Richard T. Burke

Richard Taylor Burke (born 1943) is an American businessman and the founder of UnitedHealth Group, a large managed healthcare and insurance company. Burke is an avid hockey fan and was responsible for the Winnipeg Jets' move to become the Arizona Coyotes. Burke took the view that healthcare should be economized and hospital admissions should be limited, sometimes at the protest of doctors.

UnitedHealth and PHP controversy In 1984, UnitedHealth took a loan from PHP to pay some expenses in exchange for future stock. Then, in reverse, PHP promised UnitedHealth 15–17% of its profits over 25 years in exchange for some of its future stock. Around the same time, PHP cut doctors' salaries significantly to pay bills. Various suits were filed by both the doctors and PHP. Burke held executive positions in both companies, and some felt that he had misused his position in both companies for personal gain. After a time, the matter was resolved in 1987 by a mediator, and Burke left prominent roles in the companies over the next few years. However, due to stadium construction issues, the team moved to Phoenix to become the Arizona Coyotes. He sold the team in 2001 to Steve Ellman and Wayne Gretzky.

While Burke owned the Arizona Coyotes, he employed his son, Taylor Burke, as the team's assistant general manager. Taylor was pressured into resigning from the position a few months after his father sold the team.

In popular culture In 2024, Burke was mentioned in the song "United Health" by folk-rock songwriter Jesse Welles. The song went viral with over 4 million views on TikTok alone and millions more elsewhere. It excoriated corporate healthcare profiteering in light of the murder of Brian Thompson, calling Burke the "Warren Buffett of health, the Jeff Bezos of fear."