Ian M. Cumming

1940 ~ 2018
Ian McNeil Cumming passed away on February 2, 2018, surrounded by his family at home in Jackson, Wyoming from complications of a prolonged illness. He was 77 years old.
Born in Vancouver, Canada in 1940, and raised by Elaine and John Cumming, Ian moved a lot as a child as his parents, one a sociologist and the other a psychiatrist followed their careers. He graduated from high school in Kansas City and decided to stay there when they moved away, earning his BA in Zoology from the University of Kansas. Befriended by the J.C. Nichols family, Ian finished one year of medical school before working for a year at Turner Unidrive and discovering business was his real love. He attended Harvard Business School and had what he would always describe as a transformational experience. In addition to getting his MBA in 1970, he became friends with Joe Steinberg, who would later become his business partner for 35 years.
Ian's first job after business school was at an investment bank, Carl Marks and Company. One of his first investments was in a Utah based real estate development company, and after frequent trips to Salt Lake City Ian took over the leadership of the firm. In 1971, Ian moved to Salt Lake City where he embraced the community and the community embraced him in return.
Ian raised two young sons, John and David, in Salt Lake City as a single parent and in 1978 married Annette Poulson Benson at Snowbird. In 1979, Ian and his HBS classmate, Joe Steinberg, took control of a troubled financial services company, James Talcott, and transformed it into Leucadia National Corporation (LUK-NYSE). Their partnership was one of the most successful conglomerates in U.S. history - posting a total career average annual return to investors of nearly 20%. When Ian retired from Leucadia in 2013, in their last letter to shareholders, he and Joe described their friendship as one in which they had "unfailingly stood by one another in times of heartache, health and personal challenges."
Ian cared deeply about politics and supported many candidates - almost all Democrats. He believed that government should preserve freedom, show compassion to the disadvantaged and be fiscally responsible. Ian was a wonderful example of unflinching partisan vigor and unfailing civility. He was above all curious about everything and interested in solutions to complex public policy issues and the politicians who took them seriously.
Ian was exceedingly generous in support of education, medical research, the environment, and the arts. While he had great respect for donors who took a more public approach, one of Ian's conditions for financial support was that as little public attention as possible be focused on him. Characteristically, when he provided the lead gift for a new business building at the University of Utah, Ian requested it not be named after him but after his favorite professor at Harvard Business School, C. Roland Christensen.
Serving for many years on the national board of The Nature Conservancy and on the Utah State Board of Regents, Ian was also the first chair of the Utah Sports Authority which was responsible for overseeing the expenditure of public funds on the future Olympic venues.
Ian consistently refused to talk to the news media and never allowed his photograph to be published - not even in the Leucadia annual reports. He often reminded advisors that he wanted to make money, not headlines. Ian cherished his ability to go anywhere and not be recognized. He was once denied entrance to a company Leucadia owned until one of the local managers could vouch for him - and was delighted!
A self-declared agnostic, Ian was a peculiarly spiritual person with an uncanny sense of knowing when a friend was in need. He reached out with kindness and generosity countless times, but was always uncomfortable with the resulting expressions of gratitude. A force behind countless business deals, community projects, political candidates, beautification projects, conservation projects, environmental projects, Ian was known for his colorful language and strong opinions. He wanted action. As he said of himself, he was "often wrong, but never in doubt."
Ian is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 40 years, Annette; his two sons of whom he was enormously proud, John and David; his daughters-in-law Kristi and Allison and six grandchildren who provided him unparalleled joy; his brother David and his sister Marie.
In respecting Ian's wishes to never be the center of public attention, there will be no funeral. In lieu of flowers, Ian would want you to give generously to The Nature Conservancy - Utah Chapter.