Jackson T. Stephens


Jackson Thomas Stephens Sr was an American oilman and investment banker. He was the CEO of Little Rock, Arkansas-based Stephens Inc., a privately owned financial services company.

Background

Stephens was born on a farm near Prattsville in Grant County in south Arkansas, the youngest of six children. and grew up during the Depression. He graduated in 1941 from Columbia Military Academy in Columbia, Tenn. Stephens attended the United States Naval Academy, where he met and became friends with future president of the United States, Jimmy Carter. Upon graduating he joined the Little Rock investment house Stephens Inc., which his brother W. R. "Witt" Stephens had started in 1933. By 1994 Stephens, Inc., was listed as one of the biggest institutional shareholders in thirty large multinationals including the Arkansas-based Worthen Bank, Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, and Alltel. Stephens was the father of Jackson Thomas Stephens Jr and Warren Stephens.

Career highlights

Stephens and his wife, Mary Anne, were such outspoken backers of Republican causes, and in particular of President Ronald Reagan, that in the early 1980s they were known as "Mr. and Mrs. Republican of Arkansas." In a rare interview in the early 1980s, Jackson declared that Reagan was giving the country "exactly what we need. Some of us call it tough love." Stephens and his company donated $100,000 to the national Republican Party both in 1988 and 1991. Stephens and his wife were key backers of the unsuccessful bid of U.S. Representative Tommy F. Robinson of Arkansas's 2nd congressional district for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1990.. The Stephens family, through Stephens Inc and Worthen Bank, to which Stephen holds a minority ownership interest, were key financial backers and fundraisers for Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party during his presidential election in 1992.

Philanthropy and legacy