Ian M. Cumming, 77
Born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1940, to Elaine and John Cumming, a psychiatrist and a sociologist, Ian McNeil Cumming spent his childhood moving around the country with his peripatetic parents. In his 77 years he called many places home, including East Hampton, where he and his wife had owned a house since 1982. Mr. Cumming died on Feb. 2 at home in Jackson, Wyo., from complications of a prolonged illness.
A businessman associated with a firm that is one of the largest conglomerates in United States history as well as a philanthropist who disliked public attention, Mr. Cumming served for many years on the national board of the Nature Conservancy and on the Utah State Boards of Regents. He was also the first chair of the Utah Sports Authority, which was responsible for overseeing public funds spent at future Olympic venues.
He graduated from high school in Kansas City and earned a degree in zoology at the University of Kansas. He then attended the university’s medical school for a year before taking a year off to work at Turner Uni-Drive, an engineering and manufacturing company in Kansas City. It was there that he discovered that business was his passion and enrolled in Harvard Business School, which he would describe as transformative. Not only did he receive an M.B.A. in 1970 but it was also at Harvard that he met Joe Steinberg, who would later become his business partner for 35 years.
His first job, however, was at an investment bank, Carl Marks and Company, in Connecticut, where he handled investments for a Utah-based real estate development company, and of which he soon took leadership. In 1971, he moved to Salt Lake City where he raised two boys as a single parent. In 1978, he married Annette Poulson Benson in Snowbird, Utah.
In 1979, he and Mr. Steinberg, his Harvard classmate, took control of a failing financial services company — James Talcott — and transformed it into the Leucadia National Corporation, which became one of the most successful conglomerates in United States history. By the 1990s, the company’s acquisition strategy had elevated revenues over the billion-dollar mark.
When Mr. Cumming retired from Leucadia in 2013, he spoke of his friendship with Mr. Steinberg in his farewell letter to shareholders, describing it as one in which they had, “unfailingly stood by one another in times of heartache, health, and personal challenges.”
Mr. Cumming cared deeply about politics and supported many candidates, mostly Democrats. He believed that government should preserve freedom, show compassion, and be fiscally responsible. He generously supported education, medical research, the environment, and the arts, although one of his conditions for offering financial support was that he receive as little public attention as possible.
His goal, he often reminded his advisers, was to make money, not headlines. With that in mind, he refused to talk to the media or allow his photograph to be published, including in Leucadia’s annual reports. When he provided the lead gift for a new business building at the University of Utah, he asked that it not be named for him but for a favorite Harvard Business School professor, Roland Christensen.
Although he declared himself agnostic, Mr. Cumming’s family said he was a deeply spiritual person who reached out to help those in need. He was known as a force behind countless business deals, community projects, political candidates, and beautification projects. He was also known for his colorful language and strong opinions. He was quoted saying that he was “often wrong but never in doubt.”
Mr. Cumming is survived by his wife of nearly 40 years, and his sons, John Cumming of Park City, Utah, and David Cumming of Rancho Sante Fe, Calif.
A brother, David Cumming, and a sister, Marie McNeil, as well as six grandchildren also survive.
In keeping with Mr. Cumming’s wishes, there will be no funeral. The family said Mr. Cumming “would want you to give generously to the Nature Conservancy’s Utah chapter.” Donations can be made at www.nature.org.