Finn M. W. Caspersen

He was one of two sons of Olaus Westby Caspersen (1896–1971), and Freda Resika (1909–1991) thought to be of Russian or Polish descent.

Olaus's widowed mother and siblings had emigrated to the United States earlier, leaving Olaus in Norway to complete his education.

Olaus came to the United States in 1912 at age 16, settling in Weehawken, New Jersey.

Caspersen's mother, Freda, was a non-practicing Jew, and his father thought that his sons needed a religious upbringing.

Finn attended a congregational church near the family home in his youth.

He later reflected that "being Protestant was important. There was a kind of anti-Catholicism in the family."

The family moved to homes in Andover, New Jersey, and Venice, Florida.

Beneficial had been established in 1914 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, by Clarence Hodson.

Caspersen's father, Olaus, joined Beneficial in 1920 and served as Hodson's secretary for several years.

In 1929, Hodson and Caspersen reorganized the firm as Beneficial Finance Corporation and transformed it into one of the largest consumer loan providers in the United States.

Freda Caspersen was one of the company's directors.

Under the younger Caspersen's leadership, Beneficial expanded into credit finance and offered credit cards through its People's Bank and Trust subsidiary.

Finn Michael Westby Caspersen Sr. (October 27, 1941 – September 7, 2009) was an American financier and philanthropist.

A graduate of the Peddie School, Brown University and Harvard Law School, he was chairman and chief executive of Beneficial Corporation, one of the largest consumer finance companies in the United States.

Caspersen was born on October 27, 1941, in New York City.

Caspersen frequently visited Norway as a child, vacationing there during summers after 1947.

Caspersen attended private schools until the ninth grade.

He attended the Peddie School, a private preparatory school in Hightstown, New Jersey, and was graduated in 1959.

Caspersen received a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree from Brown University in 1963 and a law degree (LL.B.) from Harvard Law School in 1966.

In 1972, Caspersen joined the legal department at Beneficial Corporation, a large American consumer finance firm.

Four years later, he was named the firm's chief executive officer.

It purchased Parliament Leasing in 1977, and First Texas Financial Corp., a savings and loan firm, in 1978.

In 1977, Beneficial entered the reinsurance business through subsidiaries, but these endeavors led to significant financial losses in the 1980s.

Beneficial later downsized its reinsurance holdings and restructured to emphasize its second mortgage business.

According to Charles "Sandy" Hance, former senior vice president and general counsel of Beneficial, Caspersen was a "pioneer in second mortgages, which later evolved into home equity loans", and that he "saw this trend developing at a very early stage".

Caspersen purchased Harbour Island in Tampa, Florida, from a Beneficial subsidiary in 1979, and in 1983 began to re-develop the island into an upscale residential and commercial development similar to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland.

Beneficial purchased the 177-acre man-made island, formerly known as Seddon Island.

Before it was developed, local newspapers described the Harbour Island as "an industrial wasteland inhabited by wild pigs" and the only structures as rusted railroad tracks and an unused phosphate facility.

When the first phases were complete, the island opened with events hosted by former U.S. president Gerald Ford.

In the 1980s, he was a major supporter of former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean.

After an $8.6 billion acquisition of Beneficial by Household International in 1998, Caspersen ran Knickerbocker Management, a private financial firm overseeing the assets of trusts and foundations.

As a philanthropist, Caspersen donated tens of millions of dollars to the Peddie School, Brown, Harvard, and Drew University, while overseeing the Hodson Trust, which benefitted four institutions in Maryland.

He described education as his "particular love" and regarded it as "an investment in the future—an investment in human capital."

Buildings and endowed professorships have been named in his honor.

Caspersen's philanthropy extended to rowing and equestrian sports, and service to the United States Equestrian Team Foundation, Princeton National Rowing Association, and the National Rowing Foundation.

Caspersen was an influential donor to Republican candidates at the state and national level.

He served as a town commissioner in Jupiter Island, Florida, an exclusive upper-class enclave, for four years, resigning a few weeks before his suicide in September 2009.

News reports linked Caspersen with financial problems and accusations of alleged large-scale tax evasion that were discovered in the course of federal investigations into offshore tax shelters managed by financial firms UBS and LGT Bank, and used by wealthy American clients.

Near the end of his life, Caspersen was subjected to an IRS audit with a possible focus on alleged offshore accounts.

An attorney for Caspersen's estate claimed that in 2013 the IRS effectively exonerated Caspersen posthumously—with no penalties or fines for offshore accounts or anything else.