Bill Daniels
Bill Daniels was born in Greeley, CO, and shortly after that moved to Hobbs, NM where he became the undefeated New Mexico Golden Gloves Boxing Champion. In 1941, he joined the Navy and became an accomplished fighter pilot both in WWII and Korea, retiring with the rank of full commander. Not long after the war, he happened upon a bar in Denver that was showing a boxing match from out of state. He became interested in the technology that brought television over long distances.
Bill took a chance on this long-distance television market in 1952 by setting up a microwave feed that delivered Denver programming to Casper, WY. He soon shifted his focus towards brokering and investment banking for the growing industry. In 1958, he founded Daniels and Associates to specialize in this field. By 1965, Daniels and Associates had brokered more than $100 million, representing about 80 percent of the year's transactions.
In 1987, Daniels founded the Young Americans Bank, a bank with a unique Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured state charter. The bank caters only to patrons under the age of 22 and teaches young people about banking and related financial matters.
Daniels decided to use his fortune to continue helping others by forming a foundation that supports issues relating to aging, alcoholism, and substance abuse, amateur sports, disabilities, education (early childhood, K-12 reform, and ethics and integrity), homelessness and youth development. This foundation, the Daniels Fund, received over one billion dollars from his estate when Bill Daniels died on March 7, 2000, making it one of the largest private foundations in the United States.
Bill took a chance on this long-distance television market in 1952 by setting up a microwave feed that delivered Denver programming to Casper, WY. He soon shifted his focus towards brokering and investment banking for the growing industry. In 1958, he founded Daniels and Associates to specialize in this field. By 1965, Daniels and Associates had brokered more than $100 million, representing about 80 percent of the year's transactions.
In 1987, Daniels founded the Young Americans Bank, a bank with a unique Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured state charter. The bank caters only to patrons under the age of 22 and teaches young people about banking and related financial matters.
Daniels decided to use his fortune to continue helping others by forming a foundation that supports issues relating to aging, alcoholism, and substance abuse, amateur sports, disabilities, education (early childhood, K-12 reform, and ethics and integrity), homelessness and youth development. This foundation, the Daniels Fund, received over one billion dollars from his estate when Bill Daniels died on March 7, 2000, making it one of the largest private foundations in the United States.