Park Cities Legends & Legacies — Thomas O. Hicks & Robert Haas

12 min readOct 23, 2022

Legends & Legacies is a series of articles focusing on some of the most prominent and accomplished families of Highland and University Park.

In this, the seventh installment of the Legends & Legacies series, we’ll be taking a retrospective look at the life and career of Thomas O. Hicks and his one time partner, Robert Haas.

Previous L&L profiles: Jerry Jones, Edwin L. Cox, Andrew Beal, The Crow Family, John Tolleson

Abstract
Family Life
Career Highlights
Timeline of Events
Turbulent Times
Glorypark Debacle
Trump 2016
Honors & Accolades

Abstract

Tom Hicks, son of a Texas radio station owner, was born in 1946.

Growing up in Dallas, and partly in Port Arthur, he spun records in the 1960s as a teenage disc jockey at his father’s radio station. He said he was a big fan of the Beatles and Bee Gees.

Hicks graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School (Port Arthur TX), received a Bachelor’s in finance from the University of Texas (1968), and an MBA from the University of Southern California (1970).

He minted his first fortune in the 1980s with partner Robert Haas, using a “buy and build” approach in which two or more companies would be combined into a more valuable whole.

Hicks did it again in the 1990s as he led Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst to the upper echelons of the private-equity world, raising more than $12 billion from investors and closing more than $50 billion of leveraged acquisitions

Family Life

Tom is the proud father of six children, and 11 grandchildren.

The two youngest Tom shares with his wife Cinda Hicks, while the four eldest are from a previous marriage to Luann Hicks.

Career Highlights

Hicks became interested in leveraged buyouts as a member of First National Bank of Austin’s venture capital group, and went on, with partner Robert Haas, to form Hicks & Haas in 1984.

The two men met in 1978, when Hicks was scouring Cleveland for money to back a buyout of an oil field service company, and got along right from the start.

As Haas once said: ‘’We are a good example of the old adage that we worked our entire lives to be an overnight success.’’

Hicks & Haas (1984–89)

At one point, the two Dallas dealmakers controlled one-third of the noncola market, the segment of the soft drink market that includes drinks like 7 Up, Sprite, ginger ale, root beer, and other beverages commonly known as mixers.

In one of their largest deals, Hicks & Haas led a group of investors in the leveraged buyouts of 7-Up and Dr Pepper.

Besides 7-Up and Dr Pepper, Hicks & Haas built an investment portfolio that included other soft drink brands (including A&W Root Beer) as well as companies involving pay-per-view television in hotel rooms, metal welding and flooring equipment.

The partners split in 1989, but not before turning $88 million of investor funding into $1.3 billion.

“The lesson Tom and I both learned is that the best thing you can do is to have good partners and relationship with affection, trust and respect,” Mr. Haas told The New York Times in 1988. “We have a special ability to cancel out one another’s bad ideas.”

About Robert Haas

Robert Bradley Haas, known as Bobby, was born on June 12, 1947, in Cleveland. His father, Melville, was a car dealer and his mother, Phyllis (Bain) Haas, was a women’s fashion consultant.

After parting with Hicks in 1989, Haas created the private equity firm Haas & Partners, which later became Haas, Wheat & Partners. His private equity successes afforded Haas the freedom, later in life, to pursue his other passions and interests. More on those below…

Unexpectedly and prematurely, Robert Haas, a 21st century renaissance man, passed away in 2021 at the age of 74.

Cause was a respiratory illness, said Stacey Mayfield, his companion and the director of the Haas Moto Museum & Sculpture Gallery in Dallas (opened in 2018).

Anyone interested in learning about the museum and its founder, should check out “Leaving Tracks” (2021), a self-produced documentary film by Robert Haas.

The feature-length film is part biopic and part tribute to the biker brotherhood Haas so admired. But mostly, it’s a road map to navigating the unnerving curves that life throws in front of all of us.

The topic of Robert Haas would not be complete without mentioning his passion (and talent) for aerial photography.

In 2002, Haas became the first photographer to publish a single-photographer, all-aerial book with National Geographic when he dared to take photos while hanging out of a helicopter door.

Above photo was taken on the Yucatan Peninsula in March 2006 for Bobby Haas’ National Geographic best-seller “Through the Eyes of the Condor.”
In the photo, we see flamingos align in a birdlike formation in a lagoon along the Gulf of Mexico

Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (1989–04)

In 1989, following his split with Haas, Hicks co-founded the investment firm, Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst with former Prudential Securities banker John Muse (Morgan Stanley’s Charles Tate and First Boston’s Jack Furst joined soon after).

Over the subsequent 15 year run, the company raised $12 billion of private equity funds, consummated over $50 billion of leveraged acquisitions, and grew to become one of the largest private investment firms in the country, with Hicks acting as chairman from 1989 to 2004.

In 2004, Hicks announced that he would leaving the firm “to spend more time with his family and his sports teams”.

1995 — 2011: Hicks owned the Dallas Stars
1998 — 2010: Hicks owned the Texas Rangers
2007 — 2010: Hicks owned Liverpool, an English soccer club

Hicks Holdings LLC (2005 — Present)

Hicks Holdings is a family investment firm that Hicks opened in August 2005, where today, his sons have assumed the leading role as full partners in the family business.

No, their dad isn’t retiring. He’s still chairman but no longer CEO.

“I want to dial it down even more than I have the last year or two,” Tom says. “In the investment business, deals are driven by guys in their 30s and 40s. Their relationships at this point are more productive than mine.”

Hicks Equity Partners (2007 — Present)

Founded in 2007, Hicks Equity Partners (HEP) is the private equity arm for Hicks Holdings LLC, a holding company for the Thomas O. Hicks family’s assets.

HEP looks for established companies with proven track records, strong free cash flow characteristics, a strong competitive industry position and an experienced management team looking to partner with long-term capital.

HEP specializes in small and middle market proprietary transactions ($25 million to $300 million in enterprise value) in specialty manufacturing, energy, food and beverage, media, and special situations.

Timeline of Events

1984: Hicks co-founds Hicks & Haas with Robert Haas. Their signature deals include A&W Brands, Dr Pepper/Seven Up and Thermadyne Corp. Hicks and Haas split in 1989
1989: Hicks co-founds what would become Hicks Muse Tate & Furst. Over the next 15 years, its signature deals included Capstar Broadcasting, Chancellor Media, Pinnacle Foods, Triton Energy and a significant stake in Clear Channel Communications
1996: Hicks buys the Dallas Stars for $84 million. Stars win the Stanley Cup in 1999
1998: Hicks buys the Texas Rangers for $250 million. Two years later, he signs superstar Alex Rodriguez to a landmark 10-year, $252 million deal.
2002: After Hicks Muse’s Internet, telecom and Latin American investments lose big, D Magazine runs a story headlined: “Is Tom Hicks Going Broke?” The infamous cover illustration shows Hicks with empty hands outstretched and his pockets turned inside out (it isn’t really Hicks in the picture).

2004: Hicks announces he will leave Hicks Muse to spend more time with his family and his sports teams
2005: Hicks forms Hicks Holdings LLC
2006: BusinessWeek magazine declares that Hicks, the dealmaker, is back.
2007: Hicks and George Gillett acquire the Liverpool F.C. soccer team in a deal equivalent to about $430 million at the time. The team’s debt quickly escalates.
2008: Hicks Sports Group retains advisers to assist with restructuring or selling the Rangers
2009: Hicks stops making interest-only payments on $525 million in loans related to the Rangers and Stars as he renegotiates the teams’ debt
2010: Hicks Sports Group reaches agreement to sell the Rangers to a group headed by Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan.
2010: Hicks and Gillett formally announce that they have put Liverpool up for sale. The sale is concluded with New England Sports Ventures — a John Henry-owned company (current owner of the Red Sox).
2011: On September 13, 2011, lenders vote to agree to have the Dallas Stars file for bankruptcy and sold at auction. Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi’s bid was the only one submitted. Gaglardi’s purchase was approved by the NHL Board of Governors on November 18, 2011.
2012: Hicks settles with Steiner + Associates, in a lawsuit relating to the redevelopment of Glorypark. In the lawsuit, Steiner claimed Hicks shut down the development without consulting the Ohio-based firm (more on Glorypark below)
2016: Tommy Hicks Jr plays a major role raising funds for Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign (more on Tom’s role below)
2019: Tommy Hicks Jr is elected to serve as co-chairman of the Republican National Committee
2021: Hicks ex-partner, Robert Haas, passes away

Turbulent Times

While the 80’s and 90’s were very good to Tom Hicks, the new millennia saw the deal maker weather a number of storms.

Here’s how a 2010 exposé summarized it:

His reputation badly bruised by his debt-laden sports teams, Tom Hicks is beginning a new chapter in his business life at an age when many think about retiring.
“This year, we’re back on offense,” said Hicks, flanked by two of his sons at a conference table in his offices at the Crescent in Uptown Dallas.
Despite recent successes, Tom Hicks is still trying to extricate himself from his troubled pro sports business, a process that is becoming increasingly costly in reputation and money. If fans of his U.S. teams are angry at his stewardship, Liverpool supporters across the pond are absolutely livid. They have organized protest marches, threatened a ticket boycott and accused Hicks and co-owner George Gillett of ruining their team because they saddled it with debt.
Hicks said he once didn’t mind the high-profile glare that comes with team ownership. But now he is tired of it, especially the abuse. “I’ve had all the publicity I want to have,” he said. “I want some privacy for my family.”
On top of ownership issues with his sports teams, Hicks is also involved in a legal battle with former partner and vendors over the failed Glorypark project, once envisioned as a sprawling development near Rangers Ballpark in Arlington and Cowboys Stadium.
Those following Hicks’ problems with his sports teams might think he has lost his investing touch. Not so, says Dallas developer Harlan Crow, son of the late Trammell Crow. “My family continues to invest with Tom, so I wouldn’t agree with that characterization,” Crow said.

Glorypark Debacle

Proponents of Glorypark, envisioned it as a 1.2 million square foot development between Rangers Ballpark and Cowboys Stadium. Their vision was to transform the area into a vibrant urban center, creating a magnet for activity on game days and otherwise.

At least that’s how Tom Hicks saw it. Instead, the project generated delays, bad blood, lawsuits and ultimately, cancellation. Hicks announced in May 2008 that the development had been put on hold, and eventually the project was shut down entirely.

If Glorypark ever does see the light of day, here’s what it may look like, based on previously released renderings:

Trump 2016

Tommy Hicks Jr., left, with Donald Trump, and Gentry Beach.

The two Dallas businessmen were instrumental in raising millions for Trump’s 2016 campaign

Don Trump Jr. began his fundraising journey after the Republican convention, right here in Dallas, squired by Tommy Hicks Jr., the eldest son of Dallas billionaire Tom Hicks, and their mutual buddy, Dallas hedge fund manager Gentry Beach.

Trump Jr., being an avid outdoorsman, frequently visits Texas to fish, hunt and socialize
But with the campaign, the Trump-Hicks-Beach trio — along with a cadre of other rich Dallas guys — became successful big-game hunters of a political sort.

After less than three days of schmoozing, the trio raised more than $2 million for Trump’s campaign war chest from high-dollar donors in the Lone Star State. “That’s when it all got serious,” Hicks Jr. says.

According to Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, who ran Trump campaign’s millennial outreach, “Gentry and Tommy really saved this election,” says Kirk. “When they came on board, things were in flux. It was a campaign looking for leadership. Gentry and Tommy delivered that through incredible sacrifice. They put pieces together that put the Trump campaign on a path to victory.”

High-Rollers Rolled In

Campaign insiders said money raised in North Texas by Hicks, Beach, Ray Washburne and Roy Bailey, managing director of Giuliani Deason Capital Interests LLC, equaled donations from the entire state of California.

In fact, Texas dollars came close to the amount raised by Trump in California and New York combined.

Trump’s Economic Adviser

“I know lots of smart bankers. Andy Beal is right at the top of the list.” — Donald Trump

Beal, rumored to be Dallas’ wealthiest resident, was a key Trump supported during the 2016 campaign, and was selected by President Trump to be part of his Economic Advisory Team.

Election Elation

“I’m so proud of the Trump family. They’re amazing to work with,” Hicks said back in 2016 after the election results were declared.

“All the siblings killed themselves to deliver this victory.”

“Donald is the most energetic 70-year-old I’ve ever met in my life. He has more energy than I do, and I’m half his age. The Trumps are going to kick butt for America.”

Republican National Committee

Following his involvement with the Trump campaign, Hicks Jr. was elected in 2019 to serve as co-chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Prior to the 2016 presidential election, Hicks served as national finance co-chairman for Donald J. Trump for President. He was also vice chairman of the Finance Committee for the 2017 presidential inauguration and worked with the transition team following the election.

He also served on the national advisory board for Turning Point USA.

Honors & Accolades

In January 2018, Tom Hicks was appointed by President Donald Trump to serve as a Commissioner on the American Battle Monuments Commission.

ABMC, established by Congress in 1923, is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government, and is the guardian of America’s overseas commemorative cemeteries and memorials, honoring the achievements and sacrifice of U.S. Armed Forces.

Hicks is also a member of the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee, the University of Texas McCombs School of Business Advisory Council and also of the University of Southern California Marshall School Board of Leaders.

He is also a past recipient of the University of Texas’ Distinguished Alumnus Award and served ten years as a Distinguished Guest Lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business