Many successful business people like to show off their wealth and position by hosting high-profile fundraisers and making headlines with big giveaways to nonprofit organizations that support their pet projects. One wealthy citizen rarely heard of that way, however, is RK Centers founder and Miami Heat minority owner Raanan Katz.
Does that mean you don’t donate any of your money…or just that we don’t hear about it often?
In speaking with their managers and advisors at the RK Centers, we learned that it’s all about separating private life from public perception. And really, for anyone who knows a bit about Raanan Katz, that shouldn’t be too surprising. After all, for all the headlines that his sports and business interests have generated, you rarely hear much about the man himself.
Associates say it’s by design; he just doesn’t like being in the spotlight. And they say that the notion extends to their charitable activities, which are actually as transcendental as they are little known.
Although details are being kept private, here are a few things we’ve been able to learn about Raanan Katz as a philanthropist:
Raanan Katz donates money to causes near and dear to her. 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 giving is to stay involved in causes to which he feels a strong personal connection. It is well known, for example, that he often contributes to basketball scholarships, though the exact details are being kept private.
Even when giving big gifts, Raanan Katz avoids being the center of attention. RK Center managers say they are personally aware of occasions when their CEO has made rather large contributions to worthwhile causes. And yet he won’t hear about many buildings, statues, or plaques of honor. That’s because he doesn’t appreciate attention and will often go to any lengths to keep 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 means within the community. If he had to respond to every group that called him, he would have little time left to work, not to mention the rest of his life. And so, Raanan Katz’s advisers say he’d rather reach out to groups he really likes, rather than have hundreds of charities come to him.
It’s strange, but not entirely surprising, that so many people have a clear interest in Raanan Katz and how he earned or spent his money. But, that’s probably just the price of success. However, no matter how you ask, you will probably never know all the details of his charitable work. It’s there, but that doesn’t mean I want you to see it.
