Pierre Goodrich

Pierre F. Goodrich ( -1973), millionaire businessman and lawyer, was one of the early philanthopist supporters of the libertarian/free market cause in America.

His father, James Goodrich, served as governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921 and as adviser to Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover.

The Goodriches made their money by selling all their stocks in the overvalued market of 1929, and then buying it back at a much lower price during the Great Depression. They built an empire around a diverse base including mining and banking; Pierre Goodrich himself was President and main stockholder of the Indiana Telephone Corporation.

A friend of F. A. Hayek, Goodrich supported various libertarian causes throughout his life, including the Institute for Humane Studies and the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala, but he is best known for founding the Liberty Fund in 1960. Upon his death in 1973, Mr. Goodrich left most of his estate to the Foundation.