Ken Behring

Kenneth Eugene Behring (June 13, 1928 – June 25, 2019) was an American real estate developer, and former owner of the National Football League's Seattle Seahawks.

Born in Freeport, Illinois, Behring was the son of Mae (Priewe) and Elmer Behring.

When he was four, his family moved to Monroe, Wisconsin, about 25 mi north of Freeport.

He grew up in poverty; his father worked in a lumber yard making 25 cents an hour, and his mother cleaned houses.

Behring started working a variety of jobs around town starting at age seven: mowing lawns, caddying, transporting milk, selling newspapers, working at a grocery store, and at a lumberyard.

He became a salesperson at Montgomery Ward at age 16, and started a side business selling sporting goods in town while attending Monroe High School.

A high school football player, he received a partial football scholarship to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, but dropped out of college due to an injury that left him unable to play football, and therefore ineligible for his scholarship.

Out of college, Behring (a car enthusiast) worked as a salesperson at a Chevrolet and Chrysler auto dealership.

At age 21, he started Behring Motors, a used car business in Monroe.

A savvy businessman, he was earning $50,000 a year and had $1 million in assets by age 27.

Behring moved from Wisconsin to Florida in 1956 and started the Behring Construction Company in Fort Lauderdale.

He became a land developer, founding Tamarac Lakes, a new active-adult (which later became all-age) community in 1962.

It was built on an area that was formerly wetlands, pastures, and fields.

The new development was incorporated as Tamarac, Florida on July 25, 1963.

Behring's company eventually became the largest builder of single-family homes in Florida, and the tenth largest in the United States.

In 1972, Behring moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was involved in developing the country club at Blackhawk, California, and later, the Canyon Lakes Development in San Ramon, California.

In 1988, Behring and partner Ken Hofmann purchased the NFL's Seattle Seahawks football team from the Nordstrom family for $80 million.

Behring was involved in founding the Blackhawk Museum (originally the Blackhawk Automotive Museum) in 1988, created, in part, to house his personal collection of vintage cars; he was criticized for the tax exemption he sought and received for donating his cars to his museum.

Behring has been listed several times on the annual Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, including 1991, 1995, and 1997.

After the 1995 season, Behring attempted to transfer team's operations to the Rams’ former facilities in Anaheim, California in an effort to relocate the Seahawks as he grew increasingly dissatisfied with the conditions of the Kingdome, a widely criticized move.

Behring was forced to sell the Seahawks to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 1997 for $200 million, who elected to keep the team in Seattle.

In 1997, his last year on the list, he ranked #395, with an estimated net worth of $495 million.

He has since been described in the press as a billionaire.

Behring pledged $20 million to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in 1997, with the intention that it be used for educational purposes.

Behring pledged another $80 million to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in 2000.

In 2001, a memorandum by a group of curators and scholars at the Museum of American History expressed concerns about Behring's gift, and criticized the museum for hiring Behring's personal architect to do a study on modernizing the museum's exhibition space; a Smithsonian official denied accusations of impropriety.

According to The New York Times, Behring's gift was also then criticized in the museum world, as some museum professionals charged that he had been given too much power to "dictate the nature and content of the museum's exhibitions."

According to then-Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small, "A gift of this magnitude is unprecedented. We are delighted to honor this great benefactor to the Smithsonian Institution by establishing the Behring Center. Mr. Behring's generous contribution will allow us to being a complete transformation and modernization of the National Museum of American History, the only museum of its kind in the world."

At the time, the money was allocated for refurbishing the museum's rotunda, supporting a traveling exhibition, and endowing the museum's new Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals, which opened in 2003.

There were concerns around the terms of the donation, linked to Behring's endangered species hunting controversy.

According to the Smithsonian's website, the 22,500 sqft space now features 274 mammal specimens, nearly a dozen fossils, and a variety of interactive learning experiences.

The exhibit is said to provide visitors with a global perspective of how mammals have adapted to different habitats, and includes four "Discovery Zones" for hands-on exploration of mammal adaptations such as night vision and goose bumps.

In 2004, Behring published a memoir called Road to Purpose: One Man's Journey Bringing Hope to Millions and Finding Purpose Along the Way.

Of the $80 million, $20 million was allocated for a hall honoring "American legends and legacies", paying "tribute to deceased individuals who made great contributions to our country and who truly epitomize the 'American spirit'", $4 million paid for an exhibition on the American presidency, and another $16 million funded an exhibit called "The Price of Freedom: Americans at War", opened in 2004.

In return, Behring's contract required that the museum rename its main facility the "Behring Center".

MuseumNews called Behring's donation "purportedly the largest cash donation ever to be given to a U.S. museum by a living person", and Behring was given the Smithsonian's James Smithson Award for his contributions.

Behring had failed to properly apply for relocation, on top of having his plans for a full move being scuttled when lawyers discovered that the Seahawks were locked into the Kingdome through 2005; in addition, the NFL threatened to fine Behring up to $900,000 a day if he did not retract the team from Southern California.

In 2013, he published a revised edition of the memoir titled The Road to Leadership: Finding a Life of Purpose. In his memoir, Behring describes himself as an "average man who achieved extraordinary material success doing a few simple things" who later discovered the "true foundation of joy" was finding purpose and causes worth fighting for.

Behring married his wife Patricia (Pat) at age 21.

They had five sons, and as of 2018, ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.