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removed detailed procedural history about his case against Kidder (unnecessary), same with Dakota case, removed excessive detail about Harvard, many copy edits |
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| employer = [[Bear Stearns]] (1987–??)<br />[[Kidder Peabody]] (19??–91)<br />Fletcher Asset Management (1991–present) |
| employer = [[Bear Stearns]] (1987–??)<br />[[Kidder Peabody]] (19??–91)<br />Fletcher Asset Management (1991–present) |
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| occupation = Founder, Chairman, and [[CEO]] of Fletcher Asset Management |
| occupation = Founder, Chairman, and [[CEO]] of Fletcher Asset Management |
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| spouse = {{marriage|Ellen K. Pao |2007}} |
| spouse = {{marriage|Ellen K. Pao |2007}} |
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| partner = |
| partner = |
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| children = |
| children = |
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| parents = Alphonse & Bettye R. Fletcher, Sr. (James P. Comer, stepfather) |
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| relatives |
| relatives = Brothers Todd Fletcher and [[Geoffrey S. Fletcher]] |
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| signature = |
| signature = |
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| website = http://www.fletcher.com/alphonse.html |
| website = http://www.fletcher.com/alphonse.html |
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He attended [[Harvard College]] where he received an [[Bachelor of Arts|A.B.]] degree as an applied mathematics major in 1987.<ref name="UPNfF">{{cite web|url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1996/04.25/UniversityProfe.html|title=University Professorship Named for Fletcher: Honors graduate of Harvard Class of 1987|accessdate=2008-09-12|date=1996-04-25|publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College|work=Harvard University Gazette|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060903162721/http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1996/04.25/UniversityProfe.html |archivedate = September 3, 2006|deadurl=yes}}</ref> He was elected first marshall (class president) of the 1987 class.<ref name="PCFsim" /> He earned a [[Master’s degree]] in Environmental Management from the [[Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.nycap.rr.com/businessteacher/Index_files/Page564.htm|title=Alphonse Fletcher, Jr.|accessdate=2008-09-12|author=Dipnarine, Danny, James Kocienski, and Apollo Marmarinos|publisher=Michael Hover}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}}</ref> While an undergraduate student, he was enrolled in the [[United States Air Force]] [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps]] Aerospace Studies Program at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref name="AFJ">{{cite web|url=http://www.fletcher.com/alphonse.html|title=Alphonse Fletcher, Jr.|accessdate=2008-09-12|publisher=Fletcher Asset Management}}</ref> Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a [[lieutenant|second lieutenant]] and served in the United States Air Force Ready Reserve until his honorable discharge in 1997.<ref name="PCFsim" /><ref name="AFJ" /> |
He attended [[Harvard College]] where he received an [[Bachelor of Arts|A.B.]] degree as an applied mathematics major in 1987.<ref name="UPNfF">{{cite web|url=http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1996/04.25/UniversityProfe.html|title=University Professorship Named for Fletcher: Honors graduate of Harvard Class of 1987|accessdate=2008-09-12|date=1996-04-25|publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College|work=Harvard University Gazette|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20060903162721/http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1996/04.25/UniversityProfe.html |archivedate = September 3, 2006|deadurl=yes}}</ref> He was elected first marshall (class president) of the 1987 class.<ref name="PCFsim" /> He earned a [[Master’s degree]] in Environmental Management from the [[Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.nycap.rr.com/businessteacher/Index_files/Page564.htm|title=Alphonse Fletcher, Jr.|accessdate=2008-09-12|author=Dipnarine, Danny, James Kocienski, and Apollo Marmarinos|publisher=Michael Hover}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}}</ref> While an undergraduate student, he was enrolled in the [[United States Air Force]] [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps]] Aerospace Studies Program at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref name="AFJ">{{cite web|url=http://www.fletcher.com/alphonse.html|title=Alphonse Fletcher, Jr.|accessdate=2008-09-12|publisher=Fletcher Asset Management}}</ref> Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a [[lieutenant|second lieutenant]] and served in the United States Air Force Ready Reserve until his honorable discharge in 1997.<ref name="PCFsim" /><ref name="AFJ" /> |
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Fletcher has lived on the [[Upper West Side]] in [[The Dakota]]<ref name="5MGAtFLoBC" /><ref name="TBYGASP" /> |
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In 2007, Fletcher married Ellen K. Pao, a partner at venture capital firm [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]] and, along with Fletcher, a Crown Fellow at the [[Aspen Institute]]. |
In 2007, Fletcher married Ellen K. Pao, a partner at venture capital firm [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]] and, along with Fletcher, a Crown Fellow at the [[Aspen Institute]]. |
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At age 25, Fletcher was Kidder Peabody's top equity trader, and he was earning $2 million a year.<ref name="DcmS" /> At the time, Kidder Peabody was owned by [[General Electric]] (GE).<ref name="DcmS" /> As part of his relationship with Kidder Peabody, the company agreed to pay him one quarter of the profits he made for the company, but when he earned the company $25 million, they only paid him half of the amount promised. He sued for the other half ($3 million in back pay).<ref name="4U41AFJ" /> In addition to the pay dispute, he filed a $5 million (plus [[punitive damages]]) discrimination suit.<ref name="DcmS" /> Fletcher claimed the company had kept their promise to white employees and claimed racial discrimination because white employees were paid more generously for similar work.<ref name="TOTGWW" /> Alleging a violation of State Human Rights Law, Fletcher filed a discrimination claim in the New York State Courts.<ref name=AFJAvKPCIR>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I93_0157.htm#n1a|title=Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., Appellant, v. Kidder, Peabody & Company, Inc., Respondent. / Rita Reid, Appellant, V Goldman, Sachs & Co. Et Al., Respondent|accessdate=2008-09-15|date=1993-07-09|publisher=Cornell University Law School}}</ref> The [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division]] ruled that an arbitration panel would hear his case.<ref name="TOTGWW">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/113866|title=Taking On The Great White Way: Wall Street: Will Recent Discrimination Suits Open The Door For Women And Minority Executives?|accessdate=2008-09-12|date=1993-07-19|publisher=Newsweek, Inc.|work=[[Newsweek]]|author=Brant, Martha and Jolie Solomon}}</ref> |
At age 25, Fletcher was Kidder Peabody's top equity trader, and he was earning $2 million a year.<ref name="DcmS" /> At the time, Kidder Peabody was owned by [[General Electric]] (GE).<ref name="DcmS" /> As part of his relationship with Kidder Peabody, the company agreed to pay him one quarter of the profits he made for the company, but when he earned the company $25 million, they only paid him half of the amount promised. He sued for the other half ($3 million in back pay).<ref name="4U41AFJ" /> In addition to the pay dispute, he filed a $5 million (plus [[punitive damages]]) discrimination suit.<ref name="DcmS" /> Fletcher claimed the company had kept their promise to white employees and claimed racial discrimination because white employees were paid more generously for similar work.<ref name="TOTGWW" /> Alleging a violation of State Human Rights Law, Fletcher filed a discrimination claim in the New York State Courts.<ref name=AFJAvKPCIR>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I93_0157.htm#n1a|title=Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., Appellant, v. Kidder, Peabody & Company, Inc., Respondent. / Rita Reid, Appellant, V Goldman, Sachs & Co. Et Al., Respondent|accessdate=2008-09-15|date=1993-07-09|publisher=Cornell University Law School}}</ref> The [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division]] ruled that an arbitration panel would hear his case.<ref name="TOTGWW">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/113866|title=Taking On The Great White Way: Wall Street: Will Recent Discrimination Suits Open The Door For Women And Minority Executives?|accessdate=2008-09-12|date=1993-07-19|publisher=Newsweek, Inc.|work=[[Newsweek]]|author=Brant, Martha and Jolie Solomon}}</ref> |
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Fletcher eventually won an arbitration award of $1.3 million.<ref name="4U41AFJ">{{cite web|url=http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/1998/1020|title=40 Under 40 > 1998 > Alphonse Fletcher Jr. |accessdate=2008-09-12|publisher=[[Crain Communications]]|work=[[Crain's New York Business]]|author=Birger, Jon}}</ref> |
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Jurisdiction in the case was a hotly contested matter. In the Individual Assignment System (IAS) of the [[New York Supreme Court]], Fletcher sued Kidder Peabody under the New York State Human Rights Law, alleging racial discrimination in employment in violation of Executive Law § 296(1)(a). In response, Kidder Peabody moved to stay the judicial proceedings and compel arbitration on the basis of the broad arbitration clause that Fletcher had signed as part of his securities exchange registration applications. Kidder Peabody contended that the [[Federal Arbitration Act]] (FAA), which preempts state law, mandated enforcement of Fletcher's promise to submit "controversies ... arising out of [his] employment" to arbitration. The IAS court denied the motion, reasoning that "it would be against public policy to contract in advance for a waiver of the right to obtain judicial redress of alleged racial discrimination." The [[New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division]], however, "reversed and granted the requested relief after concluding that the FAA and the cases decided under that statute mandated enforcement of [Kidder Peabody's] arbitration agreement".<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Fletcher v. Kidder Peabody, & Co. |vol=183 |reporter=AD2d |opinion=359 |pinpoint= |court=N.Y. Court of Appeals |date=July 9, 1993 |url=http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I93_0157.htm#n1a |quote=reversed and granted the requested relief after concluding that the FAA and the cases decided under that statute mandated enforcement of plaintiff's arbitration agreement.}}</ref> The [[United States Supreme Court]] declined to hear the case.<ref name="TBYGASP">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/archives/1994/b339572.arc.htm|title=To Be Young, Gifted, ans Sitting Pretty |accessdate=2008-09-12|date=1994-10-24|publisher=[[The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.]]|work=[[BusinessWeek]]}}</ref> Fletcher eventually won an arbitration award of $1.3 million.<ref name="4U41AFJ">{{cite web|url=http://mycrains.crainsnewyork.com/40under40/profiles/1998/1020|title=40 Under 40 > 1998 > Alphonse Fletcher Jr. |accessdate=2008-09-12|publisher=[[Crain Communications]]|work=[[Crain's New York Business]]|author=Birger, Jon}}</ref> |
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===Dakota lawsuit=== |
===Dakota lawsuit=== |
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In 2010, Fletcher signed a contract to purchase apartment 52 at the Dakota, intending to combine this apartment with his existing fifth-floor apartment. The purchase was to be a $5.7 million all-cash transaction, and Fletcher agreed to prepay over $400,000 in maintenance fees. In connection with his application to purchase the apartment, Fletcher states that he submitted hundreds of pages of documents regarding his own finances and those of Fletcher Asset Management. The Dakota board, however, rejected Fletcher’s application.<ref name=TMatCoaDatD/>,<ref name=BFcourt>{{Cite court|litigants = Complaint, Alphonse Fletcher v. The Dakota|vol=No.11-101289 |court=N.Y. County Supreme Court|date = Feb. 1, 2011 |url= http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20110202-dakota/DakotaStamped.pdf}}</ref> |
In 2010, Fletcher signed a contract to purchase apartment 52 at the Dakota, intending to combine this apartment with his existing fifth-floor apartment. The purchase was to be a $5.7 million all-cash transaction, and Fletcher agreed to prepay over $400,000 in maintenance fees. In connection with his application to purchase the apartment, Fletcher states that he submitted hundreds of pages of documents regarding his own finances and those of Fletcher Asset Management. The Dakota board, however, rejected Fletcher’s application.<ref name=TMatCoaDatD/>,<ref name=BFcourt>{{Cite court|litigants = Complaint, Alphonse Fletcher v. The Dakota|vol=No.11-101289 |court=N.Y. County Supreme Court|date = Feb. 1, 2011 |url= http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/nyregion/20110202-dakota/DakotaStamped.pdf}}</ref> |
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Fletcher then filed a lawsuit against the Dakota, a number of its directors, and others, alleging that the defendants had defamed him and engaged in unlawful self-dealing, unlawful discrimination, and inappropriate retaliation.<ref name=NytBoAcBias>{{cite web| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/nyregion/02dakota.html|title= Dakota Co-op Board Is Accused of Bias |date=2011-02-28|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman}}</ref> |
Fletcher then filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against the Dakota, a number of its directors, and others, alleging that the defendants had defamed him and engaged in unlawful self-dealing, unlawful discrimination, and inappropriate retaliation. <ref name=NytBoAcBias>{{cite web| url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/nyregion/02dakota.html|title= Dakota Co-op Board Is Accused of Bias |date=2011-02-28|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman}}</ref> His complaint cited other incidents where the Dakota board had allegedly discriminated against other minorities. For example, the complaint cited one board member’s comments that two applicants were part of the “Jewish mafia” and a board member’s suggestion that the Spanish actor Antonio Banderas had applied to purchase a first-floor apartment at the Dakota “so that he could ‘more easily buy drugs on the street.’” The Dakota ultimately rejected the application by Banderas and his wife, actress Melanie Griffith. <ref name=BIoss/> |
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The co-op board filed a 237-page response that denied Mr. Fletcher's claims and said he simply lacked the wealth he claimed. According to the New York Times, the response was noteworthy in that it is rare for any co-op board, let alone a famous one, to disclose internal matters.24 Although Mr. Fletcher is a well-known investor, the board, citing tax returns such as his 2009 income of $674,000, bank records and other documents that he submitted when applying to buy the $5.7 million apartment, called his statement of net worth "highly unrealistic." The article also reported defendants’ claim that the money Mr. Fletcher claimed to manage was "greatly inflated" because his firm, Fletcher Asset Management, double-counted its assets, which Mr. Fletcher said was $429 million, according to the court filing. And because the firm reported a cumulative net loss from 2007 to 2009, the Dakota's finance committee called the value that Mr. Fletcher put on his business "not credible." The board also was concerned that Mr. Fletcher supplied information through an accounting firm that appeared to be independent but was actually run by one of his employees. The response questioned whether Mr. Fletcher could afford another apartment when his total annual maintenance cost would rise to $228,873 and renovations would cost $1 million to $2 million. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/nyregion/16dakota.html|title=Dakota Hits Back at a Resident Who Claimed Bias|accessdate=2011-02-22|date=2011-02-15|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman}}</ref> Fletcher had offered cash for the transaction, more specifically, last spring Fletcher entered into a contract for the all-cash purchase of apartment 50, with the apartment's owner, free of any financing contingency. <ref name=BFcourt/> |
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Fletcher responded to the Board’s claims by stating that the Board had ignored and deliberately misrepresented extensive, independent documentation of his financial strength as well as expert reports calculating his net worth at over $80 million. In a March 2, 2011 affidavit he explained “‘that Fletcher Asset Management is in excellent financial health.’” <ref>{{cite web|url= http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-03-05/local/28673703_1_finances-board-president-apartment |title= Alphonse Fletcher, Tenant Suing the Dakota Over Failed Apartment Bid, Denies Shaky Finances |date=2011-03-05|work=[[New York Daily News]]|author=Martinez, Jose}}</ref> Among other things, the affidavit noted that Fletcher’s valuation of Fletcher Asset Management was based on well-accepted, standard approaches to valuing asset management companies and that Fletcher Asset Management had continued paying dividends averaging more than $4,500,000 a year during the financial crisis. Furthermore, the affidavit also noted that—although the defendant board members claimed to be financial experts—they appeared to miss the fundamental principle that, for a S Corporation such as Fletcher Asset Management, reported income was not an appropriate measure of the corporation’s overall strength. The affidavit also recounted Fletcher’s unprecedented disclosures to the Dakota board in connection with his application to purchase apartment 50 as well as prior admissions by board members that their concerns about Fletcher’s finances were overwrought. <ref name=BFcourt/> |
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The case remains pending in New York State court. |
The case remains pending in New York State court. |
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In 1993, following the death of friend and advisor [[Reginald Lewis]], Fletcher donated $1 million to the Reginald F. Lewis Memorial Endowment. The endowment had been created by the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] after Lewis instructed his wife to bequeath $2 million to the organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE7DE163BF935A1575AC0A965958260|title=Gifts Help N.A.A.C.P. Focus on Economic Agenda |accessdate=2008-09-12|date=1993-09-26|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Teltsch, Kathleen}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}}</ref> |
In 1993, following the death of friend and advisor [[Reginald Lewis]], Fletcher donated $1 million to the Reginald F. Lewis Memorial Endowment. The endowment had been created by the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] after Lewis instructed his wife to bequeath $2 million to the organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE7DE163BF935A1575AC0A965958260|title=Gifts Help N.A.A.C.P. Focus on Economic Agenda |accessdate=2008-09-12|date=1993-09-26|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Teltsch, Kathleen}} {{dead link| date=June 2010 | bot=DASHBot}}</ref> |
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In 1996, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of ''[[Plessy v. Ferguson]]'', {{ussc|163|537|1896}}, Fletcher endowed a University professorship at Harvard College with a $4.5 million dollar donation.<ref name="5MGAtFLoBC" /><ref name="UPNfF" /> |
In 1996, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of ''[[Plessy v. Ferguson]]'', {{ussc|163|537|1896}}, Fletcher endowed a University professorship at Harvard College with a $4.5 million dollar donation. The Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. chair belongs to a special category of endowed positions established in 1935 as Harvard's highest professorial distinction.<ref name="5MGAtFLoBC" /><ref name="UPNfF" /> The chair was intended to be held, "whenever possible, by a faculty member from one of the professional schools who is devoted to teaching and research about contemporary moral, religious, and social values, and whose interests include undergraduate education."<ref name="UPNfF" /> Before leaving for [[Princeton University]], [[Cornel West]] held this chair.<ref name="5MGAtFLoBC" /> In 2006, [[Henry Louis Gates, Jr.]] became the Fletcher University Professor.<ref name="GnFUP">{{cite web|url=http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/10.26/99-gates.html|title=Gates named Fletcher University Professor|accessdate=2008-09-17|date=2006-10-23|work=Harvard University Gazette}}</ref> |
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In 2004, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', {{ussc|347|483|1954}}, Fletcher pledged $50 million to create the [[Fletcher Foundation]] to give money to institutions and individuals working to improve race relations.<ref name="5MGAtFLoBC">{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E7DA153FF93BA25756C0A9629C8B63|title=$50 Million Gift Aims to Further Legacy of Brown Case |accessdate=2008-09-12|date=2004-05-18|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Rimer, Sara}}</ref> |
In 2004, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', {{ussc|347|483|1954}}, Fletcher pledged $50 million to create the [[Fletcher Foundation]] to give money to institutions and individuals working to improve race relations.<ref name="5MGAtFLoBC">{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00E7DA153FF93BA25756C0A9629C8B63|title=$50 Million Gift Aims to Further Legacy of Brown Case |accessdate=2008-09-12|date=2004-05-18|publisher=[[The New York Times Company]]|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Rimer, Sara}}</ref> The pledge, if it eventually becomes a donation, would rival prior gifts by [[Oprah Winfrey]] and [[Bill Cosby]] as one of the largest ever by an African-American.<ref name="5MGAtFLoBC" /><ref name="TFF" /> The fellowships are awarded to individuals who improve race relations in a manner that promotes the broad social goals of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed [[Racial segregation|segregation]] in public schools.<ref name="AFa2FF">{{cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_22_109/ai_n26699047|title=Alphonse Fletcher announces 2006 Fletcher Fellows|accessdate=2008-09-12|date=2006-06-05|publisher=CNET Networks, Inc.|work=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]}}</ref> The $50,000 fellowships are awarded to educators, lawyers, scientists, artists, economists, writers, doctors and others.<ref name="AFJ" /> He has since endowed the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellowship program at Harvard, named after his late father.<ref name="TFF">{{cite web|url=http://www.fletcherphilanthropy.org/Application2007.doc|title=The Fletcher Fellowship|accessdate=2008-09-12|publisher=fletcherphilanthropy.org}}</ref><ref name="AFa2FF" /> |
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In 2006, Fletcher was part of a consortium of individuals who created a $50 million Professorship Challenge Fund at Harvard University. The fund provides matching funds that encourages gifts to endow named professorships and provide faculty support across the University.<ref name="PCFsim">{{cite web|url=http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/02.16/01-profchallenge.html|title=Professorship Challenge Fund set into motion: Harvard donors aim to increase faculty resources across University |
In 2006, Fletcher was part of a consortium of individuals who created a $50 million Professorship Challenge Fund at Harvard University. The fund provides matching funds that encourages gifts to endow named professorships and provide faculty support across the University.<ref name="PCFsim">{{cite web|url=http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2006/02.16/01-profchallenge.html|title=Professorship Challenge Fund set into motion: Harvard donors aim to increase faculty resources across University |
Revision as of 15:31, 8 December 2011
Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. | |
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Born | 1965 |
Other names | Buddy |
Education | A.B. in applied mathematics Harvard College, 1987 Master’s degree in Environmental Management Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 2004 |
Occupation(s) | Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Fletcher Asset Management |
Employer(s) | Bear Stearns (1987–??) Kidder Peabody (19??–91) Fletcher Asset Management (1991–present) |
Known for | Philanthropy, Kidder Peabody discrimination law suit, Dakota discrimination lawsuit, trading |
Spouse |
Ellen K. Pao (m. 2007) |
Parent(s) | Alphonse & Bettye R. Fletcher, Sr. (James P. Comer, stepfather) |
Relatives | Brothers Todd Fletcher and Geoffrey S. Fletcher |
Website | http://www.fletcher.com/alphonse.html |
Alphonse "Buddy" Fletcher, Jr. (born 1965) is an American trader and money manager. Fletcher began his career as a quantitative equity trader at Bear Stearns but first became noticed when he sued Kidder, Peabody & Co. for racial discrimination and US$3 million in back pay. He eventually won an arbitration award of US$1.3 million.
Personal and education
Fletcher was raised in Waterford, Connecticut.[1] His father Alphonse Sr. was a technician at the Electric Boat Corporation in Groton,[2][3] a company that makes submarines; his mother Bettye, a long-time teacher and later a social worker, a Dean, and school principal, received a Ph.D. in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.[1][3] Fletcher has two younger brothers. His brother Geoffrey S. Fletcher is the first African-American to win an Academy Award for screenwriting.[1]
He attended Harvard College where he received an A.B. degree as an applied mathematics major in 1987.[4] He was elected first marshall (class president) of the 1987 class.[5] He earned a Master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2004.[6] While an undergraduate student, he was enrolled in the United States Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps Aerospace Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[7] Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and served in the United States Air Force Ready Reserve until his honorable discharge in 1997.[5][7]
Fletcher has lived on the Upper West Side in The Dakota[1][8]
In 2007, Fletcher married Ellen K. Pao, a partner at venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and, along with Fletcher, a Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. [9] [10] Fletcher and Pao have one daughter.[9] Prior to his marriage to Pao, Fletcher lived with his partner Hobart V. Fowlkes Jr.[11] Fowlkes, a current employee of Fletcher Asset Management has said, "Human beings aren't so simple that you can characterize them as straight or gay." [9] Fowlkes is cited as Fletcher's companion in the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus's announcement of Fletcher's selection as recipient of the organization's 2005 Civil Rights Award.[12]
Investment education
Fletcher's first experience with investment, risk and return occurred when he was in junior high school when he and his father developed a computer program about betting at dog racing tracks.[13]
One of his college internships was with Pfizer, where through the employee stock ownership program he began to focus on the principle that favorable pricing can compensate for volatility.[13]
Professional career
After graduating from college in 1987, Fletcher began his career at Bear Stearns as a quantitative equity trader who capitalized on dividend-related arbitrage [8] in the options department.[13] He was recruited to Kidder Peabody as a trader in the equity trading group. After his tenure at Kidder Peabody, he founded Fletcher Asset Management.[4][5] Fletcher Asset Management makes supportive investments in mid-sized public companies. After Fletcher’s 2010 investment in a regional bank and purchase of many of the bank’s troubled assets, experts noted that the deal was unusual and potentially groundbreaking because Fletcher invested in the bank by buying shares, essentially becoming a part owner.[14]
Fletcher Asset Management
When Fletcher started Fletcher Asset Management (FAM), he was identified by Fortune in 1994 as the top earning member of their thirty individuals under the age of thirty.[15] During the firm's first four years, it traded with heavy leverage.[13] When he founded his firm as chairman and CEO, he located it on the 48th floor of the General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue.[16] Fletcher had audited returns of 471% in 1992 and 177% in 1993, and unaudited returns of 267% in 1994 through August 31.[8] During his first five years in business after founding his firm in 1991, the firm's audited annual returns were 350%. His general strategy was trading public instruments for his own account and on behalf of clients, but he also made longer-term equity investments. He used hedges with both types of investments.[16] He has also been involved in PIPE deals.[17]
His firm's trading activity at one time occasionally accounted for 5% of the volume on the New York Stock Exchange, and former boss and mentor Alan Greenberg described him in 1998 as a smart winner.[18] In 1994, Fletcher surrendered his broker-dealer registration and became a registered investment adviser, which made managing money more convenient.[8] Although his firm has thrived, he had never dreamed of entrepreneurial enterprise and had hoped to be a GE executive someday.[15]
Litigation
Alphonse Fletcher vs. Kidder Peabody
At age 25, Fletcher was Kidder Peabody's top equity trader, and he was earning $2 million a year.[15] At the time, Kidder Peabody was owned by General Electric (GE).[15] As part of his relationship with Kidder Peabody, the company agreed to pay him one quarter of the profits he made for the company, but when he earned the company $25 million, they only paid him half of the amount promised. He sued for the other half ($3 million in back pay).[18] In addition to the pay dispute, he filed a $5 million (plus punitive damages) discrimination suit.[15] Fletcher claimed the company had kept their promise to white employees and claimed racial discrimination because white employees were paid more generously for similar work.[19] Alleging a violation of State Human Rights Law, Fletcher filed a discrimination claim in the New York State Courts.[20] The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division ruled that an arbitration panel would hear his case.[19]
Jurisdiction in the case was a hotly contested matter. In the Individual Assignment System (IAS) of the New York Supreme Court, Fletcher sued Kidder Peabody under the New York State Human Rights Law, alleging racial discrimination in employment in violation of Executive Law § 296(1)(a). In response, Kidder Peabody moved to stay the judicial proceedings and compel arbitration on the basis of the broad arbitration clause that Fletcher had signed as part of his securities exchange registration applications. Kidder Peabody contended that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), which preempts state law, mandated enforcement of Fletcher's promise to submit "controversies ... arising out of [his] employment" to arbitration. The IAS court denied the motion, reasoning that "it would be against public policy to contract in advance for a waiver of the right to obtain judicial redress of alleged racial discrimination." The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, however, "reversed and granted the requested relief after concluding that the FAA and the cases decided under that statute mandated enforcement of [Kidder Peabody's] arbitration agreement".[21] The United States Supreme Court declined to hear the case.[8] Fletcher eventually won an arbitration award of $1.3 million.[18]
Dakota lawsuit
In February 2011, Fletcher filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court against the Board of Directors of the Dakota co-op building in Manhattan where he has lived for more than 20 years.
1992, Fletcher purchased a first-floor apartment at the Dakota in New York City. Fletcher was only the second African-American approved to buy an apartment in the century-old building, and the Dakota had previously rejected three other applications of his.[9],[22]
A year later, Fletcher attempted to purchase another, larger apartment, this one on the Dakota’s fifth floor. As a condition of approving the purchase, the Dakota board required him to immediately sell his first-floor apartment and prohibited him from using the first-floor apartment for any purpose until its sale became final. According to Fletcher, the Dakota board did not impose these restrictions on any other residents, and, consequently, they became known around the building as the “Buddy Rule.” [23]
In 2002, Fletcher sought to buy a two-room, ninth floor apartment at the Dakota for his mother. The board approved the sale, but again imposed a number of conditions on Fletcher, including that he use a trust to buy the apartment and prohibiting anyone other than Fletcher’s mother—including relatives—from staying overnight in the apartment.[9]
In 2010, Fletcher signed a contract to purchase apartment 52 at the Dakota, intending to combine this apartment with his existing fifth-floor apartment. The purchase was to be a $5.7 million all-cash transaction, and Fletcher agreed to prepay over $400,000 in maintenance fees. In connection with his application to purchase the apartment, Fletcher states that he submitted hundreds of pages of documents regarding his own finances and those of Fletcher Asset Management. The Dakota board, however, rejected Fletcher’s application.[9],[24]
Fletcher then filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against the Dakota, a number of its directors, and others, alleging that the defendants had defamed him and engaged in unlawful self-dealing, unlawful discrimination, and inappropriate retaliation. [25] His complaint cited other incidents where the Dakota board had allegedly discriminated against other minorities. For example, the complaint cited one board member’s comments that two applicants were part of the “Jewish mafia” and a board member’s suggestion that the Spanish actor Antonio Banderas had applied to purchase a first-floor apartment at the Dakota “so that he could ‘more easily buy drugs on the street.’” The Dakota ultimately rejected the application by Banderas and his wife, actress Melanie Griffith. [23]
The co-op board filed a 237-page response that denied Mr. Fletcher's claims and said he simply lacked the wealth he claimed. According to the New York Times, the response was noteworthy in that it is rare for any co-op board, let alone a famous one, to disclose internal matters.24 Although Mr. Fletcher is a well-known investor, the board, citing tax returns such as his 2009 income of $674,000, bank records and other documents that he submitted when applying to buy the $5.7 million apartment, called his statement of net worth "highly unrealistic." The article also reported defendants’ claim that the money Mr. Fletcher claimed to manage was "greatly inflated" because his firm, Fletcher Asset Management, double-counted its assets, which Mr. Fletcher said was $429 million, according to the court filing. And because the firm reported a cumulative net loss from 2007 to 2009, the Dakota's finance committee called the value that Mr. Fletcher put on his business "not credible." The board also was concerned that Mr. Fletcher supplied information through an accounting firm that appeared to be independent but was actually run by one of his employees. The response questioned whether Mr. Fletcher could afford another apartment when his total annual maintenance cost would rise to $228,873 and renovations would cost $1 million to $2 million. [26] Fletcher had offered cash for the transaction, more specifically, last spring Fletcher entered into a contract for the all-cash purchase of apartment 50, with the apartment's owner, free of any financing contingency. [24]
Fletcher responded to the Board’s claims by stating that the Board had ignored and deliberately misrepresented extensive, independent documentation of his financial strength as well as expert reports calculating his net worth at over $80 million. In a March 2, 2011 affidavit he explained “‘that Fletcher Asset Management is in excellent financial health.’” [27] Among other things, the affidavit noted that Fletcher’s valuation of Fletcher Asset Management was based on well-accepted, standard approaches to valuing asset management companies and that Fletcher Asset Management had continued paying dividends averaging more than $4,500,000 a year during the financial crisis. Furthermore, the affidavit also noted that—although the defendant board members claimed to be financial experts—they appeared to miss the fundamental principle that, for a S Corporation such as Fletcher Asset Management, reported income was not an appropriate measure of the corporation’s overall strength. The affidavit also recounted Fletcher’s unprecedented disclosures to the Dakota board in connection with his application to purchase apartment 50 as well as prior admissions by board members that their concerns about Fletcher’s finances were overwrought. [24]
The case remains pending in New York State court.
Miscellaneous
Fletcher and Pao were Trustees for the Inauguration of Barack Obama.[28]
Run for public office
Fletcher was among a field of eighteen candidates who submitted résumés to the New York State Legislature in January 2007 for the position of New York State Comptroller, although eventual selection was Thomas DiNapoli.[29]
The possibility of Fletcher’s public service caused one lawmaker to say he “will be hard to say no to” and the media took note of the “Harvard-educated, black millionaire philanthropist with plenty of financial experience. Just the sort of financial expert Eliot Spitzer’s people were looking for. Fletcher’s sporadic history of voting and registering to vote, speculated some, “seems to indicate a certain indifference to politics" and it was noted that he had rarely voted in either federal or state elections and had registered previously as both a Republican and an Independent.[30]
Philanthropy
In 1993, following the death of friend and advisor Reginald Lewis, Fletcher donated $1 million to the Reginald F. Lewis Memorial Endowment. The endowment had been created by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People after Lewis instructed his wife to bequeath $2 million to the organization.[31]
In 1996, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), Fletcher endowed a University professorship at Harvard College with a $4.5 million dollar donation. The Alphonse Fletcher, Jr. chair belongs to a special category of endowed positions established in 1935 as Harvard's highest professorial distinction.[1][4] The chair was intended to be held, "whenever possible, by a faculty member from one of the professional schools who is devoted to teaching and research about contemporary moral, religious, and social values, and whose interests include undergraduate education."[4] Before leaving for Princeton University, Cornel West held this chair.[1] In 2006, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. became the Fletcher University Professor.[32]
In 2004, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), Fletcher pledged $50 million to create the Fletcher Foundation to give money to institutions and individuals working to improve race relations.[1] The pledge, if it eventually becomes a donation, would rival prior gifts by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby as one of the largest ever by an African-American.[1][33] The fellowships are awarded to individuals who improve race relations in a manner that promotes the broad social goals of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregation in public schools.[34] The $50,000 fellowships are awarded to educators, lawyers, scientists, artists, economists, writers, doctors and others.[7] He has since endowed the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellowship program at Harvard, named after his late father.[33][34]
In 2006, Fletcher was part of a consortium of individuals who created a $50 million Professorship Challenge Fund at Harvard University. The fund provides matching funds that encourages gifts to endow named professorships and provide faculty support across the University.[5]
Awards
Fletcher earned the 1999 Ernst & Young New York City "Entrepreneur of the Year", 2002 Sponsors for Educational Opportunity "Leadership Award", 2004 United Negro College Fund "Extraordinary Black Man Award", 2005 Harvard University Gay and Lesbian Caucus "Civil Rights Award", and 2006 Morehouse College "Candle in the Dark".[7] In explaining why he had been awarded the 2005 Harvard University Gay and Lesbian Caucus award, Tom Parry, president of the HGLC, said that Fletcher had distinguished himself, not just as a philanthropist but as someone who had worked tirelessly to further the causes of equality and racial justice.[2]
Committee memberships
Fletcher is a member of both the Harvard University New York Major Gifts Committee and the Committee on University Resources. Fletcher is also a member of the Harvard Friends of Engineering and Applied Science. Fletcher serves as a trustee of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the New School for Social Research, and the Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival. He has been the United Negro College Fund New York campaign chairman.[4]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rimer, Sara (2004-05-18). "$50 Million Gift Aims to Further Legacy of Brown Case". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b "HGLC 2005 Civil Rights Award". Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus, Inc. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ a b Martin, Amy (2005-04-25). "Community philanthropist, Waterford native Buddy Fletcher May 5". Connecticut College. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ a b c d e "University Professorship Named for Fletcher: Honors graduate of Harvard Class of 1987". Harvard University Gazette. President and Fellows of Harvard College. 1996-04-25. Archived from the original on September 3, 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "Professorship Challenge Fund set into motion: Harvard donors aim to increase faculty resources across University". Harvard University Gazette. President and Fellows of Harvard College. 2006-02-16. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Dipnarine, Danny, James Kocienski, and Apollo Marmarinos. "Alphonse Fletcher, Jr". Michael Hover. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) [dead link] - ^ a b c d "Alphonse Fletcher, Jr". Fletcher Asset Management. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b c d e "To Be Young, Gifted, and Sitting Pretty". BusinessWeek. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. 1994-10-24. Retrieved 2008-09-12. Cite error: The named reference "TBYGASP" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c d e f Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman (2011-02-26). "The Man at the Center of a Dispute at the Dakota". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ "Aspen Institute Names Emerging Leaders As 2007 Henry Crown Fellows". The Aspen Institute. Retrieved 2007-14-6.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ Rimer, Sara (2004-05-18). "$50 Million Gift Aims to Further Legacy of Brown Case". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ "HGLC 2005 Civil Rights Award". Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus, Inc. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ a b c d Schwager, Jack D. (2003). Stock Market Wizards: Interviews with America's Top Stock Traders (Rev Upd edition ed.). Collins Business. pp. 116–118. ISBN 0066620597.
{{cite book}}
:|edition=
has extra text (help) - ^ Donsky, Paul (2010-04-01). "United Community Bank sells piece of itself along with bad loans". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ a b c d e Sellers, Patricia (1994-12-12). "Don't call me SLACKER! Meet America's top talents under 30. They are unorthodox, rebellious, and a challenge to manage". Fortune. Cable News Network. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b Heller, Zoe (1996-04-29). "The Buddy System". The New Yorker. CondéNet. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- ^ Atlas, Riva D. (2004-06-05). "When Private Mixes With Public; A Financing Technique Grows More Popular and Also Raises Concerns". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ a b c Birger, Jon. "40 Under 40 > 1998 > Alphonse Fletcher Jr". Crain's New York Business. Crain Communications. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b Brant, Martha and Jolie Solomon (1993-07-19). "Taking On The Great White Way: Wall Street: Will Recent Discrimination Suits Open The Door For Women And Minority Executives?". Newsweek. Newsweek, Inc. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ "Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., Appellant, v. Kidder, Peabody & Company, Inc., Respondent. / Rita Reid, Appellant, V Goldman, Sachs & Co. Et Al., Respondent". Cornell University Law School. 1993-07-09. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ^ Fletcher v. Kidder Peabody, & Co., 183 AD2d 359 (N.Y. Court of Appeals July 9, 1993) ("reversed and granted the requested relief after concluding that the FAA and the cases decided under that statute mandated enforcement of plaintiff's arbitration agreement.").
- ^ Haughney, Christine (2011-02-28). "Behind the Scenes at the Dakota". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ a b Wachtel, Katya (2011-02-04). "Now Here's the Other Side of the Story on the Hedge Funder Suing the Dakota for Racism". Business Insider.
- ^ a b c Complaint, Alphonse Fletcher v. The Dakota, No.11-101289 (N.Y. County Supreme Court Feb. 1, 2011).
- ^ Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman (2011-02-28). "Dakota Co-op Board Is Accused of Bias". The New York Times.
- ^ Haughney, Christine and Peter Lattman (2011-02-15). "Dakota Hits Back at a Resident Who Claimed Bias". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
- ^ Martinez, Jose (2011-03-05). "Alphonse Fletcher, Tenant Suing the Dakota Over Failed Apartment Bid, Denies Shaky Finances". New York Daily News.
- ^ "Alphonse Fletcher, Jr".
- ^ Cooper, Michael (2007-01-20). "Candidates for State Comptroller Line Up". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-09-12. [dead link]
- ^ Paybarah, Azi (2007-01-24). "Who is Buddy Fletcher?". New York Observer. Retrieved 2011-02-22.
- ^ Teltsch, Kathleen (1993-09-26). "Gifts Help N.A.A.C.P. Focus on Economic Agenda". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-09-12. [dead link]
- ^ "Gates named Fletcher University Professor". Harvard University Gazette. 2006-10-23. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ a b "The Fletcher Fellowship". fletcherphilanthropy.org. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ a b "Alphonse Fletcher announces 2006 Fletcher Fellows". Jet. CNET Networks, Inc. 2006-06-05. Retrieved 2008-09-12.