Robert Haas
Born
Robert Bradley Haas

(1947-06-12)June 12, 1947
DiedSeptember 28, 2021(2021-09-28) (aged 74)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materYale University
Harvard Law School
Occupations
  • Investor
  • photographer

Robert Bradley Haas (June 12, 1947 – September 28, 2021) was an American investor, photographer, and motorcycle collector.

Early life and education

Haas was born in Cleveland.[1] He grew up there, but left home when he was a high school junior, moving to a rooming house.[2] He received a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale University in 1969 and a degree in law from Harvard Law School in 1972.[3]

Financial career

In 1984 he and Thomas Hicks formed the investment company Hicks & Haas in Dallas, Texas.[1] Together, they purchased 49 percent of the soft drink companies 7-Up and Dr Pepper and then resold the combined companies in 1988 to Prudential-Bache Securities for $600 million.[1]

After Hicks & Haas dissolved in 1989,[4] Haas co-founded Haas Wheat & Harrison in 1992 to focus on middle-market transactions. Among his co-founders were Thomas Harrison, who had previously worked with Haas at Hicks & Haas and Douglas Wheat, a former investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.[5]

At the time of his death Haas was a senior adviser for New MainStream Capital, an investment firm.[2]

Photography career

Haas took up photography in 1994 with no prior experience.[6] After buying $2000 USD in camera gear, and learning how to use it, he did his first aerial photography from a helicopter on a Kenyan safari.[6][1] He went on to work for National Geographic as a photographer for ten years, and to publish four coffee-table books on his aerial photography over Africa and Latin America.[2][1]

Motorcycle collection

In 2012 Haas began collecting motorcycles.[3] In 2018, he opened the Haas Moto Museum & Sculpture Gallery in Dallas to display the collection, which includes several custom-made motorcycles.[2] He was the executive producer of the film Leaving Tracks, which documented his motorcycle collecting and profiled several custom motorcycle builders who contributed to his collection.[7][8]

Books

  • Through the Eyes of the Gods, 2005
  • Through the Eyes of the Condor, 2007[9][10]
  • Through The Eyes Of The Vikings, 2010[11]
  • I dreamed of Flying like a Bird, 2010[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Sandomir, Richard (18 October 2021). "Robert Haas, Financier and Aerial Photographer, Dies at 74". The New York Times.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Dallas financier has a rare motorcycle collection to rival Billy Joel and Jay Leno". Dallas News. 9 March 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Bobby Haas, financial mastermind, aerial photographer and museum owner, dies at 74". Dallas News. 30 September 2021.
  4. "COMPANY NEWS; Hicks & Haas Founders Split". The New York Times. 11 May 1989.
  5. Former President and Co-Founder of Haas Wheat & Partners Starts New Investment Firm. October, 2006
  6. 1 2 Hagerty, James R. (8 October 2021). "Investor Reinvented Himself as a Daredevil". Wall Street Journal.
  7. "A New Documentary Chronicles How One Motorcycle Museum Turns Custom Bikes Into Works of Art". www.msn.com.
  8. "Dallas' Bobby Haas' unlikely journey from financier to filmmaker". Dallas News. 4 April 2021.
  9. Fraser, Benjamin (2010). "The Ills of Aerial Photography: Latin America from Above". Chasqui. 39 (2): 70–84. ISSN 0145-8973. JSTOR 41340870.
  10. "On the Bookshelf". D Magazine. 23 August 2007.
  11. O'Neill, Claire (21 September 2010). "What Vikings Would See, If They Could Fly". NPR.
  12. "Yes, it's real: flamingos gather in the formation of a flamingo". The Toronto Star. 26 November 2010.
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