Philip Berber

Philip Berber
Born	1958 Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish American
Alma mater	University College Dublin (B.Comm)
Home town	Austin, Texas

Philip Berber is an Irish-born, Texas-based technology entrepreneur, now engaged in philanthropy, international aid, social entrepreneurship and impact investing. He sold CyBerCorp, his online brokerage for day traders, to Charles Schwab for $488m in 2000.^[1] He and his wife Donna^[2] then formed and funded A Glimmer of Hope, pledging $100 million of Schwab stock to endow the foundation.^[3][4][5][6]

His latest venture is Enable Impact, which is designing and developing an online platform to connect all of the players in the global Social Venture and Impact Investing community – social entrepreneurs and ventures, impact investors, advisors, incubators, accelerators et al.

Early life

Berber was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1958. He attended Wesley College, Dublin and went to University College Dublin and studied Commerce (B Comm). He moved to London in 1979 and met his wife Donna a few years later. They moved to Houston, Texas in 1991, and to Austin in 1995 where they live with their three sons.

Business recognition

Berber won the Entrepreneur of the Year award for Central Texas in 2000 and was a national finalist the same year.^[7] University College Dublin awarded him with the Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2009,^[8] and that year Wall Street Journal described Berber as the “real star at the Clinton Global Initiative”.^[9]

Giving

Berber is Chairman and co founder of A Glimmer of Hope,^[10] a family foundation and international NGO, formed and funded by Berber and his wife Donna^[11] in 2000.

BusinessWeek listed the Berbers at #40 amongst “the 50 most generous philanthropists” in 2002.^[12]

Barron’s ranked the Berbers as sixth in the world on the list of “The 25 Best Givers" in 2009 ^[13][14] and 7th in 2010.^[15]

The Berbers and Glimmer were featured in the book Richistan.^[16]

Ventures

In 2011, Berber was involved at the early stages of Circuit of the Americas (COTA), which brought Formula One back to the US.^[17]

References

1. "Schwab buys firm, cuts fee". CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
2. Stith, Carissa (December 2011). "Donna Berber". Austin Woman Magazine: 68. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
3. Dunn, Julie (August 27, 2000). "PRIVATE SECTOR; Venture Philanthropy For Africa, Out of Austin". New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
4. "Feature: A Glimmer of Hope Foundation; How Venture Philanthropists Make a Difference in Ethiopia". Retrieved 27 May 2014.
5. "$100M for e-charity - Emphasis on Africa". Philanthropy Journal. August 28, 2000. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
6. Hempel, Jessi (November 28, 2004). "Online Extra: Investing in the Greater Good". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
7. "Berber is finalist for EOY award". Austin Business Journal. Nov 15, 2000. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
8. "UCD School of Business 100 Years". Retrieved 22 May 2014.
9. Frank, Robert (September 23, 2009). "The Real Star at the Clinton Global Initiative". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
10. "About Us | A Glimmer of Hope". A Glimmer of Hope. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
11. Stith, Carissa (December 2011). "Donna Berber". Austin Woman Magazine: 68. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
12. "Graphic: The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists". Bloomberg Businessweek. December 1, 2002. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
13. McGee, Suzanne (November 30, 2009). "The 25 Best Givers". Barron's. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
14. "Barron's Magazine has ranked Donna and Philip Berber of Austin, Texas sixth on its list of The World's Top 25 Philanthropists". Texas Non Profits. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
15. McGee, Suzanne (December 6, 2010). "The 25 Best Givers". Barron's. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
16. Gunderson, Ryan. "Richistan". Retrieved 27 May 2014.
17. "CoTA'S Featured Fan: Philip Berber". Retrieved 22 May 2014.