Richard Blum, UC Regent and Husband Of Sen. Feinstein, Dead At 86
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/BCN) – Richard Blum, the husband of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and a longtime member of the University of California Board of Regents, died Sunday evening after a long battle with cancer. He was 86.
Blum died at the family home, Feinstein announced Monday morning.
"My heart is broken today. My husband was my partner and best friend for more than 40 years," Feinstein said. "He was by my side for the good times and for the challenges. I am going to miss him terribly."
Blum, who was chairman of Blum Capital Partners, an equity investment management firm, was a longtime friend of the Dalai Lama.
For decades, he focused much of his time on the people of the Himalayas, and founded the American Himalayan Foundation. His work centered on ending human trafficking, improving health care, providing elder and child care and promoting the region's vibrant culture, according to a release from Feinstein.
He also founded the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley, that supports students in learning how to combat global poverty. That center was a model for Blum Centers at other UC campuses.
Blum served for nearly two decades on the University of California Board of Regents and was chairman emeritus of the board.
He also served as co-chairman of the World Conference on Religion and Peace; was a founding member of National Geographic's International Council of Advisors; was a trustee of the executive committee of The Carter Center; and sat on several boards including the World Wildlife Fund, the Wilderness Society, the Brookings Institution, the California Academy of Sciences and the Glide Foundation.
Blum was "incredibly devoted" to his family, Feinstein 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."
Governor Gavin Newsom eulogized Blum in a statement released Monday morning.
"Richard Blum lived an extraordinary life, and he left this world better than he found it – lifting up our communities and helping connect people from across the globe. He was a model Californian, serving the state and our higher education students wholeheartedly as a UC Regent," Newsom wrote. "Our hearts are with Senator Feinstein and Richard's entire family."
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) released a statement on Blum's passing:
"Dick Blum was a compassionate humanitarian who dedicated his life to improving the world for others, whether by founding the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley or leading a decades-long project to end human trafficking in Nepal. A proud graduate of UC Berkeley, he served as a University of California Regent for the past twenty years, where he helped to grow the world's premier public education system for the benefit of millions of students.
Above all, Dick was devoted to his family. Over his four decades of marriage to Senator Feinstein, he took tremendous joy in supporting her pioneering leadership as a public servant. Angela and I send our deepest condolences and prayers to Dianne and her family in this difficult time."
In addition to Feinstein, Richard Blum is survived by his brother Robert; daughters Annette, Heidi and Eileen; stepdaughter Katherine and her husband Rick Mariano; and grandchildren Mitchell and Spencer Riley, Lea, Tristan, Julien and Benjamin Bourgade, and Eileen Mariano.
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