Harry Wesley Bass Jr.

Harry Wesley Bass Jr. (January 6, 1927 – April 4, 1998), was an American businessman, coin collector, and philanthropist. He was active in the Texas Republican Party during the late 1950s when the state was still dominated by the Democratic Party.

In 1970, Bass and his brother Richard inherited the Goliad Oil and Gas Corporation. Bass invested in ski resorts in Aspen and Vail, Colorado. He was the main developer of the Beaver Creek Resort in Beaver Creek. He also amassed one of the world's great coin collections and served as the president of the American Numismatic Society.

Early life Bass was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His father, Harry W. Bass Sr., was a co-founder of the Goliad Corporation and the Goliad Oil and Gas Corporation in Duncanville, near Dallas, Texas. He had a brother, Richard Bass.

Bass was educated at the St. Mark's School of Texas, then known as the Texas Country Day School. He attended Southern Methodist University. By 1960, alongside Republican U.S. Representative Bruce Alger of Texas's 5th congressional district, he staged a demonstration against Democratic U.S. Senator (later President) Lyndon B. Johnson when the latter visited Dallas. He was a delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention. He regularly attended coin auctions.

By 1976, he had invested "millions of dollars" in coins. By 1979, he was its president. One of its goals was to support numismatics.

Personal life Bass married Mary Mathewson in 1947.

Death and legacy Bass died on April 4, 1998, in Dallas and is interred at the Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery. Shortly after his death, the Harry W. Bass Jr. Research Foundation was merged with his late father's philanthropic foundation, the Harry Bass Foundation, to form the Harry W. Bass Jr. Foundation.