Foreign Property News | Posted by Hnin Ei Khin
It would be difficult to find a better friend to the state of Minnesota than Glen Taylor, the self-made multibillionaire who grew up on a farm, built his businesses, raised his family, and still lives in the North Star State.
Mr. Taylor, 82, has been immensely generous through the years, using his fortune to support a variety of organizations and causes in the state.
Forbes estimates Mr. Taylor’s net worth at $2.9 billion, making him the richest person in Minnesota.
Before becoming a billionaire businessman, state senator and owner of the Timberwolves and Lynx, Taylor grew up about 50 miles west of Mankato on a dairy farm in Comfrey.
On Dec. 19, Mr. Taylor announced the launch of the Taylor Family Farms Foundation, the newest philanthropic initiative of his nonprofit, the Taylor Foundation.
Mr. Taylor made an initial donation to the foundation of $172 million in farmland located in southern Minnesota and nearby in Iowa.
Instead of cash, Taylor is donating $172 million worth of parcels of farmland located in both Minnesota and Iowa. The venture will partner the Taylor Family Farms Foundation with three local nonprofit organizations, which will receive proceeds from the farmland.
The groups will reinvest those proceeds locally in education, children and families, sustainable land stewardship, and other areas.
"My heart has always been with the children and families of southern Minnesota," said Taylor. "I grew up on a small farm not far from here during some very lean times and I carry those memories with me to this day.
“The good people of this region have been crucial to my personal growth and success of my businesses,” said Mr. Taylor in a statement issued by the Taylor Foundation.
It brings me such joy to be in the position where I can give back some of what I received.”
The nonprofits partnering with Taylor Family Farms Foundation are the Mankato Area Foundation (MAF), the Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation (SPMF), and the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF).
Ref: Minnesota’s Richest Man Gives Land Worth $172 Million to Benefit Nonprofits in the State (theepochtimes)
Photo Credit: (philanthropy, Ann Heisenfelt, File)
