Many successful entrepreneurs like to show their wealth and position by hosting high-profile fundraisers and making headlines with great giveaways for nonprofits that support their favorite projects. However, one wealthy citizen rarely heard of in this way is RK Centers founder and minority owner of the Miami Heat, Raanan Katz.
Does that mean you don’t donate any of your money … or just that we don’t hear about it often?
In talking to your managers and advisers at RK Centers, we learned that it’s about separating private life from public perception. And really, for anyone who knows a little about Raanan Katz, that shouldn’t be too surprising. After all, despite all the headlines his sporting and business interests have generated, you rarely hear much about the man.
Associates say that’s by design; he just doesn’t like being in the spotlight. And they say the notion extends to their charitable activities, which are actually as far-reaching as they are underreported.
Although the details are largely kept private, here are some things we have been able to learn about Raanan Katz as a philanthropist:
Raanan Katz donates money to causes near and dear to his heart. Like many self-made business personalities, Mr. Katz knows that there are an almost infinite number of charitable groups that would like to get to know him better. The best way for him to have the maximum impact in his community, and feel good about his donations, is to stay involved with causes with which he feels a strong personal connection. It is well known, for example, that he often contributes to basketball scholarships, although the exact details remain private.
Even when giving great gifts, Raanan Katz avoids being the center of attention. Managers at RK centers say they are personally aware of when their CEO has made significant contributions to worthy causes. And yet you won’t hear of many buildings, statues, or plaques. That’s because he doesn’t appreciate attention, and will often go out of his way to prevent others from finding out about his good deeds.
For the most part, he prefers to approach charitable groups rather than the other way around. This is probably to be expected, given his stature and his means within the community. If you answered all the groups that came to call, you would have little time left to work, not to mention the rest of your life. And so Raanan Katz’s advisers say he prefers to reach out to groups that interest him a lot, rather than have hundreds of charities approach him.
It is strange, but not entirely surprising, that so many people have a different interest in Raanan Katz and how he earned or spent his money. But that’s probably the price of success. However, no matter how you ask, you will probably never know all the details of their charitable work. It’s there, but that doesn’t mean I want you to see it.