Evelyn Y. Davis

Evelyn Yvonne Davis (August 16, 1929 – November 4, 2018) was an American activist shareholder known for her unconventional approach to corporate governance. She owned stock in a wide number of companies, and published an annual newsletter focusing on the business world, Highlights and Lowlights. Davis became notorious for her attendance at annual corporate meetings, where she was a "corporate gadfly" who would pressure top leadership of corporations and otherwise attempt to gain attention.

Born into a wealthy family in Amsterdam, Davis survived the Holocaust and relocated to the United States after World War II, settling in Catonsville, Maryland. She purchased stock in a large number of companies beginning in the 1950s. She quickly developed a reputation for antagonizing CEOs and making unexpected comments at shareholder meetings. Davis also advocated for more substantive changes including term limiting board members, banning greenmailing, and transparency in corporate political contributions. Though her many proposed shareholder resolutions advancing these goals were rarely successful, a 2017 analysis credited her with increasing the say that individual shareholders had in how corporations were run. Unfazed by controversy, Davis unashamedly sought media coverage for her actions and was a polarizing figure at shareholder meetings.

Early life Evelyn Yvonne De Jong was born on August 16, 1929, in Amsterdam, to Herman H. De Jong, a neurologist, and Marianna De Jong, a psychologist. During World War II, Evelyn, her mother, and older brother were forcibly taken to Nazi concentration camps at Barneveld and Westerbork and then to Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia because of their Jewish heritage. Although Davis was reluctant to discuss her experiences during the war, she recounted being beaten by a Nazi guard, scarred after being cut on the calf by shrapnel, De Jong did not graduate from either institution. but De Jong got her start in owning large amounts of stocks through an inheritance from her father, who died in 1956. That year she moved to New York City. In 1957, she married her first husband, William Henry Davis III,'

Highlights and Lowlights Davis published an annual newsletter titled Highlights and Lowlights'', which included a range of corporate news, gossip, and her personal opinions. Copies began at a price of around $20, $120 in 1985, $260 in 1990,

While Davis maintained that she sold subscriptions because of her savvy analysis, others, such as fellow shareholder activist John J. Gilbert, attributed the success of the newsletter to CEOs who hoped to stay in her good graces.

Although she received substantial coverage for her handling of her stocks, most of Davis's net worth was held in bonds and the money market. and Ralph Nader to the board of GM. In 1979, she held stock in 132 companies, The following year, Ted Turner of Turner Broadcasting System issued a similar threat. In 2002 the value of her stock holdings were estimated to be $1.5 million. Besides her focus on shareholder rights, she did not have clearly defined political aims, considering the primary function of a company to make money.

Davis founded the Evelyn Y. Davis Foundation in 1993 to distribute her money. Her tombstone reads "Power is greater than love, and I did not get where I am by standing in line, nor by being shy."