Remembering Chicago’s Richard Driehaus: A vibrant, world-changing force

His likes will never come this way again.

Richard H. Driehaus died suddenly Tuesday at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage the night before. He was 78.

Like legions of others, I was blessed to have Richard Driehaus as a friend and benefactor. He was a vibrant, world-changing force. He advocated for beauty and justice.

I met Richard in the 1990s when his Richard H. Driehaus Foundation first funded the coverage of government and politics at The Chicago Reporter, the non-profit investigative news outlet I once led.

His largesse also supported investigative journalism at the Better Government Association and Injustice Watch, as well as other annual grants and awards to investigative reporters.

Richard was born with a brilliant, mathematical mind and raised in the Brainerd neighborhood on Chicago’s Far Southwest Side. At age 13, he invested $1,000 he had saved from delivering newspapers on his bicycle, according to Sun-Times reporter David Roeder.

His early obsession with the stock market grew into Driehaus Capital Management, which he founded in 1982. Today, it manages funds of $13.2 billion.

But Richard was more than a money man. He was a 21^st century polymath, embracing the intricacies of arts, culture, architecture, history, journalism, history and doing good.

Since the 1980s, his foundation and the Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Trust have probably plowed hundreds of millions of dollars into a massive range of Chicago non-profits in the arts, culture, architecture, education and journalism.

Richard’s legendary philanthropy was rooted in lessons learned from the nuns who taught him at St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic School. “In addition to reading, writing and arithmetic,” he told Chicago Magazine in a 2007 interview, “they taught me three things — you have to continue to learn your whole life, you have to be responsible for your own actions, and you have to give something back to society.”

I didn’t expect to connect with a fabulously wealthy investment giant. But we discovered I also was raised Catholic, and I attended Academy of Our Lady, the same high school as his sisters.

We once occasionally met for dinner to catch up on my work at the Reporter. I suspect Richard was far more politically conservative than I, but we shared the lure of seeking justice. He abhorred government malfeasance and the corrosive influence of money in politics.

Endlessly curious, he wanted to know everything. About the racial inequities the Reporter uncovered. Why government was so corrupt, why the politicians failed.

“We can never have enough watchdogs!” he would declare.

The multi-multi-millionaire even let me pick up the check.

Richard could come off as reserved and shy. Then you’d hear his quirky, high-decibel laugh coming around the corner, as if signaling his mission to enjoy life to the fullest and spread it the farthest. He loved fun.

He was a busy man, so I always made sure to grab a chat at his annual birthday bash. Every July he threw over-the-top, themed birthday parties for himself on the massive grounds of his lakefront mansion in Lake Geneva. The coveted invitation list of 1,000 or so was a mix of family, friends, elected officials, business colleagues and plenty of folks from the non-profits he supported.

The parties include big stage shows. There were performers like Diana Ross, the Beach Boys and Jay Leno. There would be a spectacular fireworks display. My favorite memory is of Richard making a grand entrance atop a circus elephant.

Richard, thank you for riding our way.

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