David K Richards

He was an investment manager with a global and historical perspective, ethical in business and in the conduct of his life. As an investor, his special gift was drawing connections between seemingly disparate events and displaying a brave and contrarian bent, setting him apart and keeping him a step ahead of others. He devoted much of his life to making sense of the most complex of matters as a way to make the world a better place. He was a wonderful observer of economic history and a generous supporter of the work of the Joint Centers for History and Economics at Harvard and Cambridge Universities. He supported pioneering research at the RAND Corporation to articulate a vision for a successful Palestinian State, once peace is achieved. He supported a second ambitious RAND study on the costs to Israel and Palestine of continued conflict, to be released this spring. He was a member of the RAND Board of Trustees, and served on the Board of Advisors of RAND Health and RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy. He was born in Portland, Maine, the son of Robert Ladd Richards M.D. and Janice Kimball Richards and grew up in Vermont. He received a Bachelor's degree in English literature from Harvard College in 1961, a Master's in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Wadham College, Oxford in 1963, and a Master's in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in 1965. He kept strong ties to Harvard and Wadham, as a valuable advisor and supporter, serving on the Chancellor's Court of Benefactors at Oxford and as a Foundation Fellow at Wadham, and at Harvard on Dean's Councils and the Committee on University Resources. He is survived by his wife, Carol, his two sons Adam and Peter, two grandchildren Theo and Ian, their mother Jane, and his brother, Robert.