Tom Golisano

Tom Golisano, full name Blaise Thomas Golisano, is a leading Rochester businessman, community activist, and philanthropist.

Business Interests

• Founder of Paychex, the Penfield-based payroll processing firm.
  

• National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres, parent team of the Rochester Amerks, purchased in 2003.

Charity

Golisano amassed a personal fortune in excess of $1 billion by the turn of the century and has contributed (as of 2005) an estimated $80 million to charity and education, including large gifts to Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester. Golisano's charitable works are supported by the Golisano Foundation.


• Organizations and buildings carrying his name:
  

• B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology
  

• Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong
  

• B. Thomas Golisano Library at Roberts Wesleyan College

Politics

• Governor's Race: Golisano ran three expensive and unsuccessful third-party campaigns (see Independence Party) for governor beginning in 1994. The third, in 2002, cost him $75 million from his personal fortune and garnered only 654,000 votes out of more than 4.6 million cast. In the heat of that campaign he began his bid to purchase the Sabres.
  

• Responsible New York - July 2008 Golisano formed a PAC with personal funding of $5 million and supported various candidates in the 2008 election regardless of party affiliation.
  

• 2008 National Race: donated $1 million to the Democratic National Convention.
  

• Fought Michael Bloomberg's proposal to undue term limits.

Notes and References

• Wikipedia Article
  

• Forbes Richest Americans - Golisano # 281 in Sep, 2008
  

• Academy of Acheivment
  

• "Spare him the Gurus" - June 2003 article by Andy Meisler in Workforce.

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