Harry G. John
Encyclopedia
Harry G. John, Jr. was an American philanthropist, founder of the De Rance Foundation and heir to the Miller Brewing Company
fortune through his grandfather, Frederick Miller
.
. His mother, Elise John, was one of two daughters of brewery founder Frederick Miller. John graduated from the University of Notre Dame
(B.A. 1941), and was president of Miller Brewery from 1946 to 1947. He married Erica Nowotny in 1956; the couple had nine children.
As a young man, he funded a leprosariums in India and camps for Milwaukee inner-city blacks. He donated money to dig wells in drought-stricken West Africa and provided seminary training in the Philippines.
, the 17th-century abbot of the monastery at La Trappe
, France
. In 1972, Philip Morris
bought Miller Brewing, resulting in the value of John's stock soaring to $97 million overnight. The De Rance Foundation thus became the world's largest Catholic charity.
John died on December 19, 1992.
Miller Brewing Company
The Miller Brewing Company is an American beer brewing company owned by the United Kingdom-based SABMiller. Its regional headquarters are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the company has brewing facilities in Albany, Georgia; Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; Eden, North Carolina; Fort Worth, Texas;...
fortune through his grandfather, Frederick Miller
Frederick Miller
Frederick Edward John Miller was a brewery owner who founded the Miller Brewing Company at the Plank Road Brewery in 1855. He learned the brewing business in Sigmaringen.Miller was born in Germany, and was married to Josephine Miller in Friedrichshafen, Germany on June 7, 1853...
.
Early years
John was born in 1919 in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. His mother, Elise John, was one of two daughters of brewery founder Frederick Miller. John graduated from the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
(B.A. 1941), and was president of Miller Brewery from 1946 to 1947. He married Erica Nowotny in 1956; the couple had nine children.
As a young man, he funded a leprosariums in India and camps for Milwaukee inner-city blacks. He donated money to dig wells in drought-stricken West Africa and provided seminary training in the Philippines.
De Rance Foundation
In the early 1950s, John, a devout Catholic, utilized his inheritance - Miller stock valued at $14 million - to found the De Rance Foundation, which he named after Armand Jean le Bouthillier de RanceArmand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé
Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé , abbot and founder of the Trappist Cistercians....
, the 17th-century abbot of the monastery at La Trappe
La Trappe
La Trappe is :*La Trappe Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Soligny-la-Trappe, France*a brand of Trappist beers brewed by De Koningshoeven Brewery...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1972, Philip Morris
Altria Group
Altria Group, Inc. is based in Henrico County, Virginia, and is the parent company of Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, Inc., U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Inc., Philip Morris Capital Corporation, and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. It is one of the world's largest tobacco corporations...
bought Miller Brewing, resulting in the value of John's stock soaring to $97 million overnight. The De Rance Foundation thus became the world's largest Catholic charity.
Lawsuit
In 1984, Erica John and Donald Gallagher, both De Rance directors, became alarmed at Harry John's increasingly extravagant expenditure of De Rance assets on such things as entire television stations (for which John envisioned a 24-hour-a-day Catholic broadcast network), treasure hunts for sunken ships, and risky investments in gold futures and junk bonds. Mrs. John and Gallagher filed a lawsuit along with attorney Tom Cannon in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to have Harry John removed as a De Rance director. After a five-month trial, on August 21, 1986, Judge Michael Barron announced that the plaintiffs had proven their allegations. Harry John was permanently removed from the De Rance board; he divorced Erica, and moved to California where he resided for the next six years, returning to Milwaukee in 1992.Death
On December 14, 1992, John was found unconscious on the floor of his apartment by a neighbor. Tom Cannon called an emergency meeting of the De Rance board, which voted to dissolve the De Rance Foundation after awarding $30 million in grants to some of John's favorite causes. The remaining $70 million was used to create a new charitable organization, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund. During the court proceedings, Cannon, addressing John's wild spending, asked John whether De Rance could spend itself out of existence. Harry answered: "I think the directors could give away 100 percent of the foundation with complete propriety."John died on December 19, 1992.
Southern Cross
In 1985, John prepared a legal document that would authorize the transfer of De Rance's assets to another organization he had created, Southern Cross, Inc., upon his death. In 1993, Southern Cross filed suit in Milwaukee, challenging the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund's receipt of the bulk of John's fortune after his death the previous year. In particular, they alleged that John was kept alive artificially until his family could dispose of De Rance's assets. "The suit is frivolous," said Cannon, "and is a last minute effort by John's cronies to wrest control of the assets." On November 15, 1993, the suit was dismissed by Circuit Court Russell J. Stamper.Sources
- National Catholic ReporterNational Catholic ReporterThe National Catholic Reporter is the second largest Catholic newspaper in the United States; its circulation reaches ninety-seven countries on six continents. Based in midtown Kansas City, Missouri, NCR was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964 as an independent newspaper focusing on the Catholic Church...
, Vol. 29, No. 40: September 17, 1993. - The Milwaukee Journal, 12/20/92, 11/15/93.
- John v. John, 153 Wis.2d 343, 450 N.W.2nd 795 (Ct.App. 1989)