Your Aid Area

Born Theodore Waitt on January 18, 1963 in Iowa, Ted Waitt is an American billionaire and philanthropist. In 2007, with his net worth at $1.8 billion, Waitt was included in the Forbes 400 List.

Ted Waitt is co-founder of Gateway, Inc., a computer hardware company that he established along with Mike Hammond in 1985. He left in 2005 and went on with his other enterprises including the Avalon Capitol Group, Inc., an investment company with various interests in energy, health care, technology, real estate, and finance.

Ted Waitt actively pursues philanthropic efforts. He has formed nonprofit organizations namely the Waitt Family Foundation, Waitt Institute for Discovery, and Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention, all of which carry out their commitment to improve human knowledge through historical and scientific explorations.

The Waitt Family Foundation is a charitable organization that he created in 1993 in La Jolla California. The foundation gradually expanded its program interests worldwide through the formation of the Waitt Institute for Discovery and the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention in 2005.

The National Geographic Society/Waitt Grants program currently supports advanced research projects in the initial search and exploration phase, with around 100 grants of $5,000-$15,000 being given annually to scientists and explorers in various fields of research and discipline.

Waitt has also served as Chairman of the Founding Fathers campaign of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. He has also served as a Vice Chairman of the Board for the Jonas Salk for Biological Studies and on the Advisory Council of the National Geographic Society.

Waitt has also been awarded honors including the Ten Outstanding Young Americans (TOYA) award from the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award from the U.S. Small Business Association.

Comments Off