Henry Lea Hillman

Billionaire; the richest man in Pittsburgh

Grandson of steel tycoon John Hillman Jr., owner of Pittsburgh Coke & Chemical. Diversified family fortune via Hillman Co: real estate, venture capital, private equity. Early backer of venture capital monster Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, LBO titans Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Invests in biomedical and technology companies. Co-owns downtown Pittsburgh's office and retail center PPG Place. Donates through family foundations; $20 million to U. of Pittsburgh for cancer research, $10 million to Carnegie Mellon. Wife, Elsie, is actively involved in Republican politics. Mr. Hillman’s business prowess propelled him ahead of the Mellon and Carnegie family heirs to become the wealthiest man in Pittsburgh and a perennial on Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 richest Americans. For more than 30 years at the helm of the Hillman Co., Mr. Hillman excelled at buying and selling companies and properties at a profit. Using his personal fortune and through the Hillman Foundation, started by his father in 1951, and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation, many of his most generous donations were in science, technology and medicine, fields in which Mr. Hillman had a keen interest. Mr. Hillman had stepped away from day-to-day operations at the Hillman Co. in the late 1980s and retired as chairman of the board in 1993 at the age of 75, although he remained chairman of the company’s executive committee. Mr. Hillman was happy to leave the spotlight to his gregarious wife, Republican matriarch Elsie Hillman. Mr. Hillman often said the best thing he ever did was marry the former Elsie Hilliard on May 12, 1945. Mr. Hillman was born in Pittsburgh on Christmas Day 1918, the fifth of seven children and the second of two sons to John Hartwell “Hart” Hillman and Juliet Cummins Lea Hillman. His eldest sister, Juliet, was killed in a United Airlines accident when the plane crashed into a Wyoming hillside in October 1935 when he was 16. Five years before Mr. Hillman was born, his father had formed J.H. Hillman & Sons in Pittsburgh. Hart Hillman built an empire in coke, steel, coal and chemicals in the 1920s that included the forerunner to Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, and held interests in several banks that combined to form Pittsburgh National Bank, now PNC Financial Services Group. Henry Hillman attended Shady Side Academy and graduated from the Taft boarding school in Watertown, Conn. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology from Princeton University in 1941 and then served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Mr. Hillman joined Pittsburgh Coke & Chemical Co., in which the family had a minority interest, becoming president in 1955 at the age of 37. He took the reins of the Hillman Co. when his father died in 1959. Mr. Hillman also helped bankroll the famed Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New York City’s Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts, the private equity firm that popularized leveraged buyouts. Henry Hillman’s older brother, John H. Hillman III, who died in 1974 at age 63, was never involved in the family’s business. Mr. Hillman is survived by four children — Juliet Lea Hillman Simonds, Audrey Hillman Fisher, Henry L. Hillman Jr. and William Talbott Hillman — nine grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren.

Relationships Interlocks Giving Data

Donors to Common Recipients

Recipients of donations from Henry Lea Hillman also received donations from these orgs and people

Donor	Common Recipients
Elsie Hilliard Hillman	Tom Ridge, Jason Altmire, Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Charlie Dent, Michael F Doyle, Philip Sheridan English, Jim Gerlach, Mark Steven Kirk, Tim Murphy, John Patrick Murtha Jr, John Peterson, Christopher H Shays, William Shuster, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Melissa A Hart, Sue W Kelly, Rick Santorum, James Charles Greenwood, Amory Houghton Jr, Pat Toomey, Constance A Morella, Margaret Scafati Roukema, Robert Douglas Franks, Jon D Fox, Bob Dole, Bob Packwood, Lynn Morley Martin, Rick Lazio, Robert L Shuster, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Stewart J Greenleaf, Loleta Didrickson, Dick Zimmer, Wish List, the, Melissa M Brown, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC, Michael C Turzai, William F Goodling, Big Tent PAC, Prosperity Helps Inspire Liberty Political Action Committee (Philpac), George H W Bush, Kevin L Raye, John McCarty, Karen L Martynick, H. Richter Elser, Kevin Vigilante, William Miller Townsend, Scott P Brown, Byron W King, Richard L Hanna, David B Fawcett, Rcac Federal Campaign Committee, Brenda Cody Fitzgerald, Charles Djou, Patrick Meehan, Richard L Thornburgh, National Republican Congressional Cmte, 1989 Republican Senate/House Dinner Cmte, Republican National Cmte, 1990 Republican Senate-House Dinner Cmte
Nicholas DeBenedictis	Peter H Coors, Charlie Dent, Michael F Doyle, Philip Sheridan English, Jim Gerlach, John McCain, Tim Murphy, John Peterson, William Shuster, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, James Charles Greenwood, Pat Toomey, Jon D Fox, Bob Dole, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Stewart J Greenleaf, Dick Zimmer, Melissa M Brown, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Scott P Brown, Patrick Meehan, Richard L Thornburgh
David Girard-Dicarlo	Susan Collins, Charlie Dent, Philip Sheridan English, Jim Gerlach, John McCain, John Patrick Murtha Jr, William Shuster, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, Robert Simmons, James Charles Greenwood, Pat Toomey, Jon D Fox, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, Stewart J Greenleaf, Dick Zimmer, Melissa M Brown, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Prosperity Helps Inspire Liberty Political Action Committee (Philpac), George H W Bush, Bernadine P Healy, Karen L Martynick, Patrick Meehan, Richard L Thornburgh
Sam Fox	Peter H Coors, Lamar Alexander, Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Jim Gerlach, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Rick Santorum, Robert Simmons, Pat Toomey, Bob Packwood, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Dick Zimmer, Wish List, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Scott P Brown, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Richard L Thornburgh, National Republican Congressional Cmte, Republican National Cmte
Bruce E Toll	Peter H Coors, Susan Collins, Charlie Dent, Philip Sheridan English, Jim Gerlach, John McCain, John Peterson, William Shuster, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, James Charles Greenwood, Pat Toomey, Jon D Fox, Bob Dole, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Stewart J Greenleaf, Dick Zimmer, Melissa M Brown, Mitt Romney, Scott P Brown, Mike Kelly, Patrick Meehan
Robert Stuart Jr	Peter H Coors, Susan Collins, Jim Gerlach, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Christopher H Shays, Olympia Snowe, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Rick Santorum, Robert Simmons, Amory Houghton Jr, Robert Douglas Franks, Bob Dole, Lynn Morley Martin, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Loleta Didrickson, Dick Zimmer, Wish List, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Scott P Brown, Richard L Hanna, Mike Kelly, Patrick Meehan, Richard L Thornburgh
Duane R Roberts	Lamar Alexander, Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Charlie Dent, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Rick Santorum, Pat Toomey, Robert Douglas Franks, Lynn Morley Martin, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Scott P Brown, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Charles Djou, Richard L Thornburgh, National Republican Congressional Cmte, Republican National Cmte
Christine J Toretti	Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Charlie Dent, Tim Murphy, John Patrick Murtha Jr, William Shuster, Arlen Specter, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, James Charles Greenwood, Pat Toomey, Constance A Morella, Jon D Fox, Bob Dole, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Stewart J Greenleaf, Wish List, the, Melissa M Brown, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Michael C Turzai, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Mike Kelly, Patrick Meehan, Richard L Thornburgh
Amory Houghton Jr	Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Charles Foster Bass, Jeb Bradley, Rick Santorum, Robert Simmons, James Charles Greenwood, Constance A Morella, Margaret Scafati Roukema, Robert Douglas Franks, Bob Dole, Lynn Morley Martin, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Dick Zimmer, Melissa M Brown, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Karen L Martynick, National Republican Congressional Cmte, Republican National Cmte
J Christopher Donahue	Shelley Moore Capito, Charlie Dent, Michael F Doyle, Philip Sheridan English, Jim Gerlach, Paul E Kanjorski, John McCain, Tim Murphy, John Patrick Murtha Jr, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, Robert Simmons, Pat Toomey, William Joseph Coyne, Bob Dole, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Tom Rooney, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Mike Kelly, Patrick Meehan, Richard L Thornburgh, Toomey Pennsylvania Victory Fund
Shawn Smeallie	Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Charlie Dent, Philip Sheridan English, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, John Patrick Murtha Jr, John Peterson, William Shuster, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Charles Foster Bass, Sue W Kelly, Rick Santorum, James Charles Greenwood, Pat Toomey, Bob Dole, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, William F Goodling, Mitt Romney, Scott P Brown, Richard L Hanna, Patrick Meehan
John F Donahue	Peter H Coors, Susan Collins, Michael F Doyle, Philip Sheridan English, Jim Gerlach, Paul E Kanjorski, John McCain, Tim Murphy, John Patrick Murtha Jr, Arlen Specter, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, Pat Toomey, William Joseph Coyne, Ronald Klink, Bob Dole, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Tom Rooney, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, John McCarty, Mike Kelly, Patrick Meehan, Richard L Thornburgh
Robert H Asher	Susan Collins, Charlie Dent, Philip Sheridan English, Jim Gerlach, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Tim Murphy, John Patrick Murtha Jr, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, James Charles Greenwood, Pat Toomey, Robert Douglas Franks, Jon D Fox, Bob Dole, Bob Packwood, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Stewart J Greenleaf, Dick Zimmer, Melissa M Brown, Mitt Romney
Richard B Fisher	Jason Altmire, Michael F Doyle, Jim Gerlach, Paul E Kanjorski, John McCain, Tim Murphy, John Patrick Murtha Jr, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, Pat Toomey, William Joseph Coyne, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, Stewart J Greenleaf, Melissa M Brown, Prosperity Helps Inspire Liberty Political Action Committee (Philpac), Mitt Romney, David B Fawcett, Mike Kelly, Richard L Thornburgh, National Republican Congressional Cmte, Republican National Cmte
G Nicholas Beckwith III	Lamar Alexander, Jason Altmire, Michael F Doyle, John McCain, Tim Murphy, John Patrick Murtha Jr, William Shuster, Arlen Specter, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, Pat Toomey, Ronald Klink, Bob Dole, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, John McCarty, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Mike Kelly, Toomey Pennsylvania Victory Fund
C Boyden Gray	Lamar Alexander, Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Jim Gerlach, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Rick Santorum, James Charles Greenwood, Pat Toomey, Bob Dole, Lynn Morley Martin, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Wish List, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Kevin L Raye, Bernadine P Healy, Richard L Thornburgh, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Julie Finley	Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, Jim Gerlach, John McCain, Christopher H Shays, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, James Charles Greenwood, Constance A Morella, Robert Douglas Franks, Bob Dole, Lynn Morley Martin, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Dick Zimmer, Wish List, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Kevin L Raye, Bernadine P Healy, Scott P Brown, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Peter M Flanigan	Peter H Coors, Lamar Alexander, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Melissa A Hart, Rick Santorum, Robert Simmons, Amory Houghton Jr, Pat Toomey, Bob Dole, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Dick Zimmer, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Kevin Vigilante, Scott P Brown, Richard L Hanna, Charles Djou, Richard L Thornburgh
John C Whitehead	Lamar Alexander, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Christopher H Shays, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Sue W Kelly, Robert Simmons, James Charles Greenwood, Amory Houghton Jr, Bob Dole, Bob Packwood, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Dick Zimmer, Republican Mainstreet Partnership PAC, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Kevin L Raye, Bernadine P Healy, Scott P Brown, Richard L Hanna, Richard L Thornburgh
Josephine Templeton	Peter H Coors, Susan Collins, Mark Steven Kirk, John McCain, Arlen Specter, Michael G Fitzpatrick, Rick Santorum, Pat Toomey, Jon D Fox, Rick Lazio, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Rudy Giuliani, National Republican Congressional Committee, Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, RNC Republican National State Elections Committee, Dick Zimmer, Melissa M Brown, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Scott P Brown, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, National Republican Congressional Cmte, Republican National Cmte

Updated about 2 years ago

Types	Person, Business Person
Gender	Male
Birthday	Dec 25 '19
Date of death	Apr 14 '17
Aliases	Henry Hillman
Region	US and Canada

Henry Lea Hillman

Billionaire; the richest man in Pittsburgh

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