A South Carolina textile tycoon who died last month willed Furman University 45 percent of the revenues from his estate, but neither the amount of the gift nor its date of arrival is known, university officials said. Their estimates of Furman’s portion range from $150-million to $200-million.
Furman, founded in 1826 by South Carolina Baptists, has an endowment of $260-million.
The bequest was made by John D. Hollingsworth Jr., a third-generation industrialist who transformed the
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family’s machine-repair business into one of the world’s leading manufacturers of textile equipment. Mr. Hollingsworth, a resident of Greenville, S.C., died on December 30 at the age of 83.
Mr. Hollingsworth’s will stipulates that Furman is to receive 45 percent of the annual revenues produced by the estate, with preference given to the university’s business school. Unnamed local charitable organizations are to receive 45 percent of the annual revenues, as well, with the remaining 10 percent going to the local Y.M.C.A.
In addition to the global textile business, the estate includes thousands of acres of prime real estate acquired by Mr. Hollingsworth, who was believed to be South Carolina’s largest private landholder.
Complicating the estate’s disbursement is the nonprofit foundation established to manage its assets on behalf of the will’s beneficiaries. The foundation’s seven-member Board of Directors has wide-ranging discretion in how it manages the estate. It could choose to liquidate assets and disburse the proceeds; pay out annual revenues generated by the estate’s assets; or plow profits back into the estate. Furman appoints three directors to the board.
“It’s a happy problem to have,” said David E. Shi, Furman’s president. The situation, he added, is analogous to that of the Duke Endowment, which manages a diverse portfolio of assets and makes annual payments to four institutions of higher education, among them Furman University. Duke University receives the largest share of those proceeds.
Mr. Hollingsworth, who attended Furman for one year in the 1930’s, was an intensely private man who wore flannel shirts and overalls to work. He had made annual contributions to Furman of $35,000 to $60,000 since 1977, on the condition of strict anonymity.
That penchant for secrecy and the fact that Mr. Hollingsworth’s company is privately owned make it difficult to value his estate. Mr. Shi has seen estimates of up to $700-million.
“It will take a long time to sort out and develop an estimate that is accurate,” Mr. Shi said.
Mr. Hollingsworth’s only child, Mary Jane Hollingsworth Crolley, was cut out of her father’s will, leading to “informed speculation of a probable court challenge,” Mr. Shi said.
The president learned of the will’s provisions two years ago. Since then, he has guarded “the best-kept secret on campus,” telling no one until after Mr. Hollingsworth’s death, he said.
“It will allow us to catapult ahead in terms of institutional quality,” Mr. Shi said, “rather than being satisfied with incremental improvement.”
http://chronicle.com Section: Money & Management Page: A38