Richard Blum, husband of Dianne Feinstein, dies after long battle with cancer
Richard Blum, husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and well known for his efforts to fight poverty and promote human rights for people in the Himalayas, died Sunday night after a long fight with cancer. He was 86.
Blum, who was married to the California Democrat for more than 40 years, was chairman of Blum Capital Partners, an equity investment management firm.
He became known for his work as founder of the American Himalayan Foundation. He pushed to end human trafficking, improve health care and elder and child care. He was a longtime friend of the Dalai Lama and an honorary consul of Nepal.
Blum discussed his work in his book, “An Accident of Geography: Compassion, Innovation and the Fight Against Poverty.”
It discussed strategies for fighting poverty around the world, noting that billions continued to have “little or no access to the basic necessities of life: clean water, food, shelter, education, and medical care.”
In California, he founded the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley. It helped students learn about fighting poverty around the world, and has led to the creation of similar Blum Centers at other UC campuses.
Blum was a member of the University of California Board of Regents and was chairman emeritus of the board.
The San Francisco Chronicle described Blum as a “no-nonsense chairman of the board for three years and got things done: reining in UC’s high-spending Office of the President in the mid-2000s, easing out that era’s ineffective president and, in 2008, tapping a new president, Mark Yudof, whose five-year tenure was seen by many as beneficial for the university system.”
Feinstein: ‘Partner and best friend’
Feinstein, first elected to the Senate in 1992, said in a statement Monday that her heart was broken.
“My husband was my partner and best friend for more than 40 years. He was by my side for the good times and for the challenges. I am going to miss him terribly,” she said.
“Dick was incredibly devoted to his family, particularly his daughters and his grandchildren, and my heart is with them and everyone who Dick encountered,” the senator said. “He was the type of man who really replaced his divot in life, who left things better than he found them. His enormous generosity is an inspiration for so many of us.”
In the U. S. Senate Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., opened the session with a tribute to Blum.
“Dick truly led a remarkable life,” Schumer told colleagues. “He was a force of nature, gifted with a winning smile and keen intellect that he applied to the benefit of California, America and even international causes.”
Schumer said he spoke with Feinstein Monday, and recalled his father’s passing.
“I felt the loss, but some of the pain, a little bit was sad because I feel I was so close to him, he’s still with me and I told her that’s how I believe Dick will be with her,” he said, “and she told me it gave her a little solace, so that made me feel okay.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also offered a tribute on the Senate floor.
“Our colleague’s very loving husband was, simply put, a fascinating person,” he said. “He was highly successful, adventuresome, brave and curious.”
Blum was a San Francisco resident. Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called him “a powerful force for good in our City.”
She cited his work as a patron of the arts and his legacy abroad.
“With the Blum Lab for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley, he helped solve challenges facing developing nations. With the American Himalayan Foundation, he helped build hospitals and schools in Tibet and Nepal,” Pelosi said.
“In our last conversation, he spoke lovingly and with great pride in his long-term and close friendship with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
Blum is survived by three daughters from a first marriage and seven grandchildren.
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 8:52 AM.
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