Tim Dunn
Born
Timothy Marvin Dunn

(1955-12-18) December 18, 1955
Littlefield, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materTexas Tech University
OccupationBusinessman
SpouseTerri
Children6
Websitewww.timdunn.org

Timothy Marvin Dunn (born December 18, 1955) is an American businessman. He is the chief executive officer of CrownQuest Operating, an oil and gas business he co-founded in 1996. A billionaire,[1] Dunn is influential in Texas politics, and is a major financial backer of various politically conservative causes and organizations.

Early life and education

Dunn grew up in Big Spring, Texas, the youngest of four boys. As an Eagle Scout, he graduated from Big Spring High School in 1974 and earned a degree in chemical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1978.[2]

Career

Dunn began his career as an engineer at Exxon Production Research Company, where he worked from 1978 to 1980. He went on to work in banking at First City National Bank in Midland, where he stayed until 1987. During his time with First City, he was senior vice president and manager of oil and gas lending.[3] Dunn then served as an executive at Parker & Parsley Petroleum until 1995, where he became chief financial officer.[4] While at Parker & Parsley Petroleum, he oversaw securities transactions and became a supporter of tort reform.[2]

In 1996, Dunn founded his own oil and gas company which became known as CrownQuest Operating.[5] Dunn serves as CrownQuest's chief executive officer. In 2013, Dunn was named as top CEO of a large company by the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association and Texas Monthly magazine.[6] Dunn is a billionaire.[1]

Political involvement

Dunn is influential in state and local politics in Texas[7] and has been called the most effective political donor in Texas.[8] A backer of conservative causes,[5] he has spent millions of dollars encouraging the Texas Republican Party and Texas Legislature to become more conservative.[5][7][9][10] In 2006, he formed the conservative advocacy group Empower Texans[11] and was the group's primary financial contributor.[12] Dunn serves on the board of the Community News Foundation, a media organization that publishes the Texas Scorecard.[13] Dunn is a founding board member of Citizens for Self-Governance, which spearheads the Convention of States project, a national effort seeking to call an Article V convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution.[2] He is also a member of the board of directors of the Lucy Burns Institute[14] and vice chairman of the board of directors at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.[9][10]

A 2022 report by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism found that Dunn had provided major funding to the Defend Texas Liberty PAC, which spent over $5 million challenging Republican incumbents it viewed as insufficiently conservative.[15]

As of August 2022, Federal Election Commission data showed that Dunn had made more than 300 political donations since 2008.[1]

Political views

Criminal justice

Dunn helped to found the Center for Effective Criminal Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The center is part of the Right on Crime movement; it advocates criminal justice reform and emphasizes restorative justice and alternatives to incarceration to reduce the prisoner population.[16][17][18] Dunn supported juvenile-justice reform legislation in 2011.[10]

Tax reform

Dunn opposed a 2006 Texas tax reform proposal to cut property taxes and replace them with new business taxes. He presented a proposal to the Texas Tax Reform Commission showing how school property taxes could be eliminated by using surplus tax revenue and curbing spending.[2]

Educational and religious involvement

Dunn co-founded the Midland Classical Academy, a nonprofit Christian school, where he serves on the board of trustees.[7] The academy uses the Socratic method to teach a curriculum rooted in the development of western civilization.[19] Dunn serves on the board of directors of Grace School of Theology, a Christian seminary with a vision to become "A Seminary to the World," and the First Liberty Institute, a Christian legal defense organization.[5][20] He is the chairman of the Christian Advisory Board of the Israel Allies Foundation, a non-governmental organization formed in 2007 by Israeli rabbi and politician Binyamin Elon to encourage cooperation among faith-based supporters of Israel in parliaments and legislatures worldwide.[21] Dunn, who Forbes called "staunchly anti-abortion", funds adoption services and foster homes for over 300 children in West Texas.[1]

Personal life

Dunn met his wife, Terri, while attending Texas Tech University and they married after his junior year of college.[2] They have six children and 19 grandchildren. Their two-year-old granddaughter, Moriah Wimberly, died in 2015.[22] In 2018, Dunn wrote a book about the experience of losing his granddaughter titled Yellow Balloons: Finding Power To Live Above Your Circumstances.[23][24] The Dunns reside in Midland, Texas, where they are members of Midland Bible Church. One of Dunn's sons is the Christian singer-songwriter David Dunn.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Helman, Christopher (August 18, 2022). "Crude Clairvoyant: Texas' New Bible-Thumping Oil Billionaire". Forbes. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ratcliffe, R.G. "The Power Issue: Tim Dunn Is Pushing the Republican Party Into the Arms of God". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Earth scientists schedule meeting". San Angelo Standard-Times. 14 July 1985. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 Dunn, Tim. "My Life". Tim Dunn. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Batheja, Aman (2014-05-11). "In Tim Dunn, Far Right Has Big Spender Who Gets Results". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  6. ↑ McEwen, Mella (December 2013). "Midlanders among Top Producers recognized by TIPRO". Midland Reporter-Telegram. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Mann, Dave (October 2, 2012). "Who Really Runs Texas?". Texas Observer. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "Dunn plays to win when it comes to limited government". Midland Reporter-Telegram. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  9. 1 2 Blakeslee, Nate (January 2013). "Primary Targets". Texas Observer. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 Kilday Hart, Patricia (2011-05-22). "Texas lawmakers in lockstep on juvenile-justice reform efforts". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Platoff, Emma (29 January 2019). "In the Texas House, they're seen as lobbyists. In the Senate, they sit at the press table". Texas Tribune. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Batheja, Aman (May 10, 2014). "A Big Spender Aims to Push State Politics Further Right". New York Times. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  13. ↑ Bartholomew, Jem (September 19, 2022). "The rise and rise of partisan local newsrooms". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  14. ↑ "Board of Directors". Lucy Burns Institute. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  15. ↑ Bengani, Priyanjana (October 31, 2022). "'Pink slime' network gets $1.6M election boost from PACs backed by oil-and-gas, shipping magnates". Columbia Journalism Review.
  16. ↑ King, Jr., Neil (2013-06-21). "As Prisons Squeeze Budgets, GOP Rethinks Crime Focus". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  17. ↑ May, Ashley (February 2013). "The Philanthropy Roundtable Goes to Prison". Philanthropy Roundtable. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Dagan, David (November–December 2012). "The Conservative War on Prisons". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  19. ↑ Smith, Morgan (2014-05-14). "In Midland, a political donor with a private school". Midland Reporter-Telegram. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  20. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Grace School of Theology. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  21. ↑ "IAF Christian Advisory Board". Israel Allies Foundation. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  22. ↑ "In Memory of Moriah Wimberly". Timdunn.org. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  23. ↑ Dunn, Tim (June 12, 2018). "The Colossians 3:23 Power of Your Ordinary Life". Charisma Magazine. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  24. ↑ "Yellow Balloons". Yellow Balloons. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.