Charles Schusterman
Co-founder of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation; oil and gas executive (died 30 December 2000)
| Charles Schusterman
| |
|---|---|
| Died | 30 December 2000 |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Businessman; philanthropist |
| Known for | Co-founder of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation; founder of Samson Resources |
| Education | Degree in petroleum engineering, University of Oklahoma |
Charles Schusterman (died 30 December 2000) was an American oil and gas executive and philanthropist. With Lynn Schusterman he established the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in 1987. An official statement issued by the foundation, dated 4 January 2001, records that he died on 30 December 2000, and that he was 65.[1][2]
Business career
The official foundation statement records that Schusterman attended the University of Oklahoma, graduating among the top 10 of his class with a degree in petroleum engineering, served in the United States Army, and then returned to Tulsa and entered the oilfield salvage business. In 1961, it states, he switched to acquiring and operating marginal oil properties, and in 1971 he founded Samson Resources, later known as Samson Investment Company. The same statement, written shortly after his death, describes Samson as then the second-largest independent gas-producing company headquartered in Oklahoma and one of the 20 largest independent oil and gas companies in the United States, and records that in September 2000 he moved from being co-CEO to become the company's chairman.[1]
The Oklahoma Hall of Fame, which inducted him in the class of 2000, likewise records a University of Oklahoma petroleum-engineering degree, United States Army service, work in the oilfield salvage business, and the founding of Samson Investment Company, which it describes as having become one of the 30 largest independent oil and gas companies in the United States.[3]
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
The foundation's official history states that Charles and Lynn Schusterman established the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in 1987, that Charles led the foundation for its first 13 years, and that after he died in 2000 Lynn became chair. Official biographies of Lynn Schusterman likewise record that she and her late husband established the foundation in 1987.[2][4]
The January 2001 official statement says the foundation supports programmes that enhance Jewish life in the United States, Israel and the former Soviet Union, and Oklahoma-based groups focused on education, children and community service. Among the largest individual grants it lists at that date were $11.25 million to Synagogue Transformation and Renewal (STAR); $10 million to the University of Oklahoma to establish the Schusterman Center at the university's Tulsa campus; $5 million to the World Union of Progressive Judaism toward Mercaz Shimshon in Jerusalem; $1.5 million to the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education; and $1 million to the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. It also records substantial annual support for organisations including Hillel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the American Israel Education Foundation. The Oklahoma Hall of Fame biography records that the Schusterman Center at the University of Oklahoma–Tulsa campus was established in 1999.[1][3]
The foundation files IRS Form 990-PF under the name Charles And Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Employer Identification Number 73-1312965. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer's compilation of those returns, opened on 11 November 2026, gives the following extracted figures for later years, long after Schusterman's death. The Form 990-PF for the year ended 31 December 2024, filed on 14 November 2025, reported revenue of $294,559,250, expenses of $347,365,697, charitable disbursements of $341,807,866, total assets of $2,211,990,168 and net assets of $2,197,161,664.[5]
| Year ended | Revenue | Expenses | Charitable disbursements | Total assets | Net assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2024 | $294,559,250 | $347,365,697 | $341,807,866 | $2,211,990,168 | $2,197,161,664 |
| 31 December 2023 | $175,512,514 | $381,817,906 | $375,882,415 | $2,274,001,801 | $2,249,468,905 |
| 31 December 2022 | $230,818,621 | $405,007,228 | $388,784,906 | $2,490,466,761 | $2,454,162,066 |
External links
- Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, official statement, 4 January 2001
- Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Our Story
- ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Charles And Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation (EIN 73-1312965)
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Charles Schusterman: He Lived the American Dream, official statement dated 4 January 2001, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Our Story, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Charles Schusterman, Class of 2000, official inductee biography, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Lynn Schusterman, official biography, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Charles And Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation (EIN 73-1312965), compilation of Form 990-PF filings, accessed 11 November 2026.