting services on cause marketing and analytic giving. One of his investments is Fonderie 47, a social enterprise that recovers weapons from conflict zones and melts them down to produce luxury items such as watches and accessories. In 2012, he co-founded Toilet Hackers, a social enterprise building sanitation projects in underdeveloped regions that lack adequate access to toilets. He also launched the first worldwide "Toilet Hackathon," in partnership with the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to gather entrepreneurs worldwide to brainstorm for global sanitation problems.

In 2018, he launched the Refugee Investment Network, a philanthropy that directs private capital to refugee entrepreneurs. It has secured more than $200 million in commitments as of 2018 and aims to mobilize at least $1 billion in investment by 2030.

Kluge serves as a trustee of Babson College and was a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies's task force on global forced migration that was formed in 2017. He is the author of two books: Charity & Philanthropy for Dummies (2013) and John Kluge: Stories (2015), published by Columbia University Press.

Personal life

Kluge is married to Christine Mahoney, a professor of public policy and politics at the University of Virginia. The couple have co-founded the Alight Fund, an investment platform for refugee entrepreneurs.

Kluge inherited his father's estate in Virginia, but it was sold to The Trump Organization who previously purchased his mother's adjacent vineyard and winery operations that became the Trump Winery. In 2017, after President Donald Trump announced a tariff against Mexican products, Kluge raised $25,000 as a proposal for a flag-raising ceremony in front of the winery to celebrate Mexican-American partnership. In 2021, he helped launch the "truth farm," a public art installation dedicated to conversations about immigration, next to the Trump family winery.

References

  1. "John W. Kluge Jr. '05 Meets with Kluge Scholars". Columbia College Today. 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "How This Heir Is Helping Turn Guns Into Jewlery [sic]". Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  3. ^ Pfanner, Eric (April 18, 2013). "Competition Designed to Spread Basic Technologies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  4. DeSanctis, Marcia (October 14, 2016). "The Strange Saga of Trump Winery". Town & Country. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  5. "Andover magazine: Spring 2014". Issuu. June 3, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  6. Tennant, Christopher (January 1, 2008). The Official Filthy Rich Handbook. Workman Publishing. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-7611-4703-9.
  7. "Speaker | Milken Institute". milkeninstitute.org. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  8. Schmitt, Jeff (May 7, 2017). "2017 Best MBAs: John Kluge, Babson College (F.W. Olin)". Poets&Quants. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  9. "Why Parents Must Be On Top of Their Kids' Online Escapades". HuffPost. April 21, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  10. Brunwasser, John (February 10, 2010). "How Syd Mendelbaum and Rock and Wrap It Up! Fight Hunger". Op Ed News. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  11. Olson, Nancy. "Peerless Fonderie 47 Pen Funds Destruction Of AK-47s". Forbes. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  12. "This "Philanthropunk" Heir Has a Big Goal: A Toilet in Every Home". Inside Philanthropy. May 14, 2014. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  13. "Media Titan's Son Paves Path to Profit for Refugee Entrepreneurs". Bloomberg.com. November 21, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  14. "Babson College Announces Presidential Search Process". www.babson.edu. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  15. "Confronting the Global Forced Migration Crisis" (PDF). Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  16. Jenkins, Kate. "John Kluge Talks 'Charity And Philanthropy For Dummies'". Forbes. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  17. "The Difference You Can Make - John Kluge: Stories". www.college.columbia.edu. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  18. Bragg, Michael (June 19, 2017). "Kluge, UVa professor part of unique effort to help refugees". The Daily Progress. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  19. "Christine Mahoney". Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy | University of Virginia. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  20. "Win-Win-Win: Professor's Plan Seeks to Benefit Refugees, Hosts – and Investors". UVA Today. June 22, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  21. "Donald Trump buys Patricia Kluge's mansion for bargain price of $6.5 million; now owns entire estate". The Washington Post. September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
  22. Kashino, Marisa M. (October 5, 2015). "The Greatest, Most Amazing, Absolutely HUGE Story of How Donald Trump Took Over Virginia's Biggest Vineyard". Washingtonian. Washington Magazine, Inc. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  23. Fabrikant, Geraldine (April 7, 2017). "Patricia Kluge's Third Act Is Sparkly". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  24. "Local philanthropist proposes raising a "Bandera Monumental" on edge of Trump Winery". Charlottesville Tomorrow. June 2019. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  25. "'Truth Farm' installation near Trump Winery hopes to spark broader conversations about immigration". Charlottesville Tomorrow. April 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
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