Elaine Farrell Wynn (née Pascal; born April 28, 1942) is an American billionaire businesswoman, philanthropist and art collector. She co-founded Mirage Resorts and Wynn Resorts with her former husband, Steve Wynn. She has supported education causes, the performing arts and the visual arts.
Elaine Wynn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elaine Farrell Pascal April 28, 1942 New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | George Washington University |
| Occupation(s) | Businesswoman and philanthropist |
| Spouse |
Steve Wynn
(m. 1963; div. 1986)
(m. 1991; div. 2010) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Andrew Pascal (nephew) |
Early life edit
Wynn was born to a middle-class Jewish family[1][2] on April 28, 1942, in New York City.[3] She graduated from George Washington University, where she received a bachelor of arts degree in Political Science in 1964.[3]
Business career edit
Wynn co-founded the Mirage Resorts with her former husband in 1976.[3] They also co-founded Wynn Resorts in 2000.[3] She was on its board of directors.[4] She played a pivotal role in the resurgence and expansion of the Las Vegas Strip with her former husband. In 2015, she nominated herself to the board,[5][6] but she was not confirmed.[7]
Wynn is the company's largest shareholder, with a 9% stake valued in May 2018 at nearly $2 billion. In 2018, after revelations of Steve Wynn's reported sexual harassment of multiple Wynn employees, and payments to cover up those allegations that were kept secret from the board of directors, he sold his 12% share of the company and agreed to return voting rights to Elaine Wynn (which she had signed away during their 2010 divorce agreement).[8][9]
In June 2018, Wynn successfully led a shareholder proxy campaign to remove John Hagenbuch from the board, due to his conflict of interest created by ties to the company's former CEO.[8]
Philanthropy and art collection edit
Wynn is on the board of trustees of the Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation.[3] She was the chair of the UNLV Foundation, a fundraising organization for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.[3] She also was on the executive board of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education.[3]
She is on the national board of directors of Communities In Schools, a non-profit organization which supports financially disadvantaged schoolchildren.[3] She was appointed to Nevada's Blue Ribbon Education Reform Task Force in 2011, and on Nevada's State Board of Education in 2013 and 2015.[3] She was appointed to the board of trustees of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts by President Barack Obama in 2011.[3][10] She serves as the co-chair of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).[11]
Wynn is an avid art collector. In 2013, she acquired Francis Bacon's Three Studies of Lucian Freud for a US$142.4 million, and loaned it to the Portland Art Museum.[12]
Personal life edit
Wynn married businessman Steve Wynn in 1963.[13] They divorced in 1986, remarried in 1991, and divorced again in 2010.[14][15] Wynn resides in the couple's mansion inside Southern Highlands Golf Club.[16]
They have two daughters, Kevyn and Gillian. Kevyn was kidnapped in 1993, and Wynn paid $1.45 million in ransom for her safe return.[17] The kidnappers were apprehended when one attempted to buy a Ferrari in Newport Beach, California, with cash. Kevyn was found unharmed several hours later.[18]
References edit
- ^ New York Times: "The Other Casino Wynn, in a Hard City for Women" by Cathy Horyn May 14, 2006
- ^ Singer, Jenny (July 12, 2018). "These Are America's Richest Self-Made Jewish Women". Jewish Daily Forward.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Elaine Wynn". Communities in Schools. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ Goldman, Andrew (4 May 2012). "How Elaine Wynn Survived 45 Years in Sin City". The New York Times (Interview).
- ^ "The Boardroom Strikes Back". The New York Times. 21 April 2015.
- ^ "In Wynn vs. Wynn, Elaine faces two company-backed rivals for board seat". Vegas Inc. 23 April 2015.
- ^ "Wynn Resorts: Shareholders Refuse to Return Elaine Wynn to Board". The Wall Street Journal. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ a b "Elaine Wynn, Shareholder Activist". Bloomberg News. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ Stewart, James B. (10 May 2018). "With Steve Wynn Gone, 'Queen of Las Vegas' Does Boardroom Battle". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Kennedy Center Administration: Our People: The Board of Trustees". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ "Overview Board of Trustees". LACMA. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
- ^ ""Tax Break Flap Over Painting Dogs" Elaine Wynn". Reviewjournal.com. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ "For Las Vegas' Elaine Wynn, A Test of her Taste". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-07-22.
- ^ Friess, Steve (5 April 2010). "The loving dissolution of Mr. and Mrs. Wynn". Las Vegas Weekly.
- ^ Dolan, Kerry A. (19 June 2012). "After Futile Efforts To Settle Out Of Court, Billionaire Elaine Wynn Sues So She Can Sell Her Wynn Resorts Shares". Forbes.
- ^ Is Steve and Elaine Wynn's Relationship Now Strictly Business?. HotelChatter (January 28, 2009).
- ^ Good, Joshua B. (July 28, 1993). "Vegas Mogul Pays Ransom for Daughter : Kidnaping: Stephen A. Wynn, owner of Mirage casino, gives abductors $1.4 million after the woman is taken from her home, authorities say. She is returned unharmed". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Kidnap Suspect Arrested as He Buys Ferrari at O.C. Dealer". Los Angeles Times. August 3, 1993.