Wall Street to Main Street to help young people

Sinquefield goes from Wall Street to Main Street to help young people
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Story last updated at 5/17/2009 – 2:07 am

Last week, I visited the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis, host of the 2009 $200,000 U.S. Chess Championship. During my visit, I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Rex Sinquefield, the sponsor of this prestigious event.

Rex, a businessman from St. Louis, recently made a big transition from Wall Street to Main Street, a move that could help thousands of kids in his hometown for years to come.

Who is Rex Sinquefield?

Raised in St. Vincent Home for Children in St. Louis, he graduated from St. Louis University in 1967 – where he is a member of the board of trustees – with a business degree before pursuing an MBA from the University of Chicago. He earned his MBA in 1972. In the 1970s, he conducted research on historical stock market returns and pioneered some of the nation’s first index funds. Sinquefield was the co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors and was its co-chairman until his retirement in 2005.

Along with business associates David Booth, Rex formed Dimensional Fund Advisors in 1981. Today, the company oversees nearly $160 billion in assets worldwide. He served as the company’s co-chairman until his retirement in 2005.

His wife, Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield, who has an MBA and a Ph.D. in demography from the University of Chicago, was instrumental in the achievements of DFA as well.

Here are excerpts of what former US Chess Federation Executive Director Al Lawrence wrote about Rex Sinquefield:

“Following his father’s death, little Rex moved from his protective home and family, a 7-year-old’s whole world, to a crowded, nun-strict orphanage in the northwest St. Louis suburb of Normandy.

“Some rise to meet adversity. Young Rex flourished, especially in competitive contexts, covering any personal pain with wisecracks and grins, not tears. Deciding early to become a priest but always interested in the stock market, he entered the seminary owning $200 of stock in Great Northern Paper. Three years later, he changed course, majoring in philosophy and business at St. Louis University.

“After a hitch in the Vietnam-era Army, he enrolled in the University of Chicago’s MBA program, where he studied under, among others, future Nobel Laureate Merton Miller. Rex went on in 1973 to pioneer the first passively managed indexing S&P 500 fund.

Sinquefield is a real chess enthusiast. He told me that once, years ago, he was on a trans-Pacific flight that happened to also be carrying Bobby Fischer and then-FIDE-president Florencio Campomanes. Rex instantly recognized Fischer, but Campo warned Sinquefield that Bobby was in a foul mood, not even talking to his traveling partner. ‘But you can try,’ Campo said.

“Even when faced with the force that cracked the biggest egos, Sinquefield couldn’t pass up an opportunity to meet the greatest ever, and he knew his audience. He stopped by Fischer’s seat. ‘I hope you beat those commies,’ he told Fischer. The champ came out of his pout. ‘I will,’ Bobby said.”

At the age of 13, he was introduced to this game by his uncle Fred, whom he beat in their second game. Unfortunately, due to his successful and busy business career, Rex was not able keep up with chess as much as he would have liked.

In recent years, Rex is once again focusing on the game he loves. Less than a year ago, he provided the seed capital for the creation of The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis (www.SaintLouisChessClub.org), which is a million-dollar project. The building selected for the club was built in 1897 by A.M. Eeinke. The renovation took seven months to complete.

Here is the full story.