Robert Boisseau Pamplin Jr. (born September 3, 1941) is an American businessman, philanthropist, and minister. He is also noted as an educator, historic preservationist and author.[1][2][3]
A longtime Oregonian, Pamplin is chairman, president and CEO of R.B. Pamplin Corporation, a family-owned company headquartered in Portland. It is one of the largest private corporations in Oregon.[4] He has appeared on the
Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans.[5] In 2001, he was reported to be the third-wealthiest person in Oregon.[6]
Pamplin's holdings include
textile company Mount Vernon Mills,[6] the
Pamplin Media Group, and Ross Island Sand and Gravel, a concrete and asphalt company.[7]
In 1953, Pamplin moved with his family to Oregon. As a 10-year-old recovering from a year-long bout with
hepatitis that made him bedridden, Pamplin began training in the
Charles Atlas weightlifting method to regain his strength. In high school, he became an
AAU Olympic Lifts weightlifting champion which led to a lifelong commitment to fitness.[9]
Masters of Arts in theology (1978) and a Doctor of Ministry in Theology (1982) from
Western Seminary
In 1965, while in college, Pamplin became a licensed
stockbroker and transformed a modest inheritance into his first million dollars through careful investing.[9]
In 1976, at age 35, Pamplin started his own business and managed the
R.B. Pamplin Corporation. As chairman, President and CEO of the R.B. Pamplin Corporation, Pamplin oversees several subsidiaries across three industries, including textile manufacturing, construction and media.[12]
Holdings include:
Mount Vernon Mills, one of the country's largest privately owned manufacturers of textile and chemical products for the apparel, industrial, institutional, and commercial markets based in
Greenville, South Carolina.
Ross Island Sand and Gravel, a Portland-based producer of concrete and asphalt. Its subsidiaries include K.F. Jacobsen & Co. and Pacific Northwest Aggregates.
Anne Amie Vineyards, a vineyard and winery in Carlton, Oregon. Pamplin founded the winery after purchasing Chateau Benoit Winery in 1999.[14]
Columbia Empire Farm, producing berries and hazelnuts products since 1976[15]
Pamplin's ownership of both media and major business interests in the Portland area has had some controversy, as his media holdings have been said to be engaged in a "newspaper war" over local circulation with The Oregonian and its affiliated papers.[6][16] When the Tribune was launched in 2001,[17] and again as of fall 2012,[18][19] his planned donation to the city of Portland of part of
Ross Island, where his concrete and asphalt company is located, became controversial when industrial contamination was discovered on parts of the island.[20][21]
In February 2022, Willamette Week detailed alleged mismanagement of Pamplin's employee pension fund.[22] By the end of the 2023, the company's pension fund held 52% of its assets in real estate, which is five times the maximum the U.S. Department of Labor allows.[23]
On Dec. 13, 2023, Pacific Fence and Wire Company filed a lawsuit alleging that Ross Island Sand & Gravel and Robert Pamplin Jr. failed to pay a $153,000 bill.[24]
Pamplin has also served on several state and presidential appointed commissions, and college boards of directors. He is a past trustee of five college boards,[1] and past chairman of three, including Lewis & Clark College,[9]Western Seminary and the University of Portland. He served on President
Gerald Ford's National Advisory Council on Vocational Education from 1975 to 1980.[25] He was appointed by two governors to the Oregon State Scholarship Commission, serving from 1974 to 1980.[26][27]
Pamplin is an active donor to numerous colleges, universities and scholarship programs.[28] The business school at University of Portland[29] is named for him and the college of business at
Virginia Tech for him and
his father.[30] Scholarship programs created by Pamplin include The Pamplin Scholars Program at Virginia Tech[31] and The Pamplin Society of Fellows at Lewis & Clark College.[32]
In 2007, Pamplin donated 45 acres (18 ha) of the 400-acre (160 ha)
Ross Island to the city of Portland, which plans to manage the property as a natural area.[36] The island contains considerable natural habitat, but also contains industrial waste and toxic
fill dirt and is listed for cleanup by the
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.[37] The portions donated to the city, however, are thought to be pristine and contain habitat for a wide variety of wildlife, including
bald eagles.[21]
The Dr. and Mrs. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. International Collection of Art and History encompasses 5,000 years of antiquities and art.[38]
Pamplin was one of the backers of the effort to preserve
Shaniko, Oregon, a former central Oregon sheep's wool transportation terminus of the Columbia River Southern Railway Company (1900 c. 1911)
boomtown that is now considered a
ghost town.[39]
Through personal and corporate giving, Pamplin has donated more than $150 million to numerous charities and has been instrumental in raising $500 million more for various causes. Pamplin also ran a food ministry for many years through Christ Community Church, where he was founder and senior pastor.[7] The program fed between 500 - 1,000 daily in Portland.[9]
Recognition
In recognition of his business leadership, he has received the Woodrow Wilson Center Corporate Citizenship Award,[40] the national Herman W. Lay Award for entrepreneurship,[41] and the Businessman of the Year Award from
Beta Gamma Sigma International.[42]
Pamplin has been awarded many honorary degrees and national awards, including the Freedom Leadership Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge,[8] the National Caring Award from the Caring Institute, Philanthropist of the Year by the National Association of Fundraising Executives and national Volunteer of the Year from Volunteers of America.[43]
In Oregon, he has been honored with the Governor's Gold Award,[44] the Oregon Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Oregon Entrepreneur Forum,[44] the Governor's Arts Award, and Portland's First Citizen.[12]
Works authored
Pamplin is the author of 36 books and
comic books, including two book-of-the-month club selections, including:
Worcester, Thomas K.; Pamplin, Robert B. Jr. (1973).
A portrait of Oregon. Beaverton, Or.: OMSI Press; distributed by the Touchstone Press.
ISBN0911518223.
Three in One. Touchstone Press. 1974.
Worcester, Thomas K.; Pamplin, Robert B. Jr. (1976). A portrait of Colorado. Portland: OMSI Press, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.
ISBN9780911518436.
The Storybook Primer on Managing: According to the Wedding Cake Concept. The Touchstone Press. 1977.
Pamplin Jr., Robert B. (1985). Everything is just great : a story of faith, adventure, and success. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press.
ISBN0880701188.
The Gift. Christ Community Church. 1986.
"Another Virginian: A Study of the Life and Beliefs of Robert Boisseau Pamplin". R.B. Pamplin Corporation. 1986.
One Who Believed: Volume I. Christ Community Church. 1988.
Reese, Robert (pen name) (1998). Alaskan gold. New York: Berkley Books.
ISBN042516263X.
References
^
abcCarlson, Scott (January 21, 2000). "An Oregon Philanthropist Spreads a Philosophy of Learning by Doing". Chronicle of Higher Education. Vol. 46, no. 20. pp. A33–35.
^Dworkin, Andy (April 2, 2000). "An old-economy evangelist". The Oregonian.
^Griffin, Anna (July 8, 2007). "Robert Pamplin Jr ., 'as is'". The Oregonian.
^
abSiemers, Erik (July 27, 2012). "Price of cotton influences R.B. Pamplin's gross sales". Portland Business Journal.
^
abFost, Dan (August 1, 2001). "Twice-weekly Tribune making a run at Portland news market - Wealthy owner may be guarantee of staying power". The San Francisco Chronicle.
^
abMcDermott, Judy (November 13, 1989). "A Feast of Spirit". The Oregonian.
^"Ross Island". Land Quality: Cleanup Sites with Individual Web Pages. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
^Gragg, Randy (March 14, 1999). "To Have and to Hold: Maverick Businessman Robert Pamplin Jr. has Built One of the Northwest's Most Extraordinary Art Collections - And He's Keeping it in the Family". The Oregonian.
^Sachs, Peter (July 29, 2007). "Portland millionaire's money is on Shaniko - But not all residents in the tiny town are happy". Bend Bulletin.