Peter Alfond, the youngest of late billionaire Harold Alfond’s four kids, died from malaria on July 10, according to an executive of an Alfond family foundation. The 65-year-old billionaire contracted the parasite during a recent family trip to Africa where he visited Tanzania, Kenya, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Alfond inherited a fortune from his father, Harold, who founded the Dexter Shoe Company in Maine in 1958. Harold grew the business and then sold it Warren Buffett in 1993 for $433 million — shrewdly taking Berkshire Hathaway stock instead of cash. Since then, the more than 2,000% rise in the value of the conglomerate's shares has added billions to the family's fortune.
Peter spent more than three decades as a senior executive at Dexter, including a stint as president of PanAm Shoe, the base of the company's Caribbean operations. He, however, was perhaps best known for his philanthropic efforts. In 1994 he launched the Peter Alfond Foundation to bolster education and healthcare causes in New England and the Caribbean, and in 2007 he founded the Kippur Corporation, an investment holding company in Puerto Rico that also oversaw his philanthropic efforts in the Caribbean community.
Additionally, Alfond served as a trustee on the board of his late father's eponymous foundation. The charity — which supports causes in Maine, including building health care centers across the state and athletic facilities for private and public universities — has given more than $260 million since Harold's passing in 2007.
“Like his father, Peter Alfond was an extraordinarily generous individual who gave back so much to Maine,” U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in a statement. “His vision and goodwill for our state have left a rich and lasting legacy.” On a similar note, Senator Angus King (I-Maine) said the billionaire philanthropist will be remembered for “his unwavering commitment to the people of Maine.”
At the time of his death, Forbes estimated Alfond to be worth about $1.45 billion. Like his three billionaire siblings — Susan, Ted and Bill Alfond — who survive him, Peter owned Berkshire stock plus a small stake in Fenway Sports Group, owner of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC.
This article has been edited due to further information provided by the Harold Alfond Foundation.
